Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Tag: James Brown

Federal
Zeroto180

King Records Lore — A Trunkful of Trivia

Chiemi Eri on King Records – In the US & Japan Chiemi Eri, born Jan. 11, 1937 in Tokyo, was a popular singer and actress in Japan who began her singing career at 14 with her version of “The Tennessee Waltz,” according to Discogs. When you scan her singles discography

Read More »
60s/70s rock +/- pop
Zeroto180

Smokey And His Sister: Goodbye Cincinnati

The City of Cincinnati might want to consider a lawsuit – what is the statute of limitations on liner notes from an album released 54 years ago? I understand that Hal Halverstadt was merely playing up the difference between “small town” provincialism and “big city” sophistication for dramatic emphasis, but

Read More »
Central Recording Studio
Zeroto180

Silver Spring’s Central Recording Studio

Jeff Krulik was the first to inform me that back in the mid-to-late 1980s, one could exit Silver Spring’s Track Recorders and walk about a mile or so up Georgia Avenue to reach another commercial sound facility:  Central Recording Studio. Silver Spring historian, Robert Oshel, wrote about this very parcel

Read More »
Henry Glover
Zeroto180

King Records — In a Nutshell

What a revelation to find out that World Radio History‘s website not only allows access to a comprehension collection of music trade publications, including Billboard, Cash Box, and Record World, but also the ability to search all back issues simultaneously! What’s especially helpful is how the search results often show

Read More »
Beau Dollar
Zeroto180

The Dapps at King Records

Note:  Spotify playlist at the end of this piece Music writer/historian, Randy McNutt, in King Records of Cincinnati, points out the irony of “How You Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet)” – a Hank Ballard single “obviously aimed at the R&B market” – being voiced by mostly white

Read More »
Chuck Connor
Zeroto180

The Upsetters at King Records

I am only just now discovering that Little Richard‘s musical influence had a direct impact on King Records, first when his live backing band, The Upsetters, became Little Willie John’s support group after Richard renounced rock ‘n’ roll in 1957, and then again soon after when the Upsetters backed James

Read More »
60s/70s rock +/- pop
Zeroto180

King 45s That “Bubbled Under”

My ambitiousness got the best of me with the posting of the two-part history piece, “Quirky 45s That Bubbled Under (1959-1976).”  If you go to Zero to 180’s home page now (as of April 2020), you might be frustrated that it takes so goshdarn long to finish loading all the

Read More »
45 sides +/- obscure tracks
Zeroto180

Quirky 45s That “Bubbled Under” 1959-1976

It’s almost impossible to fathom now, but at one time in the United States, tiny “indie” labels could actually get their records played on the radio.  This period was a narrow window of time, as predictably (and inevitably), the major labels would consolidate their hold on the marketplace by effectively

Read More »
Bobby Byrd
Zeroto180

Birth of The JB’s @ King Records

The two-volume King Labels recording sessions discography (i.e., “the red books“) compiled by Michael Ruppli with assistance from Bill Daniels, can be frustratingly incomplete, especially with regard to musician credits.  Although this reference source is a great starting point, scholars of James Brown funk are forced to do quite a bit of digging on

Read More »
Henry Glover
Zeroto180

King Records Trivia: Maxi-Tweets

Fun Facts & Trivia —  Top Tweets from King Records Month 2018 As with the previous piece (“King’s Jazz Legacy“), it seems silly to keep all this rich history from last year’s King 75th Anniversary tucked away in a file attachment.  One year later, it has become increasingly obvious that

Read More »
All Categories
Archives