The King Brothers
Encyclopedia
The King Brothers were a British
pop
vocal
trio
popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are best remembered for their cover version
s of "Standing on the Corner
" and "A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)
".
All Your Own
. Initially performing as The King Three, they appeared on the BBC Television
early in their career on Six-Five Special
, and by 1957 had been named "top vocal group" in the reader's poll of NME
. Their first hit
on the UK Singles Chart
was their cover
of "A White Sport Coat
", which hit #6 in 1957. In October 1960, they were again voted "top vocal group" in the NME reader's poll. They had a string of successful singles
through 1961, after which time they continued recording
but found their popularity waning.
Group leader Denis King
later worked in composition for television
, film
, and musical
s; among other things, he wrote the theme music
for The Adventures of Black Beauty
and Lovejoy
.
Pye Records
Oriole Records
CBS Records
Page One Records
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are best remembered for their cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of "Standing on the Corner
Standing on the Corner (show tune)
"Standing on the Corner" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1956. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella....
" and "A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)
A White Sport Coat
"A White Sport Coat " was a 1957 rock and roll song with words and music both written by Marty Robbins.Robbins is said to have had the inspiration for the song while driving from a motel to a venue in Ohio where he was due to perform that evening...
".
Career
The group was composed of three brothers who first performed together professionally in the 1950s on the children's television showTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
All Your Own
All Your Own
All Your Own was a BBC children's television program that aired on BBC from 1952 to 1961. The show provided the first television appearances for Jimmy Page, John Williams and the King Brothers.-Production:...
. Initially performing as The King Three, they appeared on the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
early in their career on Six-Five Special
Six-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
, and by 1957 had been named "top vocal group" in the reader's poll of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
. Their first hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
was their cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "A White Sport Coat
A White Sport Coat
"A White Sport Coat " was a 1957 rock and roll song with words and music both written by Marty Robbins.Robbins is said to have had the inspiration for the song while driving from a motel to a venue in Ohio where he was due to perform that evening...
", which hit #6 in 1957. In October 1960, they were again voted "top vocal group" in the NME reader's poll. They had a string of successful singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
through 1961, after which time they continued recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
but found their popularity waning.
Group leader Denis King
Denis King
Denis King is an English Ivor Novello award-winning composer, singer and actor.As a writer he composed music for the British television series The Adventures of Black Beauty, Within These Walls, Lovejoy and Worzel Gummidge amongst others. He also composed the theme to the 1992 series The New...
later worked in composition for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s; among other things, he wrote the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty is a British children's television drama series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974...
and Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
.
Members
- Denis KingDenis KingDenis King is an English Ivor Novello award-winning composer, singer and actor.As a writer he composed music for the British television series The Adventures of Black Beauty, Within These Walls, Lovejoy and Worzel Gummidge amongst others. He also composed the theme to the 1992 series The New...
(born July 25, 1939, HornchurchHornchurchHornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
, EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
) - Michael King (b. April 25, 1935, BarkingBarkingBarking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...
, Essex) - Anthony King (b. January 31, 1937, Barking, Essex)
Singles
Parlophone Records- 1957 "Marianne" / "Little By Little"
- 1957 "A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)A White Sport Coat"A White Sport Coat " was a 1957 rock and roll song with words and music both written by Marty Robbins.Robbins is said to have had the inspiration for the song while driving from a motel to a venue in Ohio where he was due to perform that evening...
" / "Minne Minnehaha!" (UK #6) - 1957 "In The Middle Of An Island" / "Rockin' Shoes" (UK #19)
- 1957 "Wake Up Little SusieWake Up Little Susie"Wake Up Little Susie" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957.The song is best known in a recording by The Everly Brothers, issued by Cadence Records as catalog number 1337...
" / "Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...
" (UK #22) - 1958 "Put A Light In The WindowPut a Light in the Window"Put a Light in the Window" is a popular song. The Four Lads recorded the song on October 27, 1957, and a single was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 41058. It first reached the Billboard charts on December 9, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #8; on the Best Seller chart,...
" / "Miss Otis RegretsMiss Otis Regrets"Miss Otis Regrets" is a song by Cole Porter from 1934. It was first performed on stage by Douglas Byng in Hi Diddle Diddle, which opened October 3, 1934 at the Savoy Theatre, London...
" (UK #25) - 1958 "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" / "Six-5 Jive"
- 1958 "Moonlight and Roses" / "Torero"
- 1958 "Sitting In A Tree House" / "Father Time"
- 1959 "Leaning on a Lamp Post" / "Thank Heaven for Little GirlsThank Heaven for Little Girls"Thank Heaven for Little Girls" is a 1957 song written by Lerner and Loewe and performed by Maurice Chevalier. It opened and closed the 1958 film Gigi. Alfred Drake performed the song in the 1973 Broadway production of Gigi....
" - 1959 "Hop, Skip And Jump" / "CivilizationCivilizationCivilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
" - 1959 "Makin' Love" / "Caribbean"
- 1960 "Standing on the CornerStanding on the Corner (show tune)"Standing on the Corner" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1956. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella....
" / "The Waiter And The Porter And The Upstairs Maid" (UK #4) - 1960 "Mais Oui" / "Gotta Feeling" (UK #16)
- 1960 "Doll House" / "Si Si Si" (UK #21)
- 1960 "Seventy-Six TrombonesSeventy-Six TrombonesSeventy-six Trombones is the signature song from the musical play The Music Man , which was written by Meredith Willson. This song also appeared in the film The Music Man , and in the made-for-TV movie adaptation in 2003...
" / "I Like Everybody" (UK #19) - 1961 "Goodbye Little Darling" / "Tuxedo JunctionTuxedo Junction"Tuxedo Junction" is a song co-written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. Julian Dash is also credited for the music. The song was introduced by Hawkins's orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne...
" - 1961 "The Next Train Out Of Town" / "Sabre DanceSabre Dance"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
" - 1961 "The Language of Love" / "Go Tell Her For Me"
- 1962 "King Size Twist" / "Oh! What A Fool I've Been"
- 1962 "Everybody Back To Our Place/ "Don't Fly Away Flamingo"
- 1962 "Nicola" / "Way Down The Mountain"
Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
- 1963 "One Boy Too Late" / "I've Got That Feeling Once Again"
- 1963 "Anyone Else" / "The Rainbow's End"
Oriole Records
Oriole Records
Oriole Records may refer to:* Oriole Records * Oriole Records...
- 1964 "Real Live Girl" / "Every Time It Rains"
CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
- 1965 "Mister Sandman" / "I Want To Know"
- 1966 "Jo Jo" / "Peculiar"
- 1966 "Remember When" / "Everytime I See You"
Page One Records
Page One Records
Page One Records, established in 1966, was the UK record label owned by the producer/manager Larry Page, during his successful period as a hitmaker in the 1960s....
- 1966 "Symphony For Susan" / "My Time"
- 1967 "My Mammy" / "Some Of These Days"
- 1967 "My Mother's Eyes" / "I'm Old Fashioned"
See also
- Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co LtdChappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co LtdChappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd [1960] AC 87 is an important English contract law case, where the House of Lords confirmed the traditional doctrine that consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate.-Facts:...
[1960] AC 87, a court case fought over royalties for the song "Rockin' Shoes"