Following the release of Kentucky underground post-rock pioneers Slint's 1989 debut EP, Ethan Buckler packed-up his bass and went on to found King Kong. After picking up the guitar, recruiting Willie McClean on bass, Ray Rizzo on drums & Amy Greenwood on backing vocals, Buckler's original concept was to frame the band's sound in a similar dance vein to The B-52s. Following their self-released 1989 debut single, Movie Star, the band garnered the attention of Trash Flow Records, who released their 1990 follow-up, Bring It On / The Boy. In 1991, King Kong moved to the Homestead Records stable and released their debut album Old Man on the Bridge; whose title track received considerable college radio airplay.

After appearing at the Lollopalooza festival & being covered in a Spin Magazine feature story, King Kong began receiving nationwide attention. In 1995, they released their 'magnus opus' Me Hungry; a prehistoric rock opera that conceptualized the unbridled love between a caveman and a yak. Following 1997's Kingdom of Kong and their first European tour to support the album, the band went into hiatus. During his 4 years on break, Buckler worked as a dishwasher and at Churchill Downs horse track. In 2002, the band re-emerged and released The Big Bang. A long-delayed follow-up came half a decade later, with the band returning to their original sound on Buncha Beans.