Marcus King

Last updated
Marcus King
Born (1996-03-11) March 11, 1996 (age 28)
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Genres
Years active2013–present
Labels
SpouseBriley Hussey (m. 2023)
Website www.marcuskingofficial.com

Marcus King (born March 11, 1996) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was initially known as lead singer, guitarist, and founder of The Marcus King Band.

Contents

His 2020 album El Dorado recorded under his own name received a nomination for Best Americana Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. [1]

Early life

Marcus King was born in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. His father, Marvin King, was a well-known blues guitarist in South Carolina who also played with gospel acts, and his grandfather was also a regionally popular musician. Marcus began playing guitar at a very early age, and at age eight he started playing shows with his father. [2] At age eleven, he played guitar on one of his father's albums. King started playing music with his own band in his teens, juggling club gigs at night and school in the morning as he and his bandmates brainstormed with what they called "soul-influenced psychedelic Southern rock."

Deciding to pursue a career in music, King dropped out of high school in his junior year and got his GED. King took an academic approach to music, studying his favorite guitar players, particularly The Allman Brothers Band co-founder Duane Allman, B.B. King, Albert King, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. [3] King studied jazz theory and jazz performance with Steve Watson at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. [4] He received some notable early attention in 2014 after a video of him jamming at Norman's Guitars racked up millions of views on YouTube. [5]

Career

In 2019, King announced his debut solo album, El Dorado, produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys at his Easy Eye Studio in Nashville. The album is a genre-bending release that was released on January 17, 2020, by Fantasy Records. On release, Associated Press declared “El Dorado already stands out as a definite high point of 2020.” [6]

On 26 August 2022, King released his second album Young Blood, again produced by Dan Auerbach. Melinda Newman of Billboard called it "a staggeringly confident work." [7] It debuted at number one in the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart [8] and was ranked as the 12th best guitar album of 2022 by Guitar World readers. [9]

Personal life

King married Briley Hussey in a lavish ceremony on February 19, 2023, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Discography

Albums

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
AAA

[14]
"The Well"201912El Dorado
"One Day She's Here"33
"Hard Working Man" [15] 2022Young Blood
"Blood on the Tracks"30
"Mood Swings"2024Mood Swings

Other charted songs

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
Rock

[16]
NZ
Hot

[17]
"Sucker"20243214 Arcane League of Legends: Season 2

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Santana</span> American guitarist (born 1947)

Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern rock</span> Subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Keys</span> American rock duo

The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their records, before they eventually emerged as one of the most popular garage rock artists during a second wave of the genre's revival in the 2000s. The band's raw blues rock sound draws heavily from Auerbach's blues influences, including Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Auerbach</span> American singer-songwriter and producer

Daniel Quine Auerbach is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has recorded and co-produced twelve studio albums with his bandmate Patrick Carney. Auerbach has also released two solo albums, Keep It Hid (2009) and Waiting on a Song (2017), and formed a side project, the Arcs, which released the albums Yours, Dreamily, (2015) and Electrophonic Chronic (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Tedeschi</span> American blues musician

Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks's band, and other musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvin Bishop</span> American musician (born 1942)

Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in the Blues Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Marshall Tucker Band</span> American Southern rock band

The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. While the band had reached the height of its commercial success by the end of the decade, it has recorded and performed continuously under various line-ups for 50 years. Lead vocalist Doug Gray remains the only original member still active with the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Trucks</span> American guitarist, bandleader and songwriter

Derek Trucks is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. His musical style encompasses several genres and he has twice appeared on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He is the nephew of the late Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Carney</span> American drummer

Patrick James Carney is an American musician and producer best known as the drummer of the Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickey Betts</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter (1943–2024)

Forrest Richard Betts was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a longtime member of the Allman Brothers Band. A co-founder of the band when it formed in 1969, he was central to the group's greatest commercial success in the mid-1970s, and was the writer and vocalist on the Allmans' hit single "Ramblin' Man". The Allman Brothers Band broke up and re-formed twice, always with Betts in the lineup, until he left the band in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Randolph and the Family Band</span> American gospel band

Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph. NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock 'n' roll swagger". Rolling Stone included Randolph upon their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The band has released six studio albums and has been Grammy nominated four times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Haynes</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter

Warren Haynes is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey Betts Band. Haynes also is known for his associations with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, including touring with Phil Lesh and Friends and the Dead. In addition, Haynes founded and manages Evil Teen Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Bonamassa</span> American musician (born 1977)

Joseph Leonard Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures, of which eleven have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart.

