King Records: Cincinnati Legacy, is a five-part series hosted by Lee Hay and is produced to honor the label’s impact on Cincinnati and music.The series… ...

The King Records legacy. At its peak, King was the nation’s sixth-largest record company, according to the Ohio History Service Corps. In all, from 1943 to 1971, King artists racked up 461 hits.

The King Records legacy At its peak, King was the nation’s sixth-largest record company, according to the Ohio History Service Corps. In all, from 1943 to 1971, King artists racked up 461 hits.

King Records was an iconic record studio that operated out of a warehouse in Evanston. Famous artists such as James Brown, Philip Paul and Otis Williams recorded albums there in the 1940s and 1950s.

The King Records label started in 1943 and produced trailblazing hits in soul, bluegrass, doo-wop, jazz and blues while birthing new musical genres like rock and roll, funk and hip-hop.