By stephanie (64.63.221.130) on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 06:20 pm:

Gang,
My brother is bugging the heck out of me asking if there are any books or articles on Syd Nathan and King Records. He already has all of the books on James Brown so dont mention him. I went all over the Internet but things are minimal is there one source he can go to,,
Stephanie
thanks

By Fury13 (12.2.196.17) on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 06:42 pm:

A few Detroit artists signed with King/Federal out of Cincinnati during the '50s, probably because there was no Detroit-based label with good national distribution at the time. Among them:

Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
Little Willie John
Joe Weaver
Kenny Martin

Also, some of Todd Rhodes' records were picked by King.

By Jim G (152.163.252.68) on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 06:58 pm:

"Honkers And Shouters", Arnold Shaw's excellent book, deals with independent record labels in depth.
Why is your brother interested specifically in King Records? Or is he interested in small record label guys in general?

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 06:59 pm:

Stephanie:
If you can find this book, "Honkers & Shouters" by Arnold Shaw, this will give you the history of King Records and background on Syd Nathan from those who worked with him (Ralph Bass was an executive at King Records and was one of the folks interviewed for the chapter on the label).

Also if you can find it The King Records Boxed Set which contains classic recordings from that label by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Little Willie John, Earl Bostic & Bill Doggett. It only contains one James Brown track - "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" - which is fine by me (especially if you already own some of JB's Polydor releases that contain his King Records hits).

Finally, since King Records did a lot of business in Detroit, I'm sure there are a few veterans out there on the Forum who can share their experience(s) with King Records.

Kevin Goins - KevGo