Born: 1954 in Ann Arbor, MI
Influences: Booker T. and the M.G.'s Hip Huggers
Former Bands: Hot and Nasty, Masquerade, King Cool, Wizkids, MVPs, the Automatics
Listen to my interview with Jim King on his LivingMusic Entry
Jim King was born in 1954 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was seven years old when his father, Richard, opened up King's Keyboard House. By age nine he was working at the store; he washed windows, cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed and waxed the floors. His pay was five dollars a week.
At about the same time, Jim's father was teaching studio classes at the store with electric reed organs. There were five or six people per class, and after a few classes Jim's father realized that he wasn't really interested in it. So Jim stopped going to the class, and after that didn't take any piano lessons until after high school. He learned to play by listening to records such as Booker T and the M.G.'s Hip Huggers over and over again, figuring things out for himself. "I was ten years old. The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, and I said that's what I want to do."
After high school, Jim found himself with two options: "It was either travel with a rock band on the road, or go to college. I chose the rock band." Jim bought a Hammond organ from his father for $700. He was playing with a band called Hot and Nasty, and they started playing at a rock and roll club called Bimbo's on the Hill--now Paesano's--in Ann Arbor. Then he joined a group called Masquerade, and they played at venues such as Second Chance (now Necto, formerly Nectarine Ballroom). Jim remembers Second Chance as being much bigger than what it is today; it had two floors and a balcony. One of his employees, Bob, used to manage there, and it boasted many famous groups such as The Ramones, The Sonics, Patti Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry. Later, Jim's brother Rob would play there with his band, Destroy All Monsters.
Jim's musical history isn't limited to just the keyboards, however. He started out playing the guitar when he was ten years old, but after high school he found that there were too many guitar players already. So he picked up the bass, only to discover the same problem. Finally, he reverted back to the keyboard, and always found work. He's been playing ever since.
Jim and Patti were married in 1976, and they had Alex about a year later. They divorced shortly after he was born, and Patti and Alex moved to California. Around 1978, Jim started working for Ford Motor Company, while still playing in a band. Then he started playing in bands more and more, until finally he quit Ford and went on tour with a band called King Cool (Jim King, keyboards, and Bill Cool, guitar). Their logo was King Kong wearing sunglasses, with a ghetto box up to his ear. They toured for about three months at a time, and in 1986 their song "You Make It Hard" was aired on MTV.
Jim remembers his son Alex joining him for tours during the summer, and how much the young boy loved traveling with the band: "He thought it was the greatest thing in the world. Nice hotel, room service, video arcade room, swimming pool...he was in seventh heaven."
Jim recalls one incident on the road, in Charleston, West Virginia. The guitar player was driving down a mountain, and Jim was in the passenger's seat. He fell asleep, and when he opened his eyes he looked out the window to see the guard rails as one constant line. He looked over at the speedometer, and it read 115. Then he looked at the driver, only to see that he was fast asleep! After that trip, Jim says, he could never sleep in the car.
In 1981, Jim took piano lessons from the head of the music department at Wayne State University, Dennis Tini. He recalls having to do all sixty Hanon exercises, every day, in a different key.
When Alex was in the third grade, he lived with Jim in Ann Arbor for one school year, attending Lawton School. They lived in a house off of Church Street, and Jim got a job working for a painting company during the day. Keeping up with his music, he played in a band just on Saturdays. Soon, however, he joined another band called the MVP's that played at T.R.'s on Sundays and Mondays. Then he joined yet another band called the Wizkids, which played Monday through Saturday. Alex moved back to California after one school year to live with his mother, and by then Jim was playing with bands every day of the week.
In 1987, after twenty years of playing professionally, Jim's brother Rob asked him to help move pianos at King's Keyboard House. Since Jim had never liked painting (and admits he was terrible at it) he agreed to help move pianos at his father's store. The moving crew wasn't very good at the time, and the moving truck was an old, rusty van. Soon Jim took over the moving department, and kept that position for about a year. But he had always wanted to sell pianos, and soon his father gave him a chance. In 1988, Jim was granted permission to sell electronic keyboards that were down in the basement, for half of a day on Wednesdays.
It didn't take long for Jim to prove his salesmanship skills. He knew that he had a knack for it, and on his very first day as a salesman, he put on a tie and sports coat and sold a used organ to an old man. As luck would have it, two days later the woman in charge of piano sales quit, and Jim--who had no formal training--was put in charge of all sales in the piano department, including electrics and organs.
After that, business at King's Keyboard House got better and better. In 2006, Jim's father retired, leaving the store to Jim and his sister Julie, who started her own store, Julie's Music.
As for the future of the family business? Jim doesn't think that Alex has any interest in taking over King's Keyboard House (he doesn't) but still has high hopes: "I'd love to keep it in the family. I really would. And I hope so. That's all I can say. I really hope that he does." Top