Hank Ballard and Syd Nathan- 1939
- Syd Nathan, age 35, opens a record store in downtown Cincinnati, at 1351 Central Avenue, a block from Music Hall
- 1940-1943
- Business prospers. Nathan notices a great demand for “hillbilly” music caused in part by a large population of transplants from the South and Appalachia seeking work in Cincinnati factories
- August 1944
- Nathan moves his record company to the Evanston neighborhood, near Xavier University. The 1540 Brewster Avenue location was the site of a former ice factory. Records are manufactured and packaged, but recording is done in studios in other cities
- 1944
- Hank Penny and the Delmore Brothers sign to King
- 1945
- Hank Penny records “Steel Guitar Stomp,” featuring guitarist Merle Travis. It becomes a hit one year later
- August 1945
- Nathan creates the R&B label, Queen
- February 1946
- Gospel quartet Brown’s Ferry Four begin recording for King Records
- 1946
- Nathan signs Bullmoose Jackson to his new R&B label, Queen
- August 1946
- King has its first national hit with Cowboy Copas’ “Filipino Baby.”
- 1947
- Moon Mullican, mixing country music with blues, has his first hit, "New Jole Blon.” The song sells a million copies within three years and makes King a contender in the growing country boogie market
- 1947
- Recording studio is built at Brewster location
- 1947
- Nathan merges Queen and King under the King label. Nathan also acquires the established DeLuxe label and operates it as a King subsidiary. Signs Roy Brown
- September 6, 1947
- R&B pianist Ivory Joe Hunter, "the Baron of Boogie," has his first recording session for King
- December 1947
- R&B star Wynonie Harris signs with King. He records “Good Rockin’ Tonight” in Cincinnati, three days before Petrillo Recording Ban begins
- January 1, 1948
- Petrillo Recording Ban goes into effect nationwide. No recording is done until December 1948. The 11-month ban was ordered by James Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFL), over royalty payments
- 1948
- Nathan promotes arranger and songwriter Henry Glover to A&R man. He becomes one of the first African-American executives in the music industry
- March 1948
- Hawkshaw Hawkins has his first hit single with "Pan American," which climbs into the country Top Ten
- March 1948
- Nathan makes a pressing agreement with Hal Neely, sales manager of Allied Record Manufacturing Company. This relationship helps King remain an independent, efficient and self reliant company
- May 6, 1949
- “Blues Stay Away from Me,” co-written by the Delmore Brothers and Henry Glover, is recorded in Cincinnati. Regarded by some as the first rock ‘n’ roll record, it becomes a top five hit in 1949, and has a chart run of 23 weeks
- May 16, 1949
- Ten days later, Wayne Raney records “Why Don’t You Haul Off and Love Me” at the Cincinnati studio. It becomes a number one hit on the country charts and crosses over to the pop Top 25
- December 1950
- Nathan starts the R&B subsidiary label Federal. He appoints Ralph Bass head of the label
- April 1951
- “Sixty Minute Man” by the Dominoes is released on Federal. It eexplodes on the charts, selling well over one and a half million copies. It stays in the top ten R&B for months, and crosses over to the mainstream pop charts.
- July 25, 1951
- “Train Kept A-Rollin’” is recorded by the Tiny Bradshaw band. It is later covered by the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith
- January 1952
- Reno and Smiley record the bluegrass standard “I’m Using My Bible for a Road Map.”
- April 7, 1952
- Earl Bostic records “Moonglow” at the Cincinnati studio featuring a young saxophonist named John Coltrane
- August 1952
- Little Willie Littlefield records “K.C. Lovin’.” Seven years later Wilbert Harrison covers the song as “Kansas City,” which becomes a smash number one hit
- March 1953
- Bonnie Lou records country hit “Seven Lonely Days.” She records her other hit “Tennessee Wig Walk” two months later
- February 1, 1954
- Johnny Guitar Watson records “Space Guitar,” which pioneers guitar feedback and reverb
- April 10, 1954
- “Work with Me Annie,” by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, is released on the Federal label. It begins a half-year run on the R&B charts, which it tops for seven weeks
- September 1954
- Cincinnati teens The Charms release “Hearts of Stone,” which goes to number one on R&B charts and number fifteen on the pop charts
- September 1955
- Rock ’n’ rollers Boyd Bennett and the Rockets hit number five on the pop charts with “Seventeen.”
