[2] Lasting through at least 1987,[3] and defunct for some time by 1993,[4] King Karol was one of New York's "largest [and most] comprehensive" music stores.

[31] A year later, in 1982, the chain had four stores and began to include a video tape rental service that was provided by an outside vendor.

[3] Toward the end of 1982, the chain was reduced to three stores and the owners King and Karol were considering the possible sale of the remaining.

[39] The King Karol branch at 460 West 42nd Street, with its lit sign in a nighttime scene, is visible during the bus-chase sequence in the 1973 New York City police film Badge 373, immediately before the bus crashes into an Army/Navy store.

The name King Karol can be seen in the 2016 film Ghostbusters during the climactic scenes in Times Square when billboard advertisements revert to defunct brands.