The History of Cincinnati Music: Live and Dangerous

As we’ve already seen in this four-part series, Cincinnati has had its share of famous concerts. Unfortunately, it’s also hosted several infamous concerts. As the 1970s progressed, rock fans seemingly became rowdier, more aggressive, and possibly even more inebriated, while concert venue management practices became sloppy and lax. As we shall see, there were two major incidents during this period that would shock the world.


The Ohio River Music Festival (August 3, 1975)

Held at the University of Cincinnati’s football stadium, the Ohio River Music Festival drew an estimated crowd of 35,000 to 50,000 fans, while another 18,000 reportedly lingered outside, many who conspired to breach the perimeter. Just months after releasing their breakthrough album, Toys in the Attic, Aerosmith was announced as the headliner for the festival. Though their fans loved them, Cincinnati Enquirer music critic, Cliff Radel, described them afterwards as “an inordinately mediocre band.” Ouch! A young promising act known as Styx opened the festival at 10 a.m. that morning. Among the other bands to hit the stage that day were Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, The Outlaws, and Black Oak Arkansas. At that time, this one-day festival was the largest rock concert in Cincinnati history. To help with security, concert promoters hired twenty black belt karate experts from Chicago. While city and university police patrolled the perimeter of the venue to keep gatecrashers out, the black belts were used to keep paying concertgoers away from the stage. The University of Cincinnati’s student paper, The News Record, relayed an incident that resulted from this decision:

One six-foot “gorilla” dressed in a black karate gee corralled a concertgoer trying to climb over the fence, pulled him down by his hair, and then gave him several drop kicks in the face for good measure — just so he wouldn’t get the idea again. Watching the episode from the stage, the lead singer of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band approached the black belt during a break and said, “You know pal, you’re one bona fide ass-hole.”

Throughout the day, there were several incidents where gatecrashers attempted to storm the inner and outer perimeters. In 1979, Illinois State University ran an article about one of the hired martial artists for the festival. He’s quoted in the extended piece, stating:

The kids stormed the building, scaled the walls. We couldn't stop them, so we had to go inside and evict the ones who'd gotten in… During the day, the crowd took complete control of the stadium—all the entrances and exits. We pulled all our guys out of there and barely managed to secure the front stage and backstage areas… It was like Custer's Last Stand.

The next day, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that dozens of fans were treated at local emergency rooms, while many others required first aid for cuts from broken glass bottles hurled by unruly fans. There were at least 12 arrests, many of them for disorderly conduct, while several police officers were reportedly assaulted. At least one fan died of a drug overdose. Afterwards, The News Record declared the festival to be “a genuine drug and violence bonanza.” Though it was billed as the “1st” Ohio River Music Festival, a second festival never materialized.

Led Zeppelin (April 19/20, 1977)

Led Zeppelin played two nights in Cincinnati during what ended up being their final tour of North America. Both concerts sold out, and attracted more than 36,000 fans over the course of two evenings. Unfortunately, the concerts spawned mayhem, and are considered to be one of the worst incidents in Zeppelin’s history. Trouble started well before the band even hit the stage. When tickets for the two Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum shows went on sale at the Ticketron in Shillito’s in Lexington, KY, a near riot broke out in the old department store when fans rushed the counter. This was a mere warm-up for Zeppelin’s first show, when nearly a thousand fans attempted to crash the gates. As you might expect, a riot ensued, with fans smashing the glass entrance doors and windows that surrounded the perimeter of the arena. Afterwards, the Lexington newspaper described the scene as “a pitched battle between Cincinnati police and rock and bottle throwing non-ticket holders.” Obviously, there were multiple injuries reported, including a fan from Dayton who plunged 20 feet onto a concrete ramp while attempting to scale a wall. The Detroit Free Press also reported: “In Cincinnati last week, a fan was pushed from the third level of the outdoor Riverfront Stadium into traffic below and was killed.” However, I couldn’t confirm this incident in any of the Cincinnati press clippings I found. There were also several reports of a police motorcycle being thrown off the elevated concourse onto the street below. At least 70, possibly as many as 100 fans, depending on the reporting, were arrested during the melee.

Even more frightening for concertgoers was the crush of humanity as the crowd surged towards the limited number of open doors. At that time, concerts at Riverfront Coliseum were festival seating, meaning that seats were on a first-come first-serve basis. If you wanted a great seat to watch your favorite band, you had to arrive early and wait in line. After the doors opened, you were then competing with fans rushing through the other entrances. So, basically, it was every fan for themselves once inside the arena. The events that unfolded that night should’ve been a major warning shot to Riverfront Coliseum, concert promoters, and city officials; however, it was ignored or tolerated by all, the consequences of which would result in one of the most tragic incidents in rock history two years later.


