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Jay King (musician)

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Jay King
King Performing in 2022
Born (1962-01-26) January 26, 1962 (age 62)
Oroville, California
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • label owner
  • musician
  • radio show host
Years active1982–present
RelativesSaunders King (great-uncle)
Musical career
Genres
LabelsKing Jay Records
Websitejayking.me

Jay King is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, record label executive, music manager, and radio show host.[1][2] In 1986, he produced, independently released, and promoted Timex Social Club's, Rumors, which charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart.[3][4][5] He later formed the music group, Club Nouveau, whose remake of, Lean on Me, was nominated for a Grammy Award, charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart, and certified Platinum.[6][7]

In 1986, King started, King Jay Records, partnering with major labels such as RCA Records[8] and Warner Bros. Records, releasing albums for Club Nouveau, Michael Cooper,[9] New Choice, Theresa,[10] and Mikki Bleu.[11] He has released three solo albums, Open Book,[12] Helen's Son,[13] and Soulful Bossa Nova, all of which received favorable reviews.[14][15] Good Kind of Lovin, from Helen's Son, charted in the top-10 on UK's Soul chart in 2018.[16][17][18]

In 2019, he was elected President of the California Black Chamber of Commerce and is the Chairman of the African American DBE Participation Committee for the California Department of Transportation.[19]

Early life

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Jay King was born in Oroville, California to parents Helen and Jay King Jr. After his parents separated his mother moved to San Francisco and later to Sacramento, California, where Jay was raised and began playing the trumpet. Jay's father lived in Vallejo so he attended Jr. High School and High School in both Sacramento and Vallejo.[20] He left home when he was 14 years old and was a dancer and entertainer. "I left home when I was 14, I had to be on my own, I didn't want to wait. I wanted to something great. I had to be prepared. Being on the streets prepared me for what I'm doing now", King shared in an interview with the LA Times in 1987.[21] He formed the break dance group, Jay King & the Unknowns, who performed at high schools, parties, and on the streets, garnering a large local following in Vallejo and the San Francisco Bay Area.[22] "I was famous before I ever had a nickel", King shared in an interview with Half Time Chat regarding his success as a teen dancer.[23]

King joined the Air Force and was honorably discharged.[24] After leaving the military he decided to remain in Alaska, where he had been stationed. He formed the dance group, Close Encounters of the Funkiest Kind, which quickly became successful and they opened shows for The Pointer Sisters, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and INXS, among other acts.[23]

King returned to Sacramento and decided to pursue a career as a rapper. He formed the group, Frost, releasing the single, Battlebeat, and for a short period of time was a concert promoter for such acts as Run DMC.[22]

Career

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King's career has spanned over 40 years as a singer, songwriter, record producer, record label owner, musician, music publisher, and radio show host. King's first independent label (Jay Records), produced Timex Social Club's, Rumors, which charted at #1 as well as making it one of the top selling independent releases in 1986.[25]

King later partnered with Benny Medina in 1986 at Warner Bros. Records launching King Jay Records, which released Club Nouveau's debut album, Life, Love & Pain. King also released Michael Cooper's album, Love is Such a Funny Game and produced and released Theresa's album, Broken Puzzle which charted at #62 on Billboard's Black Music Chart.[5][10]

King founded the ILC (Independent Label Coalition), a collective of independent record labels such as, Young Black Brotha Records, Psychotic Records, and Rip It Records, who by leveraging artists album releases and distribution, were able to get paid sooner for record sales.[23] He has managed the music careers of Cameo, Larry Dunn, Kathy Sledge, Club Nouveau, and Karyn White, among others.[5]

King was handed a demo tape of Timex Social Club's, Rumors, and thought it was a great song but needed better production. He produced, Rumors,[5] which he independently released on Jay Records, promoting the 12-inch single to radio stations, dance clubs, and record stores. Rumors became a dance club hit song before going on to peak at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart as well as becoming the most successful selling independent releases of 1986.[25][26][22] King did not have a formal contract with the band and the group signed another record deal with Danya Records behind King's back. King had many songs left over from his work with the group so he formed Club Nouveau, whose first single, Jealousy, was an answer song to Rumors that references King's split with Timex Social Club.[24]