<i>Hittin the Note</i> 2003 studio album by The Allman Brothers Band

Hittin' the Note is the twelfth and final studio album by American rock group the Allman Brothers Band. Released through Sanctuary Records, it is their only studio album to include both slide guitar player Derek Trucks and bass player Oteil Burbridge and marks the full-time return of guitar player Warren Haynes to the band. It was also their only studio album not to include original guitarist Dickey Betts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Ford</span> American guitarist

Marc Ford is an American blues-rock guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is a former guitarist of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes, the former lead guitarist of The Magpie Salute and the leader of his own bands: Burning Tree, Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club, Marc Ford & The Sinners, Fuzz Machine, and Jefferson Steelflex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Nelson (musician)</span> Musical artist

Paul Nelson was an American, Grammy Award winning blues and rock guitarist, record producer and songwriter. He played and or recorded alongside artists such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and members of the Allman Brothers Band. He was the hand-picked guitarist to join Johnny Winter's band in 2010, performing on and producing several of Winter's albums, including the Grammy Award-nominated I'm a Blues Man, Roots, and Step Back, which won the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album, debuted at number one on the Billboard chart for Blues Albums, and Independent Albums, and debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking the highest spot in Winter's career. Nelson was also a Blues Music Award recipient for Best Rock Blues Album, and was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the KBA award from the Blues Foundation. He received a Grammy nomination for his work as producer and performer on Joe Louis Walker's, Everybody Wants a Piece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Carr</span> American guitarist and record producer (1950–2020)

Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr was an American guitarist. Carr contributed session work to recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Wilson Pickett, Hank Williams, Jr., and many others, from the 1970s onward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larkin Poe</span> American blues rock band

Larkin Poe is an American roots rock band led by sisters Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell. The band originated in north Georgia and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. Known for their strong southern harmonies, heavy electric guitar riffs, steel guitar, Larkin Poe often draws comparisons to the style of the Allman Brothers. The Lovell sisters have gained recognition for their energetic performances and musical prowess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Zito</span> Musical artist

Mike Zito is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Betts</span> American singer-songwriter

Duane Betts is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He leads Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel, and is a co-founding member of The Allman Betts Band. He was also a guitarist and singer for Dickey Betts & Great Southern, led by his father, Dickey Betts. He was previously a member of several other groups, including Backbone69, Whitestarr, Brethren of the Coast, Dawes, Jamtown, and Duane Betts & the Pistoleers.

References

  1. "Grammy Awards Winners & Nominees for Best Americana Album". Grammy.com. Recording Academy. 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. Walker, Donna Isbell (July 2, 2015). "Marcus King Band making noise on national scene". Greenvilleonline.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  3. Greenberg, Rudi (September 29, 2016). "Meet Marcus King". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  4. McFarland, Shane (2 February 2016). "19-Year-Old Marcus King Talks Family, Friends And The Future Of His Music". Live for Live Music.
  5. "Shop Owner Catches Young Man Playing Guitar In His Store And Wants Him To Keep Playing". Reshareworthy. 27 May 2015.
  6. Gorondi, Pablo (January 15, 2020). "Review: Marcus King stirs soul, rock, country on 'El Dorado'". Timescolonist.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  7. "Blues Rocker Marcus King on the Despair & Salvation of 'Young Blood': 'I Didn't Think I'd Be Around For Another Record'". Billboard.com. 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  8. "Blues Albums". Billboard.com. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  9. Horsley, Jonathan (21 December 2022). "The best guitar albums of 2022". Guitar World . Future plc . Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  10. "The Marcus King Band's 'Carolina Confessions' Brims with Stirring Lyrics and Conviction, PopMatters". www.popmatters.com. 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  11. @billboardcharts (January 27, 2020). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)" (Tweet). Retrieved January 28, 2020 via Twitter.
  12. Windsor, Pam. "Marcus King's New Album 'Young Blood' May Just Put Him On The Path To Rock & Roll Superstardom". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  13. Scavo, Allison (2024-04-02). "Marcus King: Mood Swings Review". Blues Rock Review. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  14. "Adult Alternative Songs - March 28, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  15. "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". AllAccess. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  16. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs: Week of December 7, 2024". Billboard . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  17. "Hot 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.