King Tim III (Personality Jock)

"King Tim III (Personality Jock)"
Single by Fatback Band
from the album Fatback XII
A-side"You're My Candy Sweet"
ReleasedMarch 25, 1979
Genre
Length6:15
4:10 (Single edit)
LabelSpring Records
Songwriter(s)Fred Demery, Bill Curtis
Producer(s)Fatback Band, Jerry Thomas
Audio video
"King Tim III (Personality Jock)" on YouTube

"King Tim III (Personality Jock)" is a 1979 hip hop song by the Fatback Band from the disco album Fatback XII. Engineered by Delano “Rock” McLaurin and released on March 25, 1979,[1] this song is often cited[2] as the beginning of recorded hip hop music. The title refers to vocalist Tim Washington. A few months later, "Rapper's Delight" came out, which is widely regarded as the first commercially released hip hop song.

The song was originally the B-side of the 7-inch single, with the A-side "You're My Candy Sweet" a mid-tempo disco song. However the song stalled at #67 after 4-weeks on the R&B chart and was replaced the following week with "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" on the chart. It peaked at #26 on the R&B chart and stayed on for 11 weeks.

  1. ^ Publication date of "King Tim III" as given in the copyright registration of the 7-inch single. Its copyright was registered on August 29, 1979. The publication date of "Rapper's Delight" as given in its copyright registration was August 25, 1979, and its copyright was registered on September 24, 1979.
  2. ^ To the break of dawn, William Jelani Cobb, p44