Ray King and the Kingsmen

Dayton, late 1950s-early 1960s

Ray King was a singer from Dayton. His name starts appearing in the local papers in 1957 playing in the Drifting Playboys, backing up Rue Boggs. The other members with Boggs and King were Stoney Newman and Frank Balough. In 1958 he was leading his own band, named the Kingsmen. This was 5 years before the more famous "Louie Louie" band. The band featured drummer Roy "Boy" Baker who was from the Dayton suburb of West Carrollton. The other listed members of the Kingsmen were Gene Satin on piano and Noah Crase as "rhythm and blues singer". Our assumption is that Ray played guitar and sang lead.

Ray and the band recorded a great rockabilly 45 for Karl in 1958, one of the best on the label. "A Date at Eight" was the A side. The record probably sold a few hundred copies.

Ray and the Kingsmen had steady gigs in SW Ohio over the next few years. During the summer of 1958 they were at the 400 club in Dayton, with the first listing of the band as recording artists in May. In the fall of 1958 they were at Pauls Cafe in Dayton.  In March 1959 they were playing at the Circle 42 club in Mason, OH, still with Roy 'Boy' Baker, and co-billed with Stan Johnson and the Blue Chips. In May and June they were at Engles Bar. The band listings are quiet through the rest of 1959. The band was back in Dayton at Club 77 in Dayton as of March 1960, still with Baker.

March 1960..."big bop session"?

The Kingsmen, without mentioning Ray King, were playing at Dayton's Tenderlion Restaurant in June 1960. Roy Baker is listed as the leader. Ray was back in the listings as leader for the band's shows in October-December 1960 at Club 77. The band is at a new place, the Crystal Club at Crystal Lake for a March 1961 couple of dates. Those ads list the band as "Fraternity recording stars", howeevr there is no evidence of any more records by them other than the Karl 45.

After nearly a year of no listings, Ray and the Kingsmen were playing Club 66 in Cincinnati for a weekend in January 1962. That is last listing we could find for the band. Less than two years later the "Louie Louie" band would be running up the charts. Roy"Boy" Baker continued on for many more years.

The ad reads Kare recording....a mistake for Karl

During 1961-3 there were at least three othe groups in Ohio using the Kingsmen name, one form Akron, another from Cincinnati, and the third and most successful group, a folk trio from Marysville.

Discography:
A Date At Eight / Those Pretty Words - Karl 222, 1958