The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire (May 28, 1977)

Just across the Ohio River, in Southgate, Kentucky, was the renowned Beverly Hills Supper Club, a popular gambling, entertainment, and dinner theatre venue. The historic nightclub opened in 1937, and had attracted a myriad of superstars over the years, including Milton Berle, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme, Jimmy Durante, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence, Liberace, Jerry Lee Lewis, Al Green, Frankie Valli, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Well before he became a headliner at “The Showplace of the Nation,” Steubenville, Ohio native Dean Martin worked at the club as a blackjack dealer.

On Memorial Day weekend in 1977, singer and actor John Davidson was scheduled to perform to a packed house. With other events and dinner parties taking place, it’s estimated that up to 3000 people were in the club that night – double the fire code limit based on the number of exits in the building. The Cabaret Room, where Davidson was to perform, was considered safe for roughly 600 patrons; however, estimates of 900 to 1300 people were reported to be in attendance that evening, with many seated in the aisles. Shortly before 9:00 PM that night, smoke was detected in the Zebra Room. Almost immediately, an 18-year-old busboy named Walter Bailey walked onto the stage while a comedy duo was performing (Davidson’s warm-up act), and calmly told the crowd that a fire was detected on the opposite side of the building. Roughly a third of the audience instantly got up and left the building. However, another third thought he was part of the comedy act, and remained seated. Unfortunately, the fire spread rapidly, and many of those patrons became trapped in the sprawling complex. By midnight, the roof of the building had collapsed. The inferno ended up claiming the lives of 165 people, including John Davidson's music director. More than 200 people were also injured. At that time, it was the third deadliest nightclub fire in world history. It now ranks seventh. It’s also recognized as Kentucky’s worst disaster since the Civil War.

Faulty aluminum wiring was cited as the cause of the fire. However, more recent evidence and testimony suggests that the mob may have purposely burned the club down, and then Kentucky officials purportedly engaged in a cover-up. Almost a decade later, the families of the victims received a $49 million settlement in the first class-action, mass tort lawsuit in U.S. history. The fire and the lawsuit resulted in a nationwide movement to improve fire codes and enforcement. You can read how the layout of the convoluted complex acted as a force multiplier that night.

To his credit, John Davidson helped patrons get out of the building. Afterwards, he apparently suffered greatly from PTSD, and for years was purportedly afraid to perform in closed venues. Forty years later, he gave a rare interview about that night. Here’s a short documentary about the fire from the Cincinnati Enquirer:




The Who (December 3, 1979)

December 3, 1979 is a day that will live in infamy for many Cincinnatians, at least for those in “my generation.” Widely known in the region as “THE Who concert,” the iconic British rock band played to a sold-out crowd of 18,348 that night. Because of festival seating, a standard practice for many arenas at that time, fans began arriving at Riverfront Coliseum more than seven hours before the doors were opened. As show time approached, fans began pressing forward to get closer to the doors. There are multiple reports of forward surges in the crowd, what some described as waves where people were crushed, and some even being knocked to the ground. The situation was exacerbated when a limited number of doors were opened – for whatever reason. Around that same time, the Coliseum speakers began blasting the film trailer for Quadrophenia (there are also reports that this may have been a final soundcheck). Regardless, fans outside of the arena thought the concert had begun, thus resulting in what has been described as a stampede.

Fifteen-year-old concertgoer, Suzanne Sudrack, told the AP that night: “You could see people getting hurt. People were flailing elbows and smashing noses. You could see people going down.”

Seventeen-year-old Michael Jordan stated: “I was in the middle. It was crazy. You had to fight to save your life.”

Fred Wittenbaum, a then 14-year-old student from Finneytown High School, later told Fox19: “A lot of people got pushed, and then they got pushed through some of the doors - through the glass, which alleviated the pressure. It was terrible.”

The crush of fans killed 11 concertgoers that evening. Though they were trampled by fellow fans, they actually died of asphyxiation. Three of those eleven concertgoers attended Finneytown High School, the youngest of which was 15. There were numerous other injuries as well.

On schedule that evening, The Who hit the stage completely unaware of what had happened on the plaza. Though Cincinnati fire officials wanted to cancel the show, longtime Who manager Bill Curbishley convinced them to allow the concert to continue and avoid a likely riot. Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell agreed. Later, Curbishley told Rolling Stone Magazine that:

The band didn’t see it. I saw it when I went up on the plaza level, with the medics, so I saw just how catastrophic it was… There were so many people there unconscious, and on the floor, and injured. I knew straight away that there’d be people dead. It was almost like a bomb had exploded.

Unexpectedly, roughly seven months ago, 26 minutes of film footage from the concert was uploaded to YouTube, apparently by a fan who used a Super 8 Film camera to record various segments of the show. Other than a very short clip from a local TV station, this appears to be the only published footage from the concert. Interestingly, there’s a clip (at roughly the 5:30 mark) of Pete Townshend pleading with the crowd to take a step back away from the stage. About a minute before this, you see Roger Daltrey speaking with someone behind the amps. Daltrey then walks over to Townshend and obviously relays the conversation he just had. My guess is that fire marshals may have expressed concern about a repeat of what had happened outside.

