the Three K's / Charisma

Florence, KY, 1961-late 1970s

The Three K's were a trio of women who were part of the Midwestern Hayride show from 1961 until the show ended in 1972. The original three were sisters Karen, Kay and Kathy Arnold. The group went througt a couple member changes over the years, as Kathy left the group to be replaced by her cousin Debbie (who briefly used the name Kandy for effect), followed by Karen who left the group for a year and then returned. Karen's aunt Nancy Arnold (Debbie's mother) was her substitute.

In April 1964, with the Kathy/Kay/Karen lineup, the group recorded a 45 for the one-shot Carousel label. The songs were written by Beverly Henn who was part of the Carousel operation as described in the article (the article spells the name Carrousel but the label reads Carousel). The other Carousel principals were Kenny Smith (Lovelights), Al Stith (Covairs), and Gene Hughes (Casinos), all well known in Cincinnati music. The label had ambitions but they didn't pan out, although greater success awaited the three men. Beverly's name appears on at least one more record by Sonny Charles in 1965. The 45 was re-released on the Sound Stage 7 label credited to the Arnold Sisters with the women's names and the backing band as the Corvairs, but only as a promotional record.

The Three K's did other shows besides the weekly Hayride. They opened for some national acts at Lesourdsville Lake and played benefits and fashion shows. There was one more recording by them that was done at the 1970 Ohio State Fair. Avco was the parent company of WLW-T, the station that aired the Midwestern Hayride. They put together a package of WLW-T talent that played the fair on September 1 and had some of the performances put on record under the title Avco Hour Of Stars. They Three K's did "Hey Mister Sun". We haven't heard it but suspect it's the Bobby Sherman hit.

The lineup of Karen, Kay, and Debbie seemed to last until the 1970s. When the Hayride show ended, the group did some backing vocals on local recordings by Bob Braun and Bonnie Lou. They changed their name to the more modern sounding Charisma about the same time and had some club gigs.

A September 1962 listing

Discography:
Jelly Bean / Angel Laughter - Carousel 1001 / Sound Stage 7 2523, April 1964 (Carosuel)
Hey Mister Sun - on LP Avco Hour Of Stars - no label (Musicol master 101189/90), 1971