In 1986, King formed the music group, Club Nouveau who were nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo with a Vocal for their remake of Bill Withers's Lean on Me. Several of their songs charted in the top-10 on Billboard's charts.[27] Their album, Life, Love & Pain, was certified Platinum.[6] The group went on to release five more albums, the most recent in 2015.[28]

Record labels

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  • Jay Records

King launched independent label Jay Records in 1986 after not being able to get secure a record deal for Timex Social Club's, single "Rumors". He independently produced, pressed, and marketed the 12-inch single to radio stations, dance clubs, and soon the song gained traction on Billboard charts, becoming one the best selling independent releases of 1986.

  • King Jay Records

King partnered with Warner Bros. CEO Benny Medina in 1986 forming, King Jay Records,[5] to release Club Nouveau's debut album, Life, Love & Pain, which certified Platinum[6] and yielded three top-ten Billboard hit songs, including Lean on Me which charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B Chart for 2 consecutive weeks. His label released five additional Nouveau albums, as well as albums by Michael Cooper[29] and composed and produced Theresa's album, Broken Puzzle.[10]

King's publishing company, Jay King IIII Publishing, placed several of Khayree's songs on Vanilla Ice's album, To the Extreme.[30]

Other ventures

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  • Radio

King is a radio show host on Traffic Jams with Jay King on KDEE 97.5 FM as well as hosting his own podcast, Kings in the Morning, on The Jay King Network.[31]

On his online series, Jay King Live, Straight No Chaser, several of the episodes were focused on reparations, with King calling it the debt owed to Black America. He created and presented his own detailed account of a debt owed plan to repay the debt owed to American Descendants of Enslaved Africans.[19]

King was the founder and association commissioner of the PDA (Professional Dominoes Association) which organized and hosted professional domino tournaments. In 2006, he hosted a 12-city tournament.[32] The success of the tournaments led to a deal with ESPN to televise domino tournaments.

  • Music Conferences

King launched The Creative Exchange Music Summit to educate creatives in the business of technology, film, television, music, and art.[33][34]

  • California Black Chamber of Commerce

King was elected President of the, California Black Chamber of Commerce, in June 2019, and serves on the Caltrans Small Business Council and is the Chairman of the African American DBE Participation Committee for the California Department of Transportation, as well as the Small Business Council for the California Department of General Services (DGS), and the California High-Speed Rail.[19]

Discography

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Year Song Artist Credit
1986 Life, Love & Pain[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
1987 Broken Puzzle[36][10] Theresa Composer, producer, record label
Love is Such a Funny Game Michael Cooper Composer, producer, arranger, record label
1988 Listen to the Message[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
At Last New Choice Executive producer, record label
1989 Under a Nouveau Groove[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
I Promise Mikki Bleu Record label
1992 A New Beginning[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
1994 Everything is Black[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
2015 Consciousness[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label

Solo albums

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Year Song Artist Credit
2008 Open Book[12] Jay King Artist, composer, producer, record label
2015 Consciousness[35] Club Nouveau Artist, composer, producer, record label
2017 Helen's Son[16] Jay King Artist, composer, producer, record label
2021 Soulful Bossa Nova[14] Jay King Artist, composer, producer, record label

Singles

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Year Song Artist Credit
1986 Rumors Timex Social Club producer, record label
Jealousy Club Nouveau Vocals, producer, writer, record label
Situation #9 Club Nouveau Artist, producer, record label
1987 Lean on Me Club Nouveau Artist, producer, record label
Why You Treat Me So Bad Club Nouveau Vocals, producer, writer, record label
Heavy on My Mind Club Nouveau Vocals, producer, writer, record label
Last Time Theresa Writer
1989 No Friend of Mine Club Nouveau Artist, producer, record label
1992 Oh Happy Day Club Nouveau Artist, producer, record label
2007 Made for Love[37] Kool & the Gang Writer
2018 Good Kind of Lovin'[16] Jay King Artist, vocals, producer, writer, record label

