History
The Dixie Dance Kings was formed in Atlanta in 1978 by key radio programmers from
Star 94 and Z-93 and record company personnel from Epic, Columbia, Atlantic, Arista,
RCA Warner Brothers and others including indie promoter Jim Davenport so that they
could obtain information on new dance product directly from the DJs at the street
level.
In the past 30 years, over 800 of the top DJs in the Southeast (and the nation as
a whole) have been members of the Dixie Dance Kings Record Pool including the founders
of Ultimix, Promo Only and Prime Cuts, two of the top VJs in the world (Roonie G
and DJ 2nd Nature) and a variety of event producers, remixers, radio programmers,
music attorneys and label execs. We work with the best.
Our publication, the DDK Dance Music Report, was circulated throughout
the dance music industry from 1981 to 1998 (at which time all reporting was
switched to e-mail and the web). DDK has reported dance and urban charts for
each southern state and the southeastern US as a whole, along with reviews and
commentary. The DDK dance and urban charts have been published every two weeks
for over 30 years, and continue to be one of the most read dance charts on the
web.
Over the years, DDK hosted 16 regional conventions in Atlanta featuring 3 days
of panels, events and award shows attended by DJs, club owners, key label
personnel, and artists.
The DDK has been awarded 27 Gold and Platinum Records for the pool's work on
singles by artists including Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Jody Watley, DJ Magic
Mike, C&C Music Factory, and our favorite, Milli Vanilli, among others.
Today
Currently, DDK services Club, Circuit, Satellite, and Radio DJs in the United States,
including programmers for XM, DMX, Music Choice, AOL, and A&R and Promotion
staffers from Promo Only, Robbins Entertainment and others, providing them with
the latest in dance music. In exchange for our service, they provide us with vital
information that we use for evaluating the potential of dance tracks and the charts
that we report to the public.