At that time, “THE Who concert” was the deadliest tragedy in rock concert history, and still ranks as the worst non-fire, non-terror-related catastrophe. Less than a month afterwards, Cincinnati City Council imposed a ban on festival seating for the next 25 years. Arenas across the country followed suit by adopting assigned seating and various other crowd management policies. As you would probably expect, the victims' families sued the band, concert promoter, and the city in a class action lawsuit.

For the families, friends, city, and the band, healing was a slow process. The Who felt that fingers were pointed squarely at them. As time passed, it looked like they would never return to the Queen City. However, more than 30 years later, the band finally made a connection after several Finneytown High School graduates established the P.E.M. Memorial Scholarship Fund to commemorate the lives of the three students who died that night. Since its founding in 2010, scholarships have been awarded each year to three Finneytown seniors who plan to pursue the arts or music in college. Roughly two years after its creation, The Who became involved with the program. Then in 2018, for the first time since 1979, Roger Daltrey returned to Cincinnati to meet the families of the victims and the founders of the fund:



A year later, on the 40th anniversary of the disaster, local TV station WCPO aired an outstanding documentary about the tragedy and its aftermath. The Who: The Night That Changed Rock featured interviews with survivors and family members, as well as the first extended sit-down interviews with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Bill Curbishley. If you want to gain a better understanding of what happened that night, I highly recommend this special:



Three years later, on May 15, 2022, The Who finally returned to Cincinnati for their first concert since the disaster. The band couldn’t have handled this momentous event any better. As you would probably expect, the concert became a tribute to those who died almost 43 years earlier. The families of nine victims killed in 1979 were in attendance, and were seated in the front rows. Near the end of the concert, during a soft piano prelude to “Love, Reign O’er Me,” a massive video screen on the side of the stage showed black-and-white photos of the 11 fans who perished. Safe Passage, a local rock band that’s comprised of two 1979 Finneytown High School graduates, both of whom attended the 1979 concert, were the warm-up act. After playing three original tunes, they closed their set with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” Additionally, The Who’s performance of their final song, “Baba O’Riley,” contained an orchestral arrangement that featured 10 students from Finneytown High School’s music program. Afterwards, The Who donated their entire share of the proceeds from the concert to the P.E.M. Memorial Scholarship Fund, which totaled more than a half-million dollars.

After “THE Who concert” tragedy, and the subsequent ban on festival seating, many of the biggest touring bands simply avoided Cincinnati. In general, many big name acts refused to play arenas that had banned festival seating because they enjoyed, or fed off the energy generated by their most rabid fans in front of the stage. Perhaps this is at least partially why smaller venues like Sudsy Malone's, Annie’s, and especially Bogart’s, thrived during the 1980s. They were able to fill a demand for live concerts by booking emerging acts. Though a few major acts continued to play at Riverfront Coliseum, it was the opening of Riverbend Music Center in 1984 that initiated the process of bringing big name artists back to the city. By 2004, Cincinnati was the only city among the top 50 concert markets that still banned festival seating. Likely sensing they were missing out on significant revenue streams, Cincinnati City Council lifted the ban in August of that year.


Closing Time:

Cincinnati’s standing on the world’s stage isn’t defined by a single event, a single genre, or even a distinctive sound, but rather by the totality of its long and rich sonic heritage. For more than a hundred years, the Queen City has been a destination for top artists in nearly every musical genre. Numerous groundbreaking songs across multiple genres have been recorded here. Most importantly, Cincinnati has been at the forefront of several emerging styles over the years, including bluegrass, doo-wop, rock & roll, soul and funk. The city has also played important roles in helping to shape country, blues, and R&B. Though not mentioned in this blog series, the Queen City is also home to the world-renowned Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the 5th oldest orchestra in the US; the Cincinnati Opera, the 2nd oldest opera company in the US; and the May Festival, which is the longest-running choral festival in the Western Hemisphere. In summary, it’s the broad diversity of genres, institutions, legendary venues, and historical events over the last 150 years that I believe cements Cincinnati’s legacy as one of America’s great music towns.

Though it’s probably been a long time coming, Cincinnati is finally embracing its rich musical heritage. In addition to dozens of historical markers and outdoor murals that celebrate this legacy, the city opened the Black Music Walk of Fame in 2023, which is the only outdoor augmented reality attraction in America. In 2017, Xavier University launched a digital exhibit dedicated to King Records, while PBS has recently produced an acclaimed documentary about the iconic label. This worthy and proud legacy is finally being shared with the rest of the nation.

Part 1: Embryonic Journey
Part 2: Green, Green Grass of Home
Part 3: The Kids Are Alright
Part 4: Live and Dangerous



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What are the chances that one of the most beloved movies of all time is artistically linked to one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded?