- March 3, 1956
- “Please, Please, Please,” James Brown’s first single for the Federal label, is released, launching his legendary career
- April 1, 1956
- Little Willie John records the first version of the classic “Fever” in the Cincinnati studios
- August 18, 1956
- Charlie Feathers, backed by his group the Musical Warriors, records the classic rockabilly tracks “One Hand Loose,” “Bottle to the Baby” and “Can't Hardly Stand it.”
- August 1956
- The monster hit “Honky Tonk,” an instrumental by Bill Doggett, enters the Billboard Top 100 chart, staying in the national pop listings for 29 weeks and peaking at number two.
- January 1958
- Hal Neely becomes Vice President and General Manager. He has a right to first refusal option in his contract
- 1958
- Bluegrass artists the Stanley Brothers sign with King Records
- 1959
- Henry Glover leaves King after 13 years for Roulette Records
- 1959
- “The Twist” by Hank Ballard and Midnighters is released. It becomes a national phenomenon a year later when it is covered by Chubby Checker
- 1960
- Syd Nathan acquires the New York-based jazz label Bethlehem and moves its offices to Cincinnati
- August 26, 1960
- Chicago blues guitarist Freddie King records the hit “Hideaway” in his first session for Federal. He remains with the label until 1966
- June 30, 1963
- James Brown’s Live at the Apollo, Vol. 1 is released. Reaching number two on the album charts, it is the most successful album issued by King Records.
- June 1964
- With the music industry changing due to Motown, Neely and Nathan disagee on the direction of the company. With Nathan’s blessing, Neely becomes a Vice President at Starday in Nashville, Tennessee
- August 7, 1965
- “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” enters the Top Forty. It tops the R&B chart for eight weeks and reaches number 8 on the pop chart. The song makes James Brown an international star
- May 1967
- James Brown records “Cold Sweat” in Cincinnati. With a radical departure from conventional songwriting, it is considered to be the first true funk song
- March 5, 1968
- Syd Nathan dies from heart disease in Miami Beach, Florida. The Nathan family sells the company to former King executive Hal Neely
- October 9, 1968
- Hal Neely merges King Records with Nashville-based Starday Records
- October 1968
- Linn Broadcasting buys Starday – King, which becomes a division of the corporation. Neely becomes a Vice President at Linn
- November 20, 1969
- James Brown records “Funky Drummer” at the Cincinnati studios. Later it becomes one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip hop
- March 1970
- The Pacesetters, a Cincinnati band featuring teenager Bootsy Collins and his brother Catfish, are hired as James Brown’s backup band. Renamed the JBs, they record “Sex Machine” and “Superbad” in April and May 1970
- 1971
- Neely, wishing to buy the company back from Linn Broadcasting, forms a new firm called Tennessee Recording and Publishing Company with Fred Bienstock, a music publisher, and songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
- Mid 1971
- Needing funds, Neely sells James Brown’s contract and all his masters to UK record company Polydor Records. He also closes the Cincinnati location. Most of the studio equipment is moved to Starday Studio in Nashville. The record presses are sold to a Jamaican company. Almost everything else is thrown away
- 1973
- Building is bought by the York family, who rent out the building for several decades as a storage facility to local companies, including United Dairy Farmers
- October 1973
- Neely’s partnership with Bienstock, Leiber and Stoller is not working out. Ownership of the company is decided by a coin toss. Neely loses the toss and sells his share of the company
- 1974
- Bienstock, Leiber and Stoller sell the name King, its logo, and the master recordings to Moe Lytle of Gusto Records in Nashville. They retain the publishing rights to most King songs
- March 1997
- Syd Nathan is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- June 1997
- James Brown visits the site of the former King Records studio. He becomes disillusioned by the state of the building
- 2006
- Syd Nathan is inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Honor
- May 10, 2008
- Bonnie Lou, Cowboy Copas; Edwyn Conley, Sydney Nathan, Philip Paul, and Otis Williams receive Keys to City of Cincinnati