Syd Nathan

Sydney Nathan (April 27, 1904 – March 5, 1968) was an American music business executive who founded King Records, a leading independent record label, in 1943.

He contributed to the development of country & western music, rhythm and blues and rock and roll and is credited with discovering many prominent musicians, most notably James Brown, whose first single, "Please, Please, Please", was released by Federal Records, a subsidiary of King, in 1956. Nathan was described as "One of the truly eccentric figures of the record industry ... [who] ruled his label like a dictator ... [and] constantly screamed and intimidated his artists and employees". He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the non-performer category, in 1997.

Birth and Death Data: Born April 27, 1904 (Cincinnati), Died March 5, 1968 (Miami Beach)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1947 - 1951

Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E1VB-1756 10-in. 4/12/1951 When you love (you should love from the heart) Big John Greer ; The Rhythm Rockers (Big John Greer) Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0444 10-in. 1/29/1947 New pretty blonde Riders of the Rio Grande ; Johnny Tyler Male vocal solo, with string band songwriter  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Nathan, Syd," accessed May 2, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355809.

Nathan, Syd. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355809.

"Nathan, Syd." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355809

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