King Records is an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of James Brown. It released original material until 1975.
History King Records first specialized in country music, then called hillbilly music. King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly–If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by Reno and Smiley. Important recordings in this field were made by the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney. The Delmores and Moon Mullican played a country-boogie style that was similar to rockabilly. Several King artists including Bill Beach, are in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Queen Records was the "race records" division of King Records and was also owned by Syd Nathan. It was founded in 1943 and was eventually folded into King. King also owned Federal Records, which began the career of James Brown. The label hired Ralph Bass and recorded Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Roy Brown, Valerie Carr, Champion Jack Dupree, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Tex, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Otis Williams and the Charms and other R&B performers .See Joe Tex discography; King was a major singles release label for Tex during the early part of his career. King had a long legal suit against Brown after he repeatedly violated his contract with the company. King bought De Luxe Records (in 1952) and Bethlehem Records (in 1962). In 1951, Federal Records made the crossover of an R&B record into the white pop music charts with Billy Ward and his Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man" (Federal 12022). It reached No. 17 on the Billboard pop chart and number 1 in the R&B chart.
King mixed the country and R&B sides of the label. Many of its country singers like Moon Mullican, the Delmore Brothers, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Zeb Turner, covered the label's R&B songs, such as "Grandpa Stole My Baby", "Rocket to the Moon", "Bloodshot Eyes", and "I Got Loaded". R&B artists recorded country songs, for example, Bubber Johnson's "Keep a Light in the Window for Me".
During the 1950s, King distributed portable phonographs. King Records was unique among the independent labels because the entire production process was done in-house: recording, mastering, printing, pressing and shipping. That gave Nathan complete control, and a record could be recorded one day and shipped to radio stations the next day in quantities as small as 50. For that reason, King records that did not sell well are rare. Seymour Stein, a co-founder of Sire Records, interned at King Records as a high school student in 1957 and 1958 and worked for King from 1961 to 1963.
When Nathan died in 1968, King was acquired by Hal Neely's Starday Records and restarted as Starday-King Records. The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller bought the label in 1970 but sold it soon afterwards to LIN Broadcasting, which in turn sold it to Tennessee Recording & Publishing (owned by Freddy Bienstock, Hal Neely, and Leiber and Stoller), which sold it to Gusto Records in 1974. In 1971, James Brown's recording contract and back catalog were sold to Polydor Records. Also in 1971, the Cincinnati operations closed and the equipment was liquidated in early 1972. Since 2001, Collectables Records has been reissuing the King Records catalog.
Studios
The former King Records headquarters, at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati, is still standing. A historical marker was placed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Now owned by the city of Cincinnati, it approved the formation of the King Records Legacy Committee which works to revitalize the historic site and chronicle its history.
The King Records studios were designated as a Cincinnati Local Historic Landmark in 2015, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. In 2025, a documentary of the history of the company titled King of Them All: the Story of King Records was broadcast on PBS in the United States.
