James King (bluegrass)
| James King | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Elroy King |
| Born |
September 9, 1958 Martinsville, Virginia |
| Died | May 19, 2016 (aged 57) Salem, Virginia |
| Genres | Bluegrass music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1985–2015 |
| Labels | Rounder |
| Associated acts | Ralph Stanley, Longview, The James King Band |
James Elroy King was an American bluegrass music singer.Tom T. Hall dubbed King the “Bluegrass Storyteller,” for his ability to infuse his story songs with emotion and authenticity.
King was raised in Cana, Virginia in Carroll County. His father Jim King had appeared on Roanoke television with Don Reno and Red Smiley as tenor vocalist and guitarist for the Country Cousins. His father and his uncle Joe Edd King had played with Ted Lundy of the Southern Mountain Boys.
In 1974, King heard the Stanley Brothers and fell in love with their bluegrass music. King began his career at age 16 playing gospel music at his Pentecostal Holiness church. He left Cana at age 19.
After a stint in the United States Marine Corps, King relocated to Wilmington, Delaware where he started a band with Lundy's sons T.J. and Bobby. In 1986, luegrass deejay Ray Davis introduced King to Ralph Stanley, with whom he recorded two albums: Stanley Brothers Classics and Reunion with George Shuffler on Davis's Wango label. Stanley named King an honorary member of his Clinch Mountain Boys.
In July 1988, King recorded his first album under his own name on the Webco label: It’s a Cold, Cold World (reissued in 1996 as Webco Classics, Volume Two.
For a brief period in the early 1990s, King was a member of Big Country Bluegrass.Dudley Connell of the Johnson Mountain Boys brought King to the attention of Ken Irwin at Rounder Records. King signed to Rounder Records in 1992 and released his album These Old Pictures in 1993.
On Lonesome and Then Some in 1995, King was backed by Connell (guitar, vocals), Tom Adams (banjo), David McLaughlin (guitar, vocals), and Marshall Wilborn (bass).
King formed the James King Band, which was named Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) in 1997. In 1998 Bed by the Window was the recording debut of the James King Band, and its title track was nominated for IBMA’s Song of the Year in 1999.
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