For the uninitiated, the “Dark Side of the Rainbow” theory asserts that Pink Floyd purposely synchronized The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz. For those who have seen it, the mashup produces dozens of striking coincidences between the film and the album, where actions on the screen seemingly correspond to the lyrics, chords and musical moods of the Dark Side tracks.

So, is it real, a cosmic coincidence, an ingenious marketing ploy, or just another conspiracy theory? In addition to a complete viewing guide for the synchronicities, The Dark Side of the Rainbow explores a possible explanation for their existence. The book is now available in both paperback and eBook!

The History of Cincinnati Music: Green, Green Grass of Home

At roughly the same time Blacks were migrating to Cincinnati from across the South, there was also a massive influx of White migrants from Appalachia, who also brought with them their musical influences and tastes. And while King Records churned out scores of “hillbilly” hits, there were a handful of other local studios that were capturing the sounds of budding country and bluegrass artists. Among them, Herzog Studios was by far the most important. Moreover, according to The Encyclopedia of Country Music, Herzog was “one of the first commercial studios to record country music.” Between 1945 and 1955, artists such as Hank Williams, Flatt and Scruggs, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Bullmoose Jackson, Grandpa Jones, and the Delmore Brothers recorded at Herzog. In 1949, Flatt & Scruggs cut “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” a track that won two Grammy Awards, and is now considered to be one of the legendary bluegrass duo’s top songs. Undoubtedly, the most famous artist to record at Herzog was Hank Williams Sr., who cut some of his biggest hits there. During his first session, just before Christmas in 1948, the country music icon recorded “Lovesick Blues,” which became the most popular release of his career. The song became an overnight success, and spent 42 weeks on the Billboard charts, including 16 weeks at the top spot. It would also become Billboard’s top country and western record of the year, while Cashbox named it the "Best Hillbilly Record of the Year." Eight months later, Williams recorded “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” at Herzog, which was actually the B-side to "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It." While the A-side reached No.2 on Billboard that year, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” became one of his most lasting tunes. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 111 on its original list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The founder of the studio, Bucky Herzog, was a radio engineer at WLW, then known as “The Nation’s Station.” By the mid-1940s, seeing that his employer was attracting some of the biggest names in country music, namely through the Midwestern Hayride, he realized he could make a few extra bucks on the side by recording them.

The Midwestern Hayride, an early variety show, featured live country and western music, square dancing, and comedy skits, which at that time was referred to as "hayseed" comedy. The show became the dominant Saturday night attraction in the region, and is considered to be a precursor to Hee Haw. Originally known as the Boone County Jamboree, the show debuted around 1936 or 1937. Regardless of the exact date, by 1937 it was already being broadcast on local radio powerhouse WLW, which at that time was blasting out across the country at 500,000 watts. To this day, it remains the only commercial AM radio station in U.S. history to receive a license to transmit at that level. As is the case now, 50K watts was the maximum power allowed for radio channels back then, with only a couple dozen stations receiving that authorization. These were known as “clear channels.” As a result of their special experimental arrangement with the Federal Radio Commission, WLW became known as “the Nation’s Station.” The power was so intense that:

People living near the transmitter site often got better reception than they wanted; some lights would not turn off until WLW engineers helped rewire houses. Gutters rattled loose from buildings. A neon hotel sign near the transmitter never went dark. Farmers reported hearing WLW through their barbed-wire fences.

Although the Grand Ole Opry was likely more popular throughout much of this period, the Midwestern Hayride began a simulcast program on local TV, and then subsequently across a regional network known as Avco Broadcasting Corporation in 1948. During the 1950s, it was broadcast nationally at various points in time on NBC and ABC. Among the nationally-known artists to perform on the weekly program include Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Price, Tex Ritter, Merle Travis, Porter Wagoner, Chet Atkins, Little Jimmy Dickens, Red Foley, Homer and Jethro, Grandpa Jones, Bonnie Lou, Cowboy Copas, and The Delmore Brothers. As musical tastes began to shift in the early 1960s, however, traditional radio barn dance programs began to wane. By 1972, the Midwestern Hayride had run its course. Here’s a short montage of clips to give you a little flavor for the show:



Beyond the Midwestern Hayride, WLW broadcast several other musical programs, most notably An Evening At Crosley Square, Ruth Lyons’ 50-50 Club, and Moon River. In addition to the artists that performed on the Midwestern Hayride, or recorded at King Records and Herzog Studios, these programs attracted many other top entertainers from the day. This included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Mel Torme, Robert Goulet, Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis Jr., Doc Severinsen, Johnny Mathis, Gene Krupa, Paul Anka, and Wayne Newton. Known as the "Cradle of Stars" in the 1930s and 40s, the radio station also helped launch the careers of the Mills Brothers, Ink Spots, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Fats Waller, as well as local artists Rosemary Clooney, Andy Williams and Doris Day. To illustrate how important WLW was during this era, Dick Perry, author of Not Just a Sound: The Story of WLW, asserted that “WLW may have been the only station that regularly sent scouts to New York, to see if any of Manhattan's offerings were good enough for Cincinnati.”

