Some Hillbilly Stars of King Records
(A pictorial appreciation)
Founded in Cincinnati in 1943, the independent King Records started with hillbilly music and Grandpa Jones. Soon founder Sydney Nathan expanded the hillbilly roster and by 1946 he was having national hit records with Cowboy Copas, a "Grand Ole Opry" star. Over the 1940s and 1950s more King country acts came along--Bonnie Lou, the yodeling star of several WLW and WLWT programs; Lulu Belle and Scotty, a couple who performed on WLW's country shows; Jimmie Osborne, another hit-maker for King; and Moon Mullican, a boogie-woogie piano man and vocalist who was an inspiration for some rockabilly acts that would soon follow. King continued to make country music through the years, but its heyday was in the late 1940s.
Bonnie Lou
Lulu Belle and Scotty
Grandpa Jones and Cowboy Copas
Cowboy Copas
Jimmie Osborne
Moon Mullican
Read more about the hillbilly stars of King Records--and other acts--in Randy McNutt's King Records of Cincinnati, issued by Arcadia Publishing. The book is available from Amazon.com and other Internet outlets and book stores.
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