The Combo Kings were a Philadelphia group consisting of Robert Lewis, Stanley Watkins, Lewis Manning, Tyrone Fisher, Hassel Thomas and Kenneth Robinson. The group had their first release on Jamie Records with the dance records, “The Slow Fizz” b/w “Batman Au Go Go” (Jamie 1312) which was released on February 16, 1966. They were also studio musicians who worked with a number of artists on Jamie/Guyden affiliated labels.
They became association with Arctic Records, which resulted in their recording the unreleased “I’m At My Best When I’m Down” b/w “The Rock.” That association came through Joe “Butterball” Tamburro. Tamburro originally had the Combo Kings under contract and brought them to Jamie. Tamburro also had an association with Jimmy Bishop, the head of Arctic Records, as Bishop was at that time music director and a disc jockey on WDAS, the powerhouse R&B radio station in Philadelphia. Tamburro at that time worked for Hy Lit, a major disc jockey on WIBG, the original Top 40 music station in Philadelphia. But Tamburro was active in the business as an associate of many of the disc jockeys and labels in the city.
After Bishop quit WDAS to work for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records, Tamburro eventually followed in Jimmy Bishop’s footsteps and became a longtime music director and disc jockey on WDAS.
The Combo Kings recording of “I’m At My Best When I’m Down” b/w “The Rock” was slated to be release no. Frantic 202. A leadered tape copy, meaning it was ready for production, was found in Jimmy Bishop’s Arctic archive more than 40 years after its preparation and was pulled to be a 45 on Cooler Than Ice: Arctic Records and the Rise of Philly Soul.
