Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Browsing Nina Simone‘s early single releases on Bethlehem Records — Gus Wildi‘s jazz label, whose control and eventual ownership would ultimately be given over to Syd Nathan of King Records — my eyes are immediately drawn to the instrumental B-side, “African Mailman,” a fairly radical and oblique song title for
As George Lipsitz points out in the introduction to Johnny Otis‘s memoir Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue, Otis was a central organizing figure in the Los Angeles rhythm & blues scene of the late 1940s and early 1950s — thus, a shrewd move on Syd Nathan’s
This other one-off recording from 1957 – released on King subsidiary label, Federal – establishes a Cincinnati-New Orleans connection via musical artist, Little Mummy (i.e., Marvin Gauthreaux): “Where You At Jack” Little Mummy (1957) “Where You At Jack” and its flip side “Oh Baby Please” were both recorded in New
Lord BooBoo‘s lone single release on King Records would end up being the calypso singer’s entire recorded output! Michel Ruppli’s 2-volume King discography reports that Lord BooBoo laid down these two tracks – “De Knife, De Fork, De Spoon” b/w “No Man and Woman Get Along” – in New York
[For an update on the perilous status of the original King Records site, click here] A recent Cincinnati visit allowed me the chance to verify that the former King Records complex is still standing. But for how long? Polly Lucke, Zero to 180’s West Coast correspondent, recently brought to my
Interesting to learn that the Canadian Sweethearts (who later signed with A&M and Epic) had passed through Cincinnati’s King Records briefly in the guise of Bob & Lucille. King’s Syd Nathan would lease two tracks from two different Bob & Lucille 45s that had been released in the late 1950s
Guitar Crusher, I’m happy to report, is still very vital* and, judging from his Facebook posts, appears to be based in Germany, where he performs much of the time. [*Facebook post from September 2020 informs us, sadly, that “Sidney ‘Guitar Crusher‘ Selby didn’t recover after an operation on his spine
Orangie Ray Hubbard‘s “Is She Sore” is a big, big tune for such a tiny label — Cincinnati’s Lucky (whose address is a residential home in the Fairview/Clifton Heights neighborhood): “Is She Sore” Orangie Ray Hubbard (1959) “Is She Sore” is actually Orangie Ray’s second single — two years prior, Dixie
Triple Threat – the debut album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk – was originally released on the King label in 1956, rereleased on Bethlehem as Third Dimension, and on the Affinity label as Early Roots. Kirk on tenor sax, stritch, manzello, & siren (!), with James Madison on piano, Carl
From Nilsson‘s brilliantly sung end credits for 1968 cinematic bomb, Skidoo, we learned that the film’s director, Otto Preminger, once essentially paid $7,600 to appear on an episode of TV’s Batman. How interesting then to learn that Cincinnati’s King Records has its own – albeit indirect – connection to television’s
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