The Greater Cincinnati area has also produced a wealth of homegrown talent that became nationwide success stories. This includes the aforementioned Rosemary Clooney, Andy Williams and Doris Day, as well as Roy Rogers, The Casinos, Bootsy Collins, H-Bomb Ferguson, Lonnie Mack, and Kenny Price. Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane (and Jefferson Starship) was born in Cincinnati. Hailing from nearby Miami University, the Lemmon Pipers scored a number one hit with "Green Tambourine" in 1968, which now has the distinction of being the first bubblegum song to top the charts. Over the course of his long career, Covington, KY native Adrian Belew has been a member of King Crimson, Tom Tom Club, and two Cincinnati-based bands, The Raisons and The Bears. In more recent years, the “Nati” has produced Drew and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees, Blessed Union of Souls, The National, Ass Ponys, Wussy, The Deele, Over the Rhine, Walk The Moon, and the Afghan Whigs, which formed in 1986. Their fourth album, Gentlemen, proved to be their biggest commercial success. At least two songs from that album received regular airplay on MTV. Another track, "Fountain and Fairfax," appeared on the television series My So-Called Life in 1994. I had the pleasure of working with the original drummer of the band, Steve Earle, at a local restaurant (Skyline Chili) while we were in high school. Even at that early date, you could tell he had major talent. At that time he was playing in a band that covered a lot of Rush songs, including the entire 2112 suite. As classic rock enthusiasts are well aware, Neil Peart was no slouch on the drums. The fact that Earle could play his work at that age is quite remarkable.

Here are a couple of other Cincinnati bands, arguably among those that have seen the most success:

Though obviously a novelty song, we have to mention “Bus Full of Nuns Holding Babies” by Dan Barr. This was a bit of a regional hit, and was featured on The Dr. Demento Show. The official video for the track is so bad that it’s actually pretty good! Older Cincinnatians will likely recognize several local media faces in the video. Warning: the chorus will likely live in your head the rest of the day:



Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods had five Billboard Top 100 hits between 1972 and 1975, including "Who Do You Think You Are," which reached number 15, and "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," which topped the charts for 2 weeks in 1974. Though it sold more than three and a half million copies, and received a gold disc from the R.I.A.A., the song was apparently quite polarizing among radio listeners. In 2011, it was voted #8 on Rolling Stone Magazine's poll of the "10 Worst Songs of the 1970s.”



The Isley Brothers are arguably the most successful band of all-time to hail from Cincinnati. Combining R&B, rock, funk and soul, the Isley Brothers are the only band in history to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with new music in six consecutive decades! They had their first major hit in 1959 with "Shout," while "Contagious," released in 2001, would be their last. In between those releases they had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won 2 Grammies, and had 16 albums that charted in the Top 40, including thirteen that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum. In 1969, they released "It's Your Thing," which reached #2 on the charts, and in 1973, they reached #6 with “That Lady.” "Shout," their first hit, is considered to be the most iconic and popular wedding reception dance song ever. In early 1964, the Isleys hired a young 21-year-old guitarist to join their backing band. However, bored with playing the same set list each night, Jimi Hendrix bolted to join Little Richard's band several months later.

Originally released as an R&B single in 1964 (with an amazing sound that was clearly ahead of its time), the band transformed “That Lady” into a funk anthem in 1973:



With roots in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Waverly, Ohio, the Pure Prairie League formed in 1970, and is considered to be a pioneering band in the country rock genre. Between 1975 and 1981, they had eight singles that charted on Billboard, as well as five straight Top 40 albums. In 1980, "Let Me Love You Tonight" reached #10 on the charts. By that point Vince Gill had become the band’s lead singer. Though it was their highest charting single, Pure Prairie League is best known for "Amie." Originally released in 1972 on their sophomore LP, Bustin’ Out, the song was re-released in 1975 and became a surprise hit, while peaking at #27 on the charts. Here’s the band playing the song on Austin City Limits in October of 1978, just one month after 21-year-old Vince Gill took over as lead singer:



Part three in this four-part series dives into Cincinnati’s vibrant live music scene, as well as some of its most famous concerts during "the golden age of rock."

Part 1: Embryonic Journey
Part 2: Green, Green Grass of Home
Part 3: The Kids Are Alright
Part 4: Live and Dangerous



                *******************************************************************************


What are the chances that one of the most beloved movies of all time is artistically linked to one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded?

For the uninitiated, the “Dark Side of the Rainbow” theory asserts that Pink Floyd purposely synchronized The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz. For those who have seen it, the mashup produces dozens of striking coincidences between the film and the album, where actions on the screen seemingly correspond to the lyrics, chords and musical moods of the Dark Side tracks.

