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 Cincinnati (city in Ohio, United States; county seat of Hamilton County), Died March 5, 1968 (Miami Beach (city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States) )
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 December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355809.
Nathan, Syd. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355809.
"Nathan, Syd." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Syd Nathan
Discogs: Syd Nathan
Allmusic: Syd Nathan
Britannica: Syd Nathan
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Nathan, Syd, 1904-1968 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2014006945
Wikidata: Syd Nathan - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2373599
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/308181044
MusicBrainz: Lois Mann - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1fb0d86c-fa6f-4378-b055-313f4f00668c
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