Cincy Groove Magazine

This page will be dedicated to King Records and its rich history, keep checking back as this page develops

Scott

My Interview with Carl Dobkins Jr

Between 1943 and 1971 Cincinnati's King Records revolutionized the process in which music was recorded, manufactured, distributed and promoted. No plaque or sign gives witness to the heyday of the chocolate-brown warehouse that sits just south of the Woodburn Avenue overpass. Nothing indicates that from within its walls emerged nearly 250 hit songs and that it manufactured more than 150 million records in the Jazz, Country and Rhythm & Blues fields. Much of the music it recorded reflected the nation's changing times, especially in attitudes toward race. The whole operation was the brainstorm of Sydney Nathan. (from The King Records Story by Darren Blase -- Shake It Records -- Cincinnati)

THE LEGACY OF KING RECORDS
King Records was a crossroads of American music during its regal run between 1943 and 1968 at 1540 Brewster Ave. in Cincinnati. Here's some of the major artists who recorded for King and its subsidiaries of Queen and Federal:

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (R&B)
Earl Bostic (R&B)
Tiny Bradshaw (R&B)
James Brown (soul brother No. 1)
Cowboy Copas (country and western)
The Delmore Brothers (country and western)
Bill Doggett (R&B)
Charlie Feathers (country, rockabilly)
Slim Gaillard (jumpin' jive)
John Lee Hooker (blues)
Ivory Joe Hunter (R&B)
Ferlin Husky (country)
The Ink Spots (pop, soul)
Little Willie John (gritty soul)
Albert King (blues)
Freddie King (blues)
Big Jay McNeely (jump, swing)
Webb Pierce (country)
The Stanley Brothers (bluegrass)
Swan's Silvertone Singers (gospel)
Hayden Thompson (rockabilly)
Eddie Vinson (jazz)
Billy Ward and the Dominoes (R&B)
Johnny "Guitar" Watson (Blues)
Jimmy Witherspoon (R&B)

Bootsy Collins & Chuck D talk King Records