Bill Beach Photo: Provided by King Studios

A legendary King Records musician and Greater Cincinnati native has died at the age of 92.

According to a press release from King Studios, a “nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and educating the public about King Records’ role in American history,” musician Bill Beach died on Oct. 28.

Beach is best known for his rockabilly hits “Peg Pants” and “You’re Gonna Like Me Baby,” both recorded at historic Cincinnati label King Records in 1956. Both songs also earned Beach a spot in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Beach grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky and began performing in a traveling music group at 16, opening for country stars like Hank Williams, Grandpa Jones, Hank Snow and Minnie Pearl. In 1951, after graduating high school, he moved to Cincinnati to focus more seriously on music. Beach recorded music at the old Wurlitzer Music Studios, even making music with legendary country musician Skeeter Davis, until he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.

Upon his return to Cincinnati in 1955, Beach went back to his musical roots again, and one year later recorded his most legendary hits at King Records in Evanston. Beach continued on with his music career until 1962, when his wife, Barbara, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, ending his musical journey — just for a short time, though.

During Rockabilly’s resurgence in the ’80s in Western Europe, Beach also saw a resurgence in the popularity of his own hits — especially “Peg Pants.” When Beach retired in the ’90s, he returned to music again, performing in Florida and Tennessee. In 2009, the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research commissioned Beach to write a song about the discovery of a new species of aquatic wildlife, the Batfish.

Beach has spent the last few years in Hamilton to be close to family.

Listen to “Peg Pants”:

Learn more about King Records:

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This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 12, 2024.

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Ashley Moor is the editor-in-chief of CityBeat. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Ashley previously worked as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News and as the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Dayton City...