So, is it real, a cosmic coincidence, an ingenious marketing ploy, or just another conspiracy theory? In addition to a complete viewing guide for the synchronicities, The Dark Side of the Rainbow explores a possible explanation for their existence. The book is now available in both paperback and eBook!

The History of Cincinnati Music: Embryonic Journey

When you think of American cities steeped in rich musical history, Cincinnati likely doesn’t come to mind. Off the top of your head, you’ll probably think of the San Francisco hippie scene, Los Angeles hair metal bands, Seattle grunge, New York punk, Chicago electric blues, Nashville country, Memphis delta blues or Detroit’s Motown. Cincinnati, however, shouldn’t be ignored. The Queen City played foundational roles in several musical genres during the 20th century. The “Nati” has also produced or recorded a broad diversity of incredible homegrown and national talent, ranging from big band, country, bluegrass, doo-wop and pop, to R&B, rock, soul, funk, psychedelic, punk, and metal. Because of this breadth and diversity over the last century, my hometown deserves to be considered among music royalty. In this four-part series this week, I will make the case that Cincinnati belongs in the top tier of music towns.

Cincinnati’s modern musical legacy begins with the blues and jazz during the early 20th century, two of the most influential musical genres in history. Though it never had a distinctive “sound,” such as New Orleans, Memphis or Chicago, Cincinnati did enjoy a wide range of styles. As Blacks migrated to the city from across the South, they brought their distinctive regional styles, and effectively made Cincinnati a melting pot for jazz, and especially blues music.

Well before the Civil War started, Cincinnati was an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Today, the city honors this legacy with the award-winning National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown. After the war, the Queen City became an important destination for former slaves and their descendants, especially after 1910, during what is now referred to as the “Great Migration.” Most of these migrants settled in the West End of Cincinnati, roughly located along the first mile of the present-day I-75 corridor north of the Ohio River. As a result, the West End became the cultural center for Blacks during the first half of the 20th century. This included music. From the 1920s through the 1950s, blues and jazz thrived in the West End. Neighborhood residents enjoyed numerous venues to watch, listen and dance to their favorite local and national acts. By far the most important nightclub during this period was the Cotton Club, which became the first racially integrated music venue in Cincinnati. Because the city stood at a major crossroads for touring artists during this era, the club attracted a wide variety of nationally-known entertainers, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Sarah Vaughn, Tiny Bradshaw, Lonnie Johnson, Mae West, and Pearl Bailey.

Before this timeframe, however, the Vocalstyle Music Company had already been established in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Founded in 1906, this innovative venture became the first manufacturer to print song lyrics on piano rolls, which allowed them to be read or sung as the music was played. A piano roll is a sheet of paper with punched holes, each representing a note. When the roll is fed through a player, the corresponding piano keys are struck, thus allowing automatic pianos to play themselves. Popular with middle-class families who couldn’t play music, piano rolls with printed lyrics functioned as primitive home karaoke systems at that time. During its peak, Vocalstyle recorded some of the most talented piano players of the day. Roughly a year after recording his first phonograph records in 1923, pioneering jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton recorded his first of fifteen piano rolls at Vocalstyle. Later in life, Morton claimed that he invented jazz in 1902. Though he was widely criticized for making this bold assertion, some jazz historians now believe it’s possible he may have been telling the truth.

Three years before Jelly Roll Morton made his first recordings in the Queen City, ragtime composer Artie Matthews and his wife, Annna, opened the Cosmopolitan School of Music in Cincinnati’s West End, which provided advanced musical education to young African Americans. The school was likely the first Black-owned conservatory in America. Matthews’ most famous student was Frank Foster, who became the principal arranger for the Count Basie Orchestra in 1954.

Though Foster wasn’t from the West End, the neighborhood produced its fair share of homegrown talent, some of whom would gain a degree of national attention. Artists from this period include Sam Jones (aka Stovepipe No. 1), The Cincinnati Jug Band, James "Pigmeat" Jarret, Big Joe Duskin, and James Mays. Many artists from this era sang about the West End neighborhood. For example, in 1936, Walter Coleman of The Cincinnati Jug Band recorded "I'm Going to Cincinnati," which had some rather colorful lyrics:

Now when you come to Cincinnati stop on Sixth and Main

That’s where the good hustling women get the good cocaine

Because I'm goin to Cincinnati, the times is good

I'm goin to Cincinnati where they eat fried food

And I'm goin to Cincinnati, boys, where the bottle is good

Unquestionably, Mamie Smith was the most famous musical artist to come out of Cincinnati during this period. Known as "The Queen of the Blues," Smith holds the distinction of being the first Black vocalist to record a song. Born in Cincinnati’s West End in 1891, Smith began her entertainment career at the age of ten as a dancer in a White act known as the Four Dancing Mitchells. At fifteen she left her hometown, and in 1913, moved to New York to sing in Harlem. In early 1920, she recorded two songs, which became the first tunes to be recorded by a Black vocalist. Later that same year she recorded "Crazy Blues." After selling more than a million copies within a year, "Crazy Blues" became the first genuine hit in the blues genre, as well as the first certified hit by a Black artist. Its success launched a new recording industry category known as "race records," and prompted record companies to seek other Black female blues singers. Reflecting its historical significance, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994, and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2005. Several months after recording the tune, Smith went on tour, which included a stop in Cincinnati where she performed to a sold-out audience at Music Hall, a rare event for Black performers at that time. Though she retired from the music business in 1931, Smith appeared in several films before passing away in New York City in 1946, reportedly penniless.



