King Biscuit Time is an entertainment entity that delivers artist interviews, blues industry news, and great music in a variety of ways. The legendary King Biscuit Time radio show is broadcast every weekday at 12:15pm, and the King Biscuit Time magazine brings relevant and entertaining content to festivals and subscribers everywhere. King Biscuit Time also partners with media outlets, festivals, and non-profit organizations to bring creative events and products to fans around the world.

The King Biscuit Time radio show is the longest running daily radio broadcast in history. First broadcast on November 21, 1941, King Biscuit Time featured legendary blues artists Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Jr. Lockwood playing live in the studio. The original band, the King Biscuit Entertainers, often included boogie pianist Pinetop Perkins and James Peck Curtis on drums.

The show was named after the locally distributed King Biscuit Flour. The local grocery distributor, Interstate Grocery, agreed to sponsor a radio production for Sonny Boy and his band if they agreed to endorse the locally branded product. This strategy was a big success.

King Biscuit Flour was sold by the barrel in every grocery store from Turkey Scratch to Tunica and Marianna to Wabash. But no one could anticipate the impact this 15-minute blues show would have on American music. The broadcast from KFFA in Helena, AR, stretched across the Delta and reached a generation of blues artists that would later inspire the rock & roll revolution and numerous pop performers.

Before B. B. King became a blues deejay, and long before he became The King of The Blues, he listened to the show. King recalls in the PBS documentary American Roots Music, "Being on a plantation you had an hour off for lunch. So, I would come out of the field at noon. Sonny Boy Williamson would come on about 12:15. So, we had a chance to listen to live music from one of the guys I liked a lot, Sonny Boy Williamson. And KFFA was the only station in the area at that time that played music by black people."

"That was my show," says Levon Helm, legendary rock drummer for The Band, who was inspired to play drums by listening to the program as a child growing up on the Mississippi. "It was on every day at 12:15. I could always find 15 minutes. I had time to get off work, eat lunch, and still get to a radio. I could go back to Habi's Cafe and get a box of milk and three donuts for a dime" recalls Helm, who would sit in the studio daily and watch the show. It was the show's regular drummer, James Peck Curtis, who inspired Helm to take up the instrument and lent him his drum kit for one of Helm's first gigs. "I would walk down the street to the bank building and ride the only elevator in eastern Arkansas that I knew of, go up to the fifth floor, and watch King Biscuit Time live."

The award-winning program has aired more times than the Grand Ole Opry, and has outlasted American Bandstand by at least a generation. On May 24, 2002, King Biscuit Time was broadcast for the 14,000th time. This appears to be a record for any radio show ever broadcast.

The direct influence of the show can be found throughout the music industry. Examples of this include the syndicated rock show, King Biscuit Flour Hour, and the largest free blues festival in the south, the King Biscuit Blues Festival. First organized in 1986, the festival welcomes blues fans annually to Helena, AR, from around the world to a three-day event that features several stages and showcases veteran blues performers along with today's rising stars.

The program's sister publication, the King Biscuit Time magazine, has won the Blues Foundation's Keeping The Blues Alive Award in print journalism and featured interviews with noted blues personalities from B. B. King to Robert Jr. Lockwood.

The King Biscuit Time staff is committed to preserving the legacy of the past by promoting the artists and events of today. This is the team that wakes up every day with one thought, “Pass the Biscuits, it’s King Biscuit Time!

"Sunshine” Sonny Payne
Mr. Payne is a WWII veteran, an accomplished musician, and the legendary host of King Biscuit Time. He will be the first to tell you that the show has been broadcast more than 14,000 times, but he has only hosted about 13,000 of those (well, somebody had to go to the South Pacific in 1943!). Mr. Payne, a native of Helena, claims Robert Jr. Lockwood as his best friend, and has been honored from coast to coast for his love of blues and commitment to blues artists. In 2003 alone he was inducted into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame and was named Volunteer of the Year by the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Jim and Nancy Howe
The Howes are owners of Delta Broadcasting, Inc. and KFFA Radio. Mr. Howe is President of Delta Broadcasting. He is a native of Phillips County, having lived most of his life in Wabash. Born in Helena, he grew up on the family farm and lived there until it was sold in 1980. Shortly after the sale he purchased KFFA from its founder, Sam Anderson and has managed the station since that time.

Mrs. Howe is a native of Little Rock and holds a Master of Library Science. Following a career in education in Helena at DeSoto School and Phillips Community College, she moved into an active role with King Biscuit Time. Since that time she has been active in many ways in the community, including serving on the Board of the Delta Cultural Center.

The Howes have worked tirelessly for over 20 years to preserve the music heritage of Helena. They have attended festivals, concerts, and award ceremonies sharing the legacy of King Biscuit Time with fans all over the country. Their effort was rewarded in 1992 when King Biscuit Time was awarded a prestigious Peabody Award for the continuing commitment to “an original American art form.”

Donald E. Wilcock
Mr. Wilcock has been the Managing Editor of the King Biscuit Time magazine since 1995. He is a prolific writer who has interviewed more than 5000 artists over the past 35 years. His articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Living Blues, and Blues Access. A native of the New York capital region, he holds a bachelor's degree in English from Tufts University and is the former Publications Director for General Electric. Mr. Wilcock is the author of Buddy Guy’s biography, "Damn Right I've Got The Blues." He is the founder and president of The Northeast Blues Society, and has served as mentor to more than 40 New York Capital Region blues bands.

Jim Howe, Jr.
Mr. Howe is the son of Jim and Nancy. He is President of K. B. Time, LLC, which publishes the King Biscuit Time magazine. He is a native of Phillips County and grew up on the family farm in Wabash. Mr. Howe holds a bachelor’s degree in English and also one in journalism, both from the University of Arkansas.

Mr. Howe is a Certified Public Accountant with a broad industry background in banking, manufacturing, and energy. During his 20-year career he has held key finance roles with Baker Hughes, a Fortune 500 manufacturing firm, and Pioneer Natural Resources, a major independent oil & gas company. He has experience with the financial aspects of capital allocation, business planning, international operations, sales, distribution and service. As an auditor and consultant with Arthur Andersen, he served such major clients as Occidental Oil & Gas, Kerr-McGee Oil Company, TXU and the Williams Companies. He has designed and implemented system solutions for corporate planning and executive information requirements. He continues to offer consulting services on strategy and operational issues for major energy and manufacturing companies.

Mr. Howe brings the knowledge and experience of his professional career to the growing needs of the King Biscuit Time organization. He has a passion for the music history of the Delta and is committed to preserving the music legacy of Helena and King Biscuit Time.