Listen: Round Round / Jonathan King JonathanKingRoundRound.mp3
With this blog nudging towards it’s third birthday, the one guy constantly crossing my mind that’s overdue for a post is Jonathan King. Forget the many acts he produced, and forget the many more he signed to his label, UK Records. The single releases as a solo artist on his own are daunting. Therein lies the reason a Jonathan King post has yet to appear. Didn’t know where to start.
It dawned on me only today, I probably won’t live forever. Therefore suddenly high on the list of missions to accomplish was getting to the Jonathan King singles for some posts. This is the first. More are planned.
Pretty near the top of my JK chart, maybe even at the top, is ‘Round Round’. Given that scouring radio station surveys on eBay has become an addictive pass time, it’s hard not to notice ‘Round Round’ appearing pretty often on local stations all around the country throughout the spring and early summer of ’67. Despite the amount of airplay the record clearly got starting in April, it didn’t chart high nationally, peaking at only #122 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under The Hot 100 during a five week stay. My guess is had the radio play been concentrated during a shorter timeframe, the record would have achieved a much higher chart number.
I recall my first time hearing ‘Round Round’, during a Sunday drive through the countryside Mom and Dad would occasionally take us on. A most perfect soundtrack to an early spring, post thaw, upstate New York, winter is finally behind us afternoon. One listen and there was no question, despite it’s message, I needed this happy and bouncy anti-drugs single.
To this day, when on occasion, there’s a copy in a store stack or at the record fairs, I grab it. You can never have too many.
Tags: Decca, Jonathan King, Parrot, UK Records