Plugged into his old man’s dusty amp with a ’59 Les Paul in hand, Marcus King set out to make a rock ‘n’ roll record. He didn’t disguise his ambitions at all. He didn’t hold back. He didn’t think about anything but writing from the gut, shooting from the hip, and playing straight from the heart. The GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, performer, and songwriter made the kind of rock ‘n’ roll record that makes arenas and asses shake, and it’s called Young Blood [American Recordings/Republic Records]. Joined by producer and frequent collaborator Dan Auerbach [The Black Keys], he ascends to another level with these eleven tracks.
“Dan and I wanted to create a record with a big arena rock sound we don’t really hear a lot now,” affirms Marcus. “We wanted 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.”
Marcus was downright destined to play music. Growing up in Greenville, SC, his first memory involved opening his dad’s guitar case and strumming the strings of an Epiphone El Dorado. By eight-years-old, he performed alongside pops, grandpa, and his uncles for the first time, rocking an instrumental rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Logging thousands of miles on the road as “The Marcus King Band,” the fourth generation artist served up a series of fan favorite records—Soul Insight [2015], The Marcus King Band [2016], and Carolina Confessions [2018]. During 2020, he linked up with Auerbach for the first time and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” Beyond praise from NPR, American Songwriter, and more, Rolling Stone christened it “excellent,” and Associated Press went as far as to claim, “El Dorado already stands out as a definite high point of 2020.” In between packing venues on his own, Marcus performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach, Fuji Rock, Rock Werchter and more. His International tour footprint includes multiple sold out headline dates in the UK, EU, Australia, and Japan. He’s established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show, including his signature vocal delivery that’s equal parts grease and grit. Along the way, Marcus caught the attention of Rick Rubin and signed to American Recordings.
In 2021, he holed up in Auerbach’s studio for just six days and cut Young Blood. Under the influence of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Robin Trower, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Free, and ZZ Top, he endeavored to capture a “classic power trio sound.” At the same time, he nodded to favorite films, such as GoodFellas and Raging Bull. “We tried to make the music feel big—like you’re seeing it in a theater,” he explains.
Meanwhile, Marcus caught his creative stride with Auerbach.
“We knew each other a lot better on this one,” he goes on. “I hardly disagree with Dan, because I trust his ear and approach. This was a whole different vibe for us. We cut everything live, including the vocals and guitar. Dan works quickly, and the chemistry was there right away.”
Auerbach exclaims, “Music runs so deep in Marcus’s blood he might not even realize how born to do this he is. He probably does, but God, he’s the real deal. Marcus has Southern Soul as part of his foundation. If you’re going to play rock ‘n’ roll with Marcus, you have to understand that element. It’s just who he is. This record didn’t take a lot of pushing. We put the right people in the room and let them do their thing. These songs are live performances. The whole damn thing is live—the solos and everything. It’s so rare in this day and age.”
His incendiary playing and soulful singing light up the first single “Hard Working Man.” A stomping riff gives way to unfettered wailing as his voice booms on the hook, “I’m a hard working man.”
“We tour almost 200 odd days of the year, and even when I’m home, I’m doing something,” Marcus says. “Working hard is just the way I was raised. It would make my grandfather proud to know I’m a hard working man and I’ve worked for everything I have. It’s an anthem for the people. You’ve got folks who work all week and spend their hard-earned money just to come see us. They’re the backbone of America. It’s a real blessing.”
Then, there’s “Rescue Me.” The ominous guitar snakes around a simmering beat as he opens up about a season of darkness and despair.
“It was a tough one to get through,” he sighs. “I was struggling and coming off some heavy days. I don’t think I’d slept in a week. I was concerned with how I felt and needed someone to help me. I even called a doctor. I think I had a shot of Four Roses, and we finished the tune.”
Co-written with the legendary Desmond Child [Aerosmith], he confronts the darkest of thoughts over an organ-laden beat during “Blood On The Tracks.
“It’s not a big secret to my friends I was in a real rough place for a while, but I’m not now,” he confesses. “‘Blood On The Tracks’ symbolizes getting on the train and leaving everything behind—or jumping in front of the train and leaving everything behind. Either way, it’s an escape.”
The opener “It’s Too Late” storms out of the gate with a punchy riff and swinging groove as he assures an ex, “I don’t have anything bad to say about you, but I don’t have anything good to say about you either—if you want to come back, it’s too late.” Elsewhere, “Lie Lie Lie” shuffles between towering riffing, wild soloing, and a head-nodding hook.
As far as its meaning goes, he reveals, “A lot of the songs are informed by a past relationship. It went very wrong, and it’s in my rearview mirror now, but it was a source of inspiration.”
The album concludes on the raw guitar and vocal exorcism of “Blues Worse Than I Ever Had.”
“We have a soul, I think it’s located right in the pit of your stomach,” he muses. “I wish it was like a fish bowl you could look in and see whatever my soul looks like that day. At the time, I’d changed medications. I was trying to process the death of family members because I was on the wrong medications. I was coasting through life like a zombie. When I’d get off them, I’d feel things that happened six months ago for the first time and crash down.”
In the end, it’s that level of honesty that makes Marcus King’s rock ‘n’ roll as real as it gets.
“I always try to make a record you can clean the house to or demolish a house to,” he leaves off. “With this one, I hope you feel like you can fucking bulldoze a house—or bulldoze your ex’s house. I want you to feel like you’re ready to take on the day. I want you to feel absolved. I want you to feel ten pounds lighter and ready to make some good decisions. Or, hell, if you’ve made good decisions your whole life, maybe make a couple of bad decisions. I want you to feel liberated like I did after I made it.”
Auerbach adds, “When I was fourteen, anytime I saw somebody play guitar in popular music I was really interested no matter what. I can’t imagine being fourteen and hearing this record. If you hear it, I hope you go, ‘Goddamn, this kid is amazing!’ I hope you go see it, because he will be in your town. It’s just a matter of time.”
Boiler
GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, performer, and songwriter Marcus King was downright destined to play music. By eight-years-old, the fourth generation Greenville, SC native performed alongside pops, grandpa, and his uncles for the first time. Logging thousands of miles on the road as “The Marcus King Band,” he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show. During 2020, he linked up with Dan Auerbach [The Black Keys] and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” Beyond praise from NPR, American Songwriter, and more, Rolling Stone christened it “excellent,” and Associated Press went as far as to claim, “El Dorado already stands out as a definite high point of 2020.” In between packing venues on his own, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach and more with one seismic show after the next. Along the way, he caught the attention of Rick Rubin and signed to American Recordings.
Plugged into his old man’s dusty amp with a ’59 Les Paul in hand, Marcus set out to make a rock ‘n’ roll record in 2022. He didn’t disguise his ambitions at all. He didn’t hold back. He didn’t think about anything but writing from the gut, shooting from the hip, and playing straight from the heart. Joined by Auerbach, he made the kind of rock ‘n’ roll record that makes arenas and asses shake, and it’s called Young Blood.