King Karol was a New York City, New York-based record store chain founded by Ben Karol and Phil King in 1952. Lasting through at least 1987, and defunct for some time by 1993, King Karol was one of New York's "largest [and most] comprehensive" music stories. During the early days of the firm, a store was located at 111 West 42nd Street, at 6th Avenue, from sometime before 1954 until 1976 when it was replaced by the 126 West 42nd Street location. During most of the 1950s, this was the only store in the chain. In the 1960s and early 1970s, this was the main store in the multiple store chain.