Jay King is a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, record label executive, music manager, and radio show host. In 1986, he produced, independently released, and promoted

Timex Social Club Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single "Rumors". History Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, Cra ...

's, ''

Rumors A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences; derived from Latin 'noise'), is an unverified piece of information circulating among people, especial ...

'', which charted at #1 on ''Billboard'''s R&B chart. He later formed the music group,

Club Nouveau Club Nouveau () is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name ( French for "Club New") was changed from its original i ...

, whose remake of, '' Lean on Me'', was nominated for a Grammy Award, charted at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart, and certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. In 1986, King started, ''King Jay Records'', partnering with major labels such as

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, releasing albums for

, Michael Cooper, New Choice, Theresa, and Mikki Bleu. He has released three solo albums, ''Open Book'', ''Helen's Son'', and ''Soulful Bossa Nova'', all of which received favorable reviews. ''Good Kind of Lovin'', from ''Helen's Son'', charted in the top-10 on UK's Soul chart in 2018. 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 The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

Early life

Jay King was born on January 27, 1962 in

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. Its population was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. After the 20 ...

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. 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. 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."Record Success: Making Money and Hits is Easy for Jay King" by Dave Barton, ''The Sacramento Bee,'' ''Page 201'', November 16, 1986 ''"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. King joined the Air Force and was honorably discharged."Brash Young Man Giving Pop the Business" by Lee Hildebrand, ''San Francisco Examiner,'' ''Page 257'', April 5, 1987 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 The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

Atlanta Rhythm Section Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in 1970 by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drummer), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). ...

, and

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

, among other acts. 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 Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...

Career

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

's, ''

'', which charted at #1 as well as making it one of the top selling independent releases in 1986. King later partnered with

Benny Medina Benny Medina (born January 24, 1958) is an American record executive, talent manager, and television producer. Early life and education Medina was born in East Los Angeles, California, into a poor family. The death of his mother and abandonment ...

in 1986 at

launching ''King Jay Records'', which released

's debut album, ''

Life, Love & Pain ''Life, Love & Pain '' is the debut album by R&B group Club Nouveau. It was released in late 1986 with production by Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy and Jay King. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart and numbe ...

''. 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. 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. He has managed the music careers of Cameo,

Larry Dunn Larry Dunn (born Lorenzo Russell Dunn; June 19, 1953) is an American keyboardist, producer, songwriter and musical director, known as one of the original members of the music group Earth, Wind & Fire. Dunn was inducted, as a former band member, in ...

Kathy Sledge Kathy Sledge (born January 6, 1959) is an American singer–songwriter and producer. Sledge is best known as the youngest and founding member of Sister Sledge, an American vocal group which is made up of her sisters that formed in 1971. As a mem ...

, and

Karyn White Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), " Secret Rendezvous" (1989), " The Way You Love Me" (19 ...

, among others. 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, ''

'', 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."Scene Here", ''Reno Gazette-Journal,'' ''Page 72'', April 18, 2003 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

, whose first single, ''Jealousy'', was an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

to ''Rumors'' that references King's split with Timex Social Club. In 1986, King formed the music group,

who were nominated for ''Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo with a Vocal '' for their remake of

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

's '' Lean on Me''. Several of their songs charted in the top-10 on Billboard's charts. Their album, ''

'', was certified

. The group went on to release five more albums, the most recent in 2015. In 2022, Club Nouveau's new group formation featured King, Tirzah Hubbard, and J Ali. In 2024, they performed a multi-city tour which included venues such as the

SAP Center SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena has earned ...

Desert Diamond Arena Desert Diamond Arena (originally Glendale Arena and formerly Jobing.com Arena and Gila River Arena) is an indoor entertainment arena located in Glendale, Arizona, which anchors the 223-acre, $1 billion Westgate Entertainment District. Located ...

, and

Selland Arena Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over ...

. Also in 2024, they released the single, "It's Alright," which received favorable reviews.

Record labels

* Jay Records King launched independent label ''Jay Records'' in 1986 after not being able to get secure a record deal for

's, single "

". 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

in 1986 forming, ''King Jay Records'', to release Club Nouveau's debut album, ''

'', which certified Platinum 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 and composed and produced Theresa's album, ''Broken Puzzle''. King's publishing company, ''Jay King IIII Publishing'', placed several of Khayree's songs on

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...

's album, ''

To the Extreme ''To the Extreme'' is the major-label debut studio album by American rapper Vanilla Ice, released on September 10, 1990, by SBK Records and EMI Records. Recorded between 1989–90, it contains Vanilla Ice's most successful single, "Ice Ice Baby". ...

''.

Other ventures

* 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''. 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''. * Professional

Dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''Pip (counting), pips ...

Association 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. 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. * California Black Chamber of Commerce King was elected President of the, ''California Black Chamber of Commerce,'' in June 2019, and serves on the

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

Small Business Council and is the Chairman of the ''African American DBE Participation Committee'' for the

, as well as the Small Business Council for the

California Department of General Services The California Department of General Services (DGS) is a state government agency in the California Government Operations Agency of the executive branch of the government of California in the United States. It provides a large number of servic ...

(DGS), and the

California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...

Discography

Solo albums

Singles

Personal life

King's great-uncle,

Saunders King Saunders Samuel King (March 13, 1909 – August 31, 2000) was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Life and career Saunders King was born in Staples, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. His parents, Bishop Judge L. King and Sarah Anasilistine ...

, was a respected jazz/blues guitarist with the 1940s hit song, ''The S.K. Blues''.

References

External links

* at

California Chamber of Commerce The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is a broad-based business advocacy group in California, United States, originating as the California State Board of Trade in 1890. Its membership includes large and small firms from every industry, ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Jay African-American musicians African-American songwriters American rhythm and blues singers Musicians from Sacramento, California Record producers from California American talk radio hosts Living people African-American record producers 1962 births