Otis Williams
This Charming Man
The athlete turned hit-maker, Otis Williams wrote and created number-one hits and helped to usher in new music trends, styles and culture.
Celebrate the King
Lifetime Achievement Award / Otis Williams
Music historians have often referred to the melding together of Country & Western and Rhythm & Blues as an origin of the American art form known as Rock and Roll. Cincinnati's King Records was the first record label to cross boundaries between these two distinctive musical styles. Between the years 1943 and 1971 Cincinnati's King Records revolutionized the process in which music was recorded, manufactured, distributed and promoted. Nearly 250 hit songs were recorded and more than 150 million records in the Jazz, Country, Bluegrass and Rhythm & Blues fields were manufactured.
Otis Williams performs the Celebrate the King, King Records 75th Anniversary with the School of Rock Photo courtesy of Hailey Bollinger
Otis Williams receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award at the Celebrate the King, King Records 75th Anniversary, Photo courtesy of Hailey Bollinger
Listermann Brewing Company Celebrate the King, King Record’s 75th Otis Williams poster
Photo courtesy of King Studios/Xavier University
Two Hearts & Daddy-O
King Records celebrates it’s 75th Anniversary with Listermann Brewing Company, WHBV and the Cincinnati Public Library
Otis Williams went from a star halfback on the Withrow High School gridiron in 1953 to a star on the charts in 1954 with the release of the Doo Wop classic, “Hearts of Stone.” The song peaked at #15 on the pop charts in January 1955 which marked it as one of the first R&B to pop crossovers. By mid-1955, there may not have been a hotter R&B act than Otis Williams & the Charms. The sweat & touring paid off with a week long residency at the Apollo Theater in September of that year. More hits followed with “Gum Drop,” “Two Hearts,” “Ivory Tower,” & “Ling, Ting, Tong” all of which lead him to his 2009 induction into the Doo Wop Hall of Fame.
Darren Blase, Shake-It Records
King Records 75th Beer Celebration posters w/WHBV (Design Studio, Listermann Brewing Company, Brian Powers and the Cincinnati Library
Final printed poster, Listermann Brewing Company, WHBV Design, Brian Powers & the Cincinnati Library
Listermann Brewing Company Celebrate the King, King Record’s 75th Anniversary Beer, Otis Williams beer label
Phil Valois pulls the poster prints at the WHBV studio on Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati for the 75th Anniversary Listermann Beer
Silkscreen process at WHBV