Personal life

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King's great-uncle, Saunders King, was a respected jazz/blues guitarist with the 1940s hit song, The S.K. Blues.[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Grammy Artist Jay King". Grammys. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Black Men in Leadership - Jay King - Music, Artist & Manager, Community Activist & Radio Host". The Hub Mag. June 14, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Billboard Chart - Timex Social Club". Music VF Charts. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "Club Nouveau’s King-size Hit" by Rob Hoerburger, The Daily Sentinel, Page 33, April 24, 1987
  5. ^ a b c d e "UB Black Music Month Spotlight: The Success of Jay King + Club Nouveau". Urban Bridgez. June 30, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "RIAA Certification". RIAA. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Billboard Charts". Billboard. July 18, 1987. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "Day for a King - King Jay Records and RCA Have Finalized Production Deal - page 6" (PDF). Cash Box. October 10, 1987. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  9. ^ "Michael Cooper - To Prove my Love". 45 Cat. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d "Top Black Albums" (PDF). Billboard 3. October 17, 1987. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jay King Promised to do Big Things in the Name of Pop Music: He Delivered" by Dave Barton, The Sacramento Bee, Page 254, November 29, 1987
  12. ^ a b "JAY KING returns home to Sacramento California to perform his solo CD "Open Book"". Sac Cultural Club Urban Entertainment. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  13. ^ "Jay King - Helens Son". Soul Brother. May 19, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "JAY KING "SOULFUL BOSSA NOVA" CD RELEASE". Do the Bay. July 18, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "JAY KING "SOULFUL BOSSA NOVA" CD RELEASE". Yoshis. July 18, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c "JAY KING RELEASES NEW ALBUM FOLLOWING WORK WITH SOUND ROYALTIES". Music Connection Magazine. January 18, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  17. ^ "World Premiere: Club Nouveau's Jay King gives us a "Good Kinda Lovin"". Soul Tracks. 17 November 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  18. ^ "Jay King: Helen's Son". Tower Records. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "PRESIDENT AND CEO". CALBCC. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  20. ^ "CLUB NOUVEAU (1984- ) by Otis Alexander". Black Past. November 30, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  21. ^ "He's the King: Ask Him" by Dennis Hunt, Los Angeles Times, Page 373, April 12, 1987
  22. ^ a b c "Record Success: Making Money and Hits is Easy for Jay King" by Dave Barton, The Sacramento Bee, Page 201, November 16, 1986
  23. ^ a b c "Half Time Chat with Jay King". Half Time Chat. June 30, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Brash Young Man Giving Pop the Business" by Lee Hildebrand, San Francisco Examiner, Page 257, April 5, 1987
  25. ^ a b "Scene Here", Reno Gazette-Journal, Page 72, April 18, 2003
  26. ^ "TIR 157: How Jay King Became R&B Royalty With Club Nouveau". FUNKNSTUFF. January 6, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  27. ^ "Club Nouveau Charts". Music VF. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "Club Nouveau founder Jay King recalls making Life, Love and Pain LP (1986) by Chris Williams". Soul Culture. June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  29. ^ "Feature Picks - Michael Cooper - Love is Such a Funny Game/King Jay Records page 9" (PDF). Cash Box. December 12, 1987. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  30. ^ "VANILLA ICE Hooked Lyrics". E Lyrics. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  31. ^ "KINGS IN THE MORNING". The Jay King Network. 28 March 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "It's Texas Fold'em: Everybody Wants a Night on the Tiles Playing Dominos", by David Litterick", The Daily Telegraph, Page 33, April 8, 2006
  33. ^ "Jay King's "The Creative Exchange" Makes Post Pandemic Return with KBLA Talk Radio's Tavis Smiley as Keynote Speaker". Sac Cultural Hub. May 26, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  34. ^ "Getting Into the Sing of It " by Chris Macias, The Sac Bee, Page 123, February 7, 2003
  35. ^ a b c d e f g "Club Nouveau Evolution". Club Nouveau. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  36. ^ "Billboard Spotlight - Theresa - Broken Puzzle" (PDF). Billboard 2. July 25, 1987. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  37. ^ "Made for Love - Kool & the Gang". Lyrics. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  38. ^ "Bluesman Saunders Samuel King / He was a giant of jazz in the San Francisco's jazz scene during the 1940s by Kelly St. John". SF Gate. September 4, 2000. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
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