We recently connected with Jerry King and have shared our conversation below.

Jerry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

This whole business in a risk. It depends on a lot of things, but outside of your talent, it takes perseverance, focus and listening to the right information. You can’t have what they call the “fireplace mentality, where you come out of the cold, sit in front of the fireplace and ask, “fireplace give me some heat, then I will throw in some logs. It also takes timing and patience. Most new artists are looking for what we call “the 30-second microwave popcorn results” for their career. It many take a minimum of 6 months to 2-years to really get your career off the ground and develop yourself into a household name. Most of all, if there is no one behind you, you will have to believe enough in your own marketability to invest in yourself. If you leave out the marketing of your product, you are on a treadmill going nowhere. I paid my dues, took all the financial risks and now, years later, there is a turnaround in profit and recognition. It was not an overnight success.

Jerry, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am assuming my reputation precedes me, so I won’t go ito a lengthy review of my history. I will, in short, reveal my journey began in college as I was initiated with my first professional gig and I have always supported the music business as a business. I was never shown another way of providing music in “live” shows” or recording, a process which would be foreign to me. In other words, I am a true record man. “If the outcome is not income, how come we are talking.” In brief, I was the leader of two bands in the army, SOUL SMOKE (San Antonio, TX) and BROWN SUGAR (Ft. Rucker, AL.) Upon my discharge I joined a funk group, THE SIX DEGREES SOUTH (Lawton,OK) and toured most of the military bases in the 48 contiguous states of the US., to include college and hotel gigs. Upon the completion of these tours, I founded a Black rock group, SLICK FLAME (Lawton, OK) until joining the legendary soul singer, Joe Tex with his band THE SECOND RESURRECTION. Under the tutelage of CBS, we all recorded one of the biggest soul/disco hits, “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman. In other words, the world has heard me on the Hammond B3 organ, but no one knows my name. Tex and I became the best of friends and through him I got a chance to meet and be mentored by the elite of the elite in the industry. Thus the legacy begins.

I had become accustomed to records being played on radio and in clubs, but I was not aware the secret ingredient was being on a major label. I believed that a good record is good enough to be played and was confused since the the writing and music was produced by the same people. Only difference was one was on a major label and the other on an independent label. The spark plug that ignited my advocacy for the independent was my observation that cities that contained city-based or “homegrown” groups were not embraced unless they were signed with a major label. After noticing the propensity for corporate radio to play a lot of old music, (we term it Jurassic FM), I knew something had to be done.

Historically, every American music genre was created from Black art. I then started following the trends to note that Black music was being played on corporate radio. Black-owned music, not so much. Bringing everything up to date: Although I am a Funkateer, I have put my focus on a genre termed “Southern Soul.” This is Black-owned music that has for the most part, not been signed over, stolen or given away. It contains an untapped audience which is a multibillion dollar demographic. “Southern Soul is an extension of todays’ R&B and is at the commercial crossroads. The purpose is redirect music revenues into the community that owns and created “southern soul.” The “live” shows draw audiences ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 for themed events and all without airplay. I started an internet radio show entitled SOUTHERN SOUL BREAKOUT which covers 60 stations (internet, terrestrial, college) 42 countries overseas to include military bases. The supporting platforms are RSS, Google Play and Podomatic. We also partner with “Southern Soul Magazine.” Our largest effort is the building of a distribution center specifically for the independent artists and labels in “southern soul.” It is a brick & mortar store and we will be able to not only promote these products, but distribute with in-store sales, mail-outs of physical product (this audience buys CDs) and digital distribution. I am looking at “southern soul” as the “rising star” of the music industry and the next music wave in the same context as “The British Invasion.”

Back to me: I am the President/CEO of Jamstone Records, an independent label producing and promoting R&B, Hip Hop, Southern Soul, Blues, Country, and Gospel. Our production company is STARBREAKERS. We have StarbreakersTV for TV show, Atlanta In Concert (Hip Hop) and Southern SoulSations. As executive producer I am also over the radio show, Southern Soul Breakout. We provide studio production, plus we have our own in house CD manufacturing, graphics, mastering and music promotions. Myself and Starbreakers is also featured in the book “The Joe Tex Story – Hold What You’ve Got”. I am also a candidate applicant for the class of 2023 Grammy Committee in which I am going to introduce “southern soul” to the Grammys.

Our mission is to provide a better path to for independent music and I truly believe we have a bright and profitable future ahead. Thank you all for your time and giving me the presence.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

You have to be highly resilient and laser focused as so many that you encounter do not know the business of music, tend to take the short cuts (where there are none). More than a few are self-absorbed, but will not be accountable for their own careers, but would like you to help in their dream as they only want to be admired by a fan base.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn listening to the sob stories, thr hustle stories and the poor mouth stories. Everyone wants you to invest in their career while they are not accountable for anything, but showing up at the studio and then they want you to babysit them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.southernsoulbreakout.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerryTheFunkateerKing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/STARBREAKERS2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/atlantainconcert
• Yelp: https://www.1stopdistribution.com/
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Hold-What-Youve-Got-Story/dp/1387946897

Image Credits
Jerry King