The long overdue appreciation of Cincinnati-based King Records gets another shot in the arm with the publication of Dayton-native Jon Hartley Fox’s King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records, a detailed look at the various personalities, including kingpin Syd Nathan, that made the studio such a culturally groundbreaking and creatively vital musical force.For those who can’t wait for Fox’s appearance at the Books by the Banks festival at the Duke Energy Center on Saturday or at Shake It Records on Sunday, the author discussed the book with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air today. The show also included separate interviews with Bootsy Collins and former King staffer/Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, both of whom talk about their memories of King.

The group behind last fall's successful effort to erect a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame historical marker at the former King Records studio is at it again. They're now hoping to memorialize Herzog Studios' contributions to local and national music history. At a press conference downtown this morning, leaders of the Cincinnati Music Heritage Foundation announced plans for a marker at 811 Race St., where in the 1940s and ’50s Herzog Studios hosted recording sessions by Hank Williams, Patti Page, Ernest Tubbs, Flatt and Scruggs and other notable "Country & Western" acts.

On Saturday, Brian Powers of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County — so instrumental in organizing that institution's ongoing tribute to the legacy of Cincinnati's King Records — put together and conducted one of the best King events yet, a panel discussion on Cowboy Copas & the Golden Age of Country Music.

The New York Times published a story in the paper's arts section today about the history of Cincinnati-based King Records and those around town who have made it their mission to put the once-vital label back in the spotlight. The story mentions everyone from old-school King artists James Brown, Charlie Feathers and Nina Simone to current-day champions John Cranley, Elliott Ruther and Brian Powers. RJ Smith, the author of the piece entitled "Rocking Cincinnati's R&B Cradle," was on hand for the King Records memorial back in mid-November, as well as the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, presented by the good peeps at CityBeat, later that night.

There appears to have been a second small controversy over remarks delivered at the podium at Sunday night's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. At least this time it didn't involve anyone's penis. Before Mr. Rhythm Man, who spins stacks o' shellacks every Saturday night on WNKU (89.7 FM), presented the award for R&B/Funk, he offered his thoughts on the past and future of King Records, which was a major topic throughout the evening's event. Earlier in the day a historical marker had been unveiled at the former King studio and offices in Evanston, followed by a reception to celebrate a proposed new King studio and community center being developed by Xavier University, Ultrasuede owner John Curley and others.

The city of Cincinnati is prepared to formally recognize King Records’ place in the city’s cultural history with a historic marker, a partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a King-oriented class or lecture series, a King Records Cen