By the 1940s and 50s, the West End blues scene was on the decline. However, this doesn’t mean that the blues had died in Cincinnati. Rather, it was more of the passing of old style country blues and the emergence of rhythm & blues and electric blues bands. This new era coincided with the emergence of King Records in 1943, an independent label that originally focused on making country (what was then known as “hillbilly music”), blues, and rhythm and blues records, but would eventually branch out to record other genres. Andy Leach, the Senior Director of Museum & Archival Collections for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, stated in a 2022 interview that “King Records really changed American music forever. From the early 40s through the early 70s, it really changed the way music was recorded, the way it was manufactured, and the way it was promoted.” Leach also mentioned that roughly 500 singles recorded at King Records charted on Billboard, with 32 reaching the #1 spot on the R&B, country, and pop charts between 1943 and 1971.


King of Them All

The number and range of nationally-known artists who recorded at King Records is truly amazing. Dozens have been inducted into the halls of fame in various genres. Among them include:

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: James Brown, Hank Ballard, Freddie King, Albert King, Five Royales, Bootsy Collins, Roy Byrd (aka “Professor Longhair”), Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, The Platters, O’Jays

BLUES HALL OF FAME: Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Freddie King, Johnny Otis, Eddie Vinson, Lonnie Johnson

RHYTHM AND BLUES HALL OF FAME: James Brown, Ohio Players, O’Jays, Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard, Bootsy Collins, Johnny Otis

COUNTRY HALL OF FAME: Grandpa Jones, Merle Travis, Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Bill Carlisle

Other notable artists who recorded at King include The Ink Spots, Lonnie Mack, Otis Williams and The Charms, Memphis Slim, Tiny Bradshaw, Bull Moose Jackson, Cowboy Copas, and Bonny Lou.

Without a doubt, the "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, was the most famous and most important artist on the King label. Most of his studio albums, starting with Please Please Please in 1958 through Sho Is Funky Down Here in 1971, were recorded at King. In fact, during that 13-year span, Brown recorded 23 albums at King Records. Additionally, the label also released several live albums, including the seminal Live at the Apollo. This phenomenal output clearly demonstrates why Brown was indeed "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business!"

During his tenure at King Records, Brown recruited local bass guitarist, Bootsy Collins, to join his backing band in 1970. By this time, James Brown had already transitioned to a funk sound. In his original Cincinnati-based band, The Pacemakers, which formed in 1968, Bootsy Collins had also established himself as a pioneer in the emerging funk sound. Less than a year after joining Brown, however, Bootsy left to become the bassist in George Clinton’s funk rock group, Funkadelic, which eventually became known as Parliament-Funkadelic (or P-Funk). Today, Collins is widely recognized as one of the most important musicians in funk music history. Moreover, in 2020, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him number 4 on their list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.

King Records’ success is attributed to its willingness to experiment with new sounds, as well as its colorblindness - in an era when communities were still mostly separated by race. The latter point is supported by a 1949 Cincinnati Post article titled, “Record Firm Here Smashes ‘Jim Crow’; Workers Positions, Pay Keyed to Ability.” The King Records website goes on to explain that “The fusion of Country & Western and Rhythm & Blues that led to Rock and Roll occurred at King Records because the company practiced racial integration at every level.” With artists from various genres on the label, the founder of King Records, Syd Nathan, created a melting pot for music, and was most likely the first producer to cross boundaries between musical genres. In 2017, Xavier University created an online exhibit of materials that provide an overview of King Records’ history. The university explained that:

Syd had white musicians play their version of a song in the King catalog that was originally performed by a black artist, and vice versa. In this way the white market would be exposed to a Country/Appalachian version of a popular Rhythm & Blues song, and again vice versa. It was Syd's way of doubling down by expanding his reach into both cultural markets. An unintended consequence of this marketing effort led to the introduction of new sounds and musical stylings in the late 40’s that resulted from the twang and melodies of Country guitars mingling with the rhythms of the R&B players. This open-mindedness and experimental sound combined with the risqué lyrics of 'jump blues' had a direct influence on the future sound of rock 'n roll.

