Ahead of his headlining performance at this past weekend's Bunbury Music Festival (June 3) in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jack White was given the key to the city by Mayor John Cranley. He was recognized for performing at the festival and for his efforts to honor the legacy of King Records, the iconic label which launched the career of James Brown and others.

"Jack White has been an unfailing supporter of King Records," said Mayor Cranley. "Jack has actually covered Little Willie John's song, 'I'm Shakin',' which on the original recording our own Philip Paul played the drums, and he recently wore a King Records shirt in a cover story for Q Magazine."

Mayor Cranley presented White with the key outside the King Records building alongside members of the King Nonprofit Steering Committee as well as Cincinnati Public School Board Member Mike Moroski. King Records legends Otis Williams, Philip Paul and Bootsy Collins were also on hand to see the ex-White Stripes mastermind praised for his advocacy for music preservation and enduring support of the label.

The City of Cincinnati recently acquired the former King Records studio building, saving it from demolition and is currently working with Evanston neighborhood president Ms. Anzora Adkins and the King Records Nonprofit Steering Committee to stabilize and revitalize the building. The group is made up of leaders of the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation, King Studios and the Bootsy Collins Foundation. Leaders have declared the location sacred, given not only the unique music and business which came out of it, but also the civil rights history which took place at the building

White is on tour to celebrate his latest release, Boarding House Reach, which landed in the top slot on the Billboard charts when it was released this March. The guitarist's North American tour in support of the record continues tomorrow night in Cleveland, Ohio and makes a few more North American stops before heading across the pond for shows in the U.K., France and the Netherlands, then returning to the States, wrapping up in Franklin, Tenn. on Sept. 22 at the Pilgrimage Festival. You can find a list of all the dates here.

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