King Fleming Orch.

In the Fall of 1942, King Fleming began leading a Swing band that quickly became a powerful draw locally. According to Jay Peters in an interview with the late Otto Flückiger, the lineup was James Robertson, "Fip Fortunato" (i.e., Fortunatus Paul "Fip" Ricard), Arthur Reed (trumpets); Charles Hathaway (trombone); Richard Overton, Leroy ... (alto sax); James Peters, Tom White [later replaced by Johnny Thompson] (tenor sax); King Fleming (piano); "Hog" Mason (bass); and Dan Parker (drums). A photo that survives also shows an 11-piece band, albeit with a different lineup. However, King Fleming said that his new band grew over time to 18 pieces; when interviewed by Robert Campbell, he said he still had the arrangements