Many music enthusiasts cite the fusion of White artists with Black rhythm and blues music at Sun Records in the early 1950s—such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash—as the birth of rock & roll. However, as already mentioned, Syd Nathan preceded Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records in Memphis, by several years. Some musicologists also cite Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88,” also recorded by Phillips in 1951, as being the first rock & roll song. Turner, however, disagreed, explaining later that "I don't think that ‘Rocket 88’ is rock ‘n’ roll. I think that ‘Rocket 88’ is R&B, but I think ‘Rocket 88’ is the cause of rock and roll existing." Prior to this single, there were several other recordings that contend for the distinction of being the first rock and roll record. However, there’s no real consensus among historians. It’s probably best to understand that the genre developed and evolved over a period of time in several locations. Terry Stewart, the former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Director, once proclaimed that: “There are only three places in the world that can claim to be the birthplace of Rock & Roll: New Orleans, Memphis & Cincinnati.” Larry Nager, author of the book Memphis Beat, was quoted in the New York Times in 2009, stating: “While no single city has naming rights as the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, the elements that made rock ’n’ roll — the blend of country, blues and the big beat — were being created at King Records.”

There are two artists from the King label that are often cited as producing early rock and roll records, or at least acted as important stepping stones for the emerging genre. The first was a country music act known as The Delmore Brothers. This highly influential duo from Elkmont, Alabama were pioneering stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. A few years after leaving the Opry, they signed with King Records where they expanded their sound with a full backing band, and began playing up-tempo material that incorporated Western swing, boogie-woogie and blues. A handful of songs from this era have been recognized as early rock and roll recordings. This includes "Hillbilly Boogie” from 1946, "Boogie Woogie Baby” from 1947, “Beale Street Boogie" from 1947, and “Freight Train Boogie" from 1946, which has received the most attention from musicologists. In some of the guitar pieces in these songs, especially in “Beale Street Boogie” and “Freight Train Boogie," you can definitely hear the embryonic roots of rock & roll:



Wynonie Harris’s cover of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” in 1948 is also widely recognized as an early rock & roll single. Originally recorded by Roy Brown on Deluxe Records in 1947, Harris recorded a cover of the track at King Records in the following year. Though Brown enjoyed some success with the tune, Harris' version became a No. 1 hit on the R&B charts, and remained on Billboard for nearly half a year. Though Brown’s original version is arguably more advanced and closer to the early rock & roll sound than any of the Delmore Brothers recordings, the piano-driven Wynonie Harris cover is more energetic, and has far more swing. In fact, I hear a lot of Fats Domino in this song, who recorded his first track, "The Fat Man," in New Orleans in 1949, which is also often cited as one of the candidates for the first rock & roll single.



Elvis covered the song in 1954, which actually has more of a rockabilly sound, while featuring a country twang guitar. Thirty years later, Robert Plant recorded his version of the song, which he renamed as "Rockin' at Midnight” on his outstanding, but highly underrated EP, The Honeydrippers: Volume One. This version features even more swing.

During his tenure at King Records, Wynonie Harris scored fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Today, many music scholars consider him to be one of the founding fathers of rock & roll.

One other song from the King Records catalog that should be considered—but is often overlooked as an early rock & roll record—is Tiny Bradshaw’s “The Train Kept A-Rollin’.” Recorded in 1951, musicologists normally exclude it from consideration because it’s an upbeat jump blues tune. However, it’s been said that jump blues put the roll in rock & roll. Moreover, though it was rearranged to include guitars, The Johnny Burnette Trio’s rendition from 1956 was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll." If you need any more proof that this is a foundational rock & roll recording, it’s also been covered by The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Motorhead and Aerosmith. That in and of itself is a pretty strong vote of support!



Though seemingly forgotten after its demise in 1971, King Records’ groundbreaking legacy has been resurrected in recent years. In addition to the online exhibit on the Xavier University website, PBS produced an outstanding documentary about the label in 2025. King of Them All: the Story of King Records unearths the “untold story” of “the underdog label that transformed American music and culture.” I highly recommend this if you ever get a chance to see it.

The second installment in this four-part series explores how Cincinnati radio broadcasts and its recording studios shaped country and bluegrass, while highlighting some of the diverse homegrown talent that's emerged from the region.

Part 1: Embryonic Journey
Part 2: Green, Green Grass of Home
Part 3: The Kids Are Alright
Part 4: Live and Dangerous



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What are the chances that one of the most beloved movies of all time is artistically linked to one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded?

For the uninitiated, the “Dark Side of the Rainbow” theory asserts that Pink Floyd purposely synchronized The Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz. For those who have seen it, the mashup produces dozens of striking coincidences between the film and the album, where actions on the screen seemingly correspond to the lyrics, chords and musical moods of the Dark Side tracks.

So, is it real, a cosmic coincidence, an ingenious marketing ploy, or just another conspiracy theory? In addition to a complete viewing guide for the synchronicities, The Dark Side of the Rainbow explores a possible explanation for their existence. The book is now available in both paperback and eBook!