Discography King 500 Series The King 500 Series of 12 inch LPs were released between 1956 and 1959.Both Sides Now: King/Federal/DeLuxe Discography, Part 2: Main LP Series 500-599, Bsnpubs.com, accessed June 25, 2019 Catalog No. Album Artist Details500The Best of Bostic501Tiny Bradshaw502Moondust503 Earl Bostic for You 504Organ Reveriesalso released as Giant Organ Magic505A Concert of Cool Jazz Quartet506Modern Jazz Expressionsalso released as Modern Jazz507House Party508Mood Indigo509Favorite Organ Solosalso released as George Wright Plays Hotsy-Totsy Organ510Jazz for Happy Feet and Band511Love Is Here to StayShura at the Piano512Shura at the PianoShura and His Trio 513All Star Rock and Roll RevueVarious Artists514Hot Doggett515Altotude516 Showcase Trio517Orchids in the Moonlight and the Society Orchestra518Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland519AmenWings Over Jordan Choir520Lonesome Road521In the Evening by the Moonlight and Orchestra522Borrah Minevitch and the Harmonica Rascalsreleased on DeLuxe label523As You Desire Me524Free for All Trio525Dance Time 526Jazz with a Horn527Billy in the Lion's Den - Leo Parker Quartet528After HoursVarious Artists529Let's Dance with Earl Bostic530Big Jay in 3-Dreissue of Federal label LP531Everybody Dance the Honky Tonk532Dame Dreaming 533A Salute to Ellington 534Yiddish Songs and Betty Reillyreleased on DeLuxe label - also released as Mink...Shmink (As Long As You're Healthy)535Something Old... Something NewInk Spots536Rock'n Roll Dance PartyVarious Artists537All-Time Country and Western HitsVarious Artists538Rag Beat539Triple Threat540Piano VariationsVarious Artists541Their Greatest Hitsreleased on the Federal label542This Is Lorez and the King Fleming Quintet543Adventure with Charlie544The Jones Girl...Etta...Sings, Sings, Sings545Dance Music for Mom and Dad546Meet John Puckett and His Piano 547Invitation to Dance with Bostic 548Billy Ward and His Dominoes featuring Clyde McPhatter and his Dominoesreleased on the Federal label 549The Plattersreleased on the Federal label550Sacred Songs and Red Smiley551Sacred Songs552Instrumentals by Don Reno and Red Smiley, Red Smiley and the Tennessee Cutups553Cowboy Copas Sings His All-Time Hits554Grandpa Jones Sings His Greatest Hits555Moon Mullican Sings His All-Time Greatest Hits556Favorite Sacred SongsVarious Artists557Doggett Beat for Dancing Feet558C'mon and Dance 559Clyde McPhatter with Billy Ward and His Dominoes with Billy Ward and His Dominoesreleased on the Federal label560Deep RiverWings Over Jordan Choir561Jazz Goes Ivy League Trio Plus Three562Square Dance Music / Fiddlin' Linvilles / Curly Fox563Candle Glow564Fever565Lorez Sings Pres: A Tribute to Lester Young566Jazz with a Beat567Sacred SongsSwanee River Boys568Moody Blues: Play Only After Midnight569Come Home570Otis Williams and the Charms Sing Their All-Time Hits and the Charms571Bostic Rocks 572Spirituals Volume 1Swan's Silvertone Singers573Spirituals Volume 2Spirit of Memphis Quartet574Spirituals Volume 3Four Internes575Spirituals Volume 4Swan's Silvertone Singers576Spirituals Volume 5Various Artists577Spirituals Volume 6Spirit of Memphis Quartet578Spirituals Volume 7Swan's Silvertone Singers579Instrumentals and Ballads and Red Smiley580Dedicated to YouThe "5" Royales581The Midnighters Volume Two582Swingin' Easy and His Orchestra583Bostic Showcase of Swinging Dance Hits 584Swingin' Flute585Dance Awhile with Doggett 58616 Favorites Volume 1587Hawkshaw Hawkins Volume 1588Songs of the Hills589Songs by the Delmore Brothers590Sixteen Sacred Songs Volume 2Brown's Ferry Four59116 Favorites Volume 259216 Favorites Volume 2593Steve Lawrence594Boyd Bennett595Bonnie Lou Sings!596Talk to Me597Alto Magic in Hi Fi: A Dance Party with Bostic 598Golden Years in Hi-Fi599Big Beat Jazz
