GRANTHAM — Zack King’s story sounds like the lyrics to a country song.
A young man raised in a small town, with a perspective forged by family, faith, and the gratitude that comes from persevering through health issues at an early age.
When he doesn’t have a guitar in his hands, King can be found volunteering for the Mount Olive and Jordans Chapel Fire Departments or pursuing his other passion, hunting.
Raised in Grantham, and more specifically Dobbersville, King grew up singing at Manley Grove Pentecostal Holiness Church. King took a handful of guitar lessons as a child, before later teaching himself to play with the assistance of YouTube videos.
Health issues when King was younger served somewhat as a blessing in disguise. While other parts of his life were put on hold, the extra time allowed King to become proficient in playing the instrument that would ultimately lead him to recently sign with Sony Music Entertainment.
“I started playing at 10, but I didn’t start getting good at guitar until I was 15 probably,” King said. “I remember when I was 14 or 15 was my first time trying to sing good with a guitar in my hand. I didn’t really know I could do it. With my health issues, I didn’t have anything else to do. I could go outside and throw the football with my brother, but really when that’s all you’ve got, you learn to love it.”
King, 18, jokes about looking younger than he is, while also speaking with a wisdom most soon-to-be high school graduates rarely possess. He doesn’t shy away from discussing the reality that the deal he recently signed with Sony Music Entertainment could have been completed sooner had he not been adamant in his refusal to compromise on the values he considers to be the cornerstones of his identity.
King’s signing with Sony came about in part thanks to friend Lathan Bryant. Bryant shared King’s name with Sony. A Sony representative found King on social media and admired his talent. Despite receiving an offer from Sony, King didn’t rush to sign anything that isn’t true to who he is.
“I bet I had this deal in my hands for a month,” King said. “I had a team of three lawyers negotiating with (Sony). At first, it was like, ‘If we say we want you to do this song you’re going to do it.’ Well, it wasn’t going to be that way with me. We negotiated it and I got it the way I wanted it.”
While he aspires to make his name in country music, King is confident in who he is, and the role his Christian faith plays in his life. King’s faith is on full display when he discusses what won’t be prevalent in his music, more so than what will.
King points to artists Dylan Marlowe, Cody Johnson, George Strait, and Alan Jackson as his musical influences, while also understanding that perhaps the key ingredient to any future success he may have will be remaining true to who he is.
“At the end of the day there’s only one you,” King said. ‘People ain’t going to want to see another Eric Church. People ain’t going to want to see another Cody Johnson, they’re going to want to see a Zack King. Another thing for me is, I love country music, and I want to get my foot in the door in country music, but I’m a Christian. I want to slowly sneak things about Jesus in there. Just clean country music is my thing. I don’t want to write about a beer. I’m never going to write a song that cusses, it just ain’t going to happen. That’s just who I am.”
King’s recently released single “Think About You,” was produced in Nashville with well-known producer Bill McDermott. “Think About You,” has begun to be played locally on 97.7 Katie Country.
King, has embraced the role technology, and particularly social media plays in today’s society, and he’s used both to grow his following on TikTok to 16,000. He routinely goes live on the social media platform and tries to post at least one video every day.
“I hate social media in certain aspects, but I love it in certain aspects,” King said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now if I didn’t have social media. I’m up to right at 16,000 followers on TikTok, and as the days go by it grows more and more. I’m thinking by the end of (April) it will be at 20,000, that’s just a guess. All it takes is for one video to take off. I try to post every day. I try to go live every day.”
Although King did not grow up in a musical family, he has always had the support of those closest to him. He will graduate soon from Southern Wayne High School, and he has already begun working for the Town of Mount Olive, where his father Jeremy, is also an employee.
“We’ve been there every step of the way,” Jeremy said. “Very seldom do my wife and I miss one his shows around here or anywhere. It’s very time-consuming, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s a far out dream, but it’s a far-out dream I’m willing to reach with him and try to help him gap that void. Me and my wife both we’re 100% behind him on everything he does. I’m proud of him whether he makes it or not.”
With health issues now in the rearview mirror, King approaches every moment and the unique opportunity he has with Sony with a perspective only crafted through adversity and relentless support from those he loves.
“Don’t take it for granted,” King said. “The biggest thing to me is put all your faith in God. I’ve struggled with anxiety in my life, and I thank God I got to a point where I really don’t deal with it at all anymore, and I just kind of learned if have all these things to worry about, what is worrying going to change with any of those things? Put your faith in God. At the end of the day, His plan is what’s going to happen. It may not be what you want, and sometimes that’s probably a good thing. That’s the biggest thing to me is just having faith.”
King plans to release plenty of new music this year and he’ll be playing at First Brew in Pikeville on Apr. 18., before returning to Nashville in early May. He’ll also be playing locally at the Laughing Owl in downtown Goldsboro on Jun.15.
To learn more about King visit his Facebook page.
