King Records was founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan. Located at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, it was a hot spot for “hillbilly” artists during the ‘40s and '50s. A recording studio was added in 1947. After serving in World War II, Homer and Jethro were working on a Saturday morning show on WLW. Their musicianship impressed King Records owner Syd Nathan, who recruited them for label’s house band in early 1946.

​

As session musicians they with other players that included Jerry Byrd on steel guitar, Wayne Raney on harmonica and Hank Garland on guitar. They back records for such artists as Moon Mullican, Grandpa Jones, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, The Delmore Brothers and Hank Penny.

​

​

​

After playing on numerous sessions for others, Homer & Jethro released a version of “Five Minutes More” on King. The song’s success led to many other releases until a dispute over song credits with label owner Syd Nathan led them a to part ways. Later in 1949, Steve Sholes signed them to RCA.