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.
Early life
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, bluegrass 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.
Solo recordings
In July 1988, King recorded his first album under his own name on the Webco label: It’s a Cold, Cold World, Tom Adams, David McLaughlin, and Marshall Wilborn. King formed the James King Band, which was named Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association 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 Yearin 1999. In 2002, 30 Years of Farming featured the James King Band as supporting instrumentalists. King released The Bluegrass Storyteller in 2005 with Kevin Prayer, Bernie Green, Jerry McNeely, and Adam Haynes. In 2013, King released what would be his final albums, the Grammy-nominated Three Chords and the Truth, recorded over a five-year period. King selected country music songs and arranged them for bluegrass. He was assisted by Connell, Don Rigsby, Jimmy Mattingly, Ronnie Stewart, Jesse Brock, Jason Moore, and Josh Williams.
Formed in 1997, Longview brought together King, Connell, Rigsby, Willborn, Glen Duncan, and Joe Mullins. For later recordings, Connell, Mullins, and Duncan were replaced by J. D. Crowe, Ron Stewart, and Lou Reid. Longview recorded four albums. Their self-titled 1997 debut was named Recorded Event of the Year by the IBMA. This was followed by High Lonesome in 1999, Lessons in Stone in 2002, and Deep in the Mountains in 2008.
King was a recovering alcoholic, and in recent years had struggled with liver issues. He died on May 19, 2016 surrounded by family and friends.
Honors, awards, and distinctions
King won 12 Bluegrass Music awards, a Grammy nomination Three Chords & the Truth, and was inducted into the Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2015, King received the SPBGMA Masters Gold Award for Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year for winning Male Vocalist of the Year 10 times in a row.
Discography
Solo albums
1989: It's A Cold Cold World
1993: These Old Pictures
1995: Lonesome and Then Some
1998: Bed by the Window
2002: Thirty Years of Farming
2005: The Bluegrass Storyteller
2013: Three Chords and the Truth
Compilations
1995: Webco Classics Vol. 2
2008: Gardens in the Sky: The Bluegrass Gospel of James King
