Marcus King, a native of Greenville, SC, was destined to play music. King’s first album, El Dorado received kudos from major outlets such as American Songwriter and NPR, while Rolling Stone christened it “excellent.” The Associated Press claimed, "El Dorado already stands out as one of the definite high points of 2020. King started filling venues all over the world and his dynamic performances and his signature vocal delivery came to the attention of Rick Rubin who then signed him to American Recordings.
During the recording process of his latest release, Young Blood, King was joined by producer and frequent collaborator Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys). “Dan and I wanted to create a record with a big arena rock sound we don’t hear a lot now,” affirms Marcus. “We wanted to play tunes that were as big as the rooms we wanted to play. We wanted them to be tough, so there aren’t many ballads. I was going through a lot during the album with addictions, breakups, and addictions because of breakups, so I was overindulging in everything. It was good to get it out in this way.”
On Young Blood, King is influenced by some of the 60s and 70s artists like Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, Free, and ZZ Top, but the working chemistry between Auerbach and Marcus King is simply electric. The edgy and genre-melding riffs, spacey sounds and King’s own vocal prowess make this a superior record, filled with great tunes, great musicianship and creative flourishes. The first single,”Hard Working Man,” is a foot-stomping, booming guitars blasting kind of song, while the opening cut “It’s Too Late,” kicks out some powerful riffs and swinging grooves certain to delight audiences. At radio, success is piling up with WXRT, KBCO, WTTS, Lightning 100, WYEP, and WNRN among the leaders piling up the spins.
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