King of the Queen City

In a now nondescript building stationed at the edge of a dead end street in a downtrodden barrio in suburban Cincinnati, the ghosts of musical past hum a melody or two. Fading into nothingness, the breeding ground of audio brilliance and American song is memorialized by a plaque from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a colossal library that belongs in The Smithsonian.

Syd Nathan founded King Records in 1943 with a whopping 25k investment. The former wrestling promoter/pawn shop clerk/ninth grade dropout envisioned a hit parade of country artists (known then as “Hillbilly Music), a niche specialty that would ensure riches and a devoted following.

This approach yielded splendid results , yet discontent upon realizing his goals, Nathan would venture into and amass his greatest success with “Race Music”, a now (rightfully) politically incorrect way to say R&B. “We saw a need," said Nathan. "Why should we go into all those towns and only sell to the Hillbilly accounts?"

Why can't we sell a few more while we're there? So we got in the race business”. Lucky for us, as King Record’s foray into the soul driven genre launched the career of one James Brown. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

King was an anomaly. The perils of indie record companies actually lie in pressing the record, distributing them, and earning a paycheck. Nathan set up his own printing plant and distribution network, rendering the entire operation self sufficient. Envision an island populated with shiny happy people, working in unison to create the soundtrack of our lives, a utopia of sorts. Barring the fact that islands cease to exist in Ohio, this is what King Records was. From the staff to the artists it bred, the company was a model of racial harmony in an era that embraced the opposite. To think of the domino effect is staggering; James Brown inspired the Jackson 5, who helped found the Motown sound, which inspired modern crooners such as Usher, who certainly is inspiring an unknown great right now.

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