King 600 Series The King 600 series was released between 1958 and 1960.Both Sides Now: King Main LP Series 600–699 (1958–60), Bsnpubs.com, accessed June 27, 2019 Catalog No. Album Artist Details60012 Songs of Christmas601Good Songs, Rare Wine Will Live Forever602Sweet Tunes of the Fantastic 50's603Mister Little Willie John604Blue and Moody60516 of His Greatest Hits606Uptown607Battle of the Blues / Wynonie Harrissplit album608Broadway Beat Quartet609Hold It610Please, Please, Please and His Famous Flames611A Date with Pate612Songs I'm Sure You Remember613Dance Music from the Bostic Workshop614This Is Otis Williams and His Charms615Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys616The "5" Royales Sing for You617Someone Will Love Me in Heaven and Red Smiley618Singin' and Swingin''' | and the Midnighters
|619 |Hymns and Sacred Songs|
|620 |Earl Bostic Plays Sweet Tunes of the Roaring 20's|
|621 |Good Old Country Ballads| and Red Smiley
|622 |Memory Lane|Little Esther
|623 |Dancing on Sunset Strip|
|624 |Sweet Love Songs|
|625 |Strictly Country Tunes|
|626 |Here's Lookin' Atcha|
|627 |Battle of the Blues Volume 2| / Roy Brown |split album |- |628 |Moon Mullican Sings and Plays 16 Favorite Tunes|
|629 |The Sensational Donnie Elbert Sings|
|630 |The Enchanting Organ of Bob Kames|
|631 |Battle of the Organs| / Doc Bagby |split album |- |632 |Earl Bostic Plays the Sweet Tunes of the Swinging '30s|
|633 |High and Wide|
|634 |Battle of the Blues Volume 3| / Jimmy Witherspoon |split album |- |635 |Try Me!| and His Famous Flames
|636 |Cha Cha Cha| and Orchestra
|637 |This and That|| and His Tenor Sax
|638 |All Star Rock and Roll Revue|Various Artists
|639 |Homer and Jethro Will Drive You Nuts with Their Version of the Standards|Homer and Jethro
|639 |They Sure Are Corny|Homer and Jethro
|640 |Sweet Tunes of the Sentimental 40s|
|641 |Big City Dance Party|
|642 |Songs That Will Live Forever| |reissue of King LP 535 |- |643 |Fresh from the Country|
|644 |Sincerely Yours-Goodbye My Love|
|645 |Hymns and Sacred Songs|Stanley Brothers
|646 |A Variety of Country Songs|Reno and Smiley
|647 |Ferlin Husky| |also released as Country Songs from the Heart|- |648 |The One and Only|
|649 |Hotsy Totsy Organ| |reissue of King LP 509 |- |650 |Big "J" in 3-D| and His Orchestra |reissue of Federal LP 530 |- |651 |The Platters| |reissue of Federal LP 549 |- |652 |Yesterday's Memories, Tomorrow's Dreams|
|653 |Tribute to a Great Composer| |reissue of King LP 501 with the addition of 4 songs |- |654 |Rock and Roll Revue Volume 2|Various Artists
|655 |Mellow Blues for the Late Hours|
|656 |Sacred Songs Volume 2|Reno and Smiley
|657 |The Band Swings - Lorez Sings| with Orchestra
|658 |Dance Music that Hits the Spot|
|659 |For the Evening Hours|
|660 |Music of Mexico|
|661 |The Golden Sound of Joe Howard|
|662 |Musical Pearls|
|663 |Favorite Old Melodies|
|664 |Deck of Cards|
|665 |A Battle of Saxes| / Charlie Ventura |split album |- |666 |Good Ole Mountain Music|'s Mountaineers
|667 |On Tour
|668 |Battle of the Blues Volume 4| / Roy Brown / Wynonie Harris
|669 |Collection of Standard Sacred Country Songs|Maddox Brothers and Rose
|670 |20 Good Old Songs|
|671 |The Late Cecil Gant: The Voice That Has Never Been Copied|
|672 |The Best of Hank Locklin|
|673 |The Drummer Man with the Big Beat|
|674 |The One and Only Hank Ballard and the Midnighters| and the Midnighters
|675 |Golden Goodies of Old Hawaii| and the Islanders
|676 |Standards with a Slight Touch of Jazz|
|677 |Maddox Brothers and Rose|Maddox Brothers and Rose
|678 |The Five Royales|
|679 |15 Songs of Christmas
|680 |Merry Christmas from...|Various Artists
|681 |The Many Moods of Moon Mullican|
|682 |Miami March Songs|Miami University Symphonic Band
|683 |Think!| and the Famous Flames
|684 |Gatemouth Moore Sings Blues|
|685 |Mallets of Four Thought| and His Trio
|686 |Favorites of Jimmy Dean|
|687 |The Stewart Family Sings Country Sacred Songs|
|688 |The Five Keys|
|689 |The Great Texan|
|690 |The Stanley Brothers Sing Everybody's Country Favorites|
|691 |In Action|
|692 |R & B Hits Past and Present
|693 |Hymns and Sacred Gospel Songs|Reno and Smiley