HIP THERAPY MUSIC

When the musical planets align, it is a mysterious and beautiful thing. Take how this song from Marcus King came into my life. I heard it for the first time just yesterday while checking out an Apple Music “new songs” playlist. “Hard Working Man” struck a thematic chord with me, sure, as I always like to identify as “hard working” even when I’m napping like a dog in the sun. But when it first came on in the car, I thought I was listening to a song on… LA radio! Sadly (for LA radio), not so much, but still EXACTLY the kind of music I’m trying to pump on this website.

That this song played with my head during my first encounter is a strong start. Then, in researching who the hell this guy is and how he got this song into my life, I discover that A) tonight (as of this writing) he’s playing at Humphrey’s By The Bay in my old stomping grounds of San Diego, CA; and B) in two days he’ll play Stagecoach 2022 90 miles east of me (not that I’m going… just… so near that I could, you know?). There’s a word for this kind of timing: eerie.

Planet alignment notwithstanding, his background is a great story all by itself. Turns out that Grammy-nominated Marcus King, 26, is from a musical family in Greenville, SC. By age eight he was playing in a band with his dad, grandpa and uncles. After being a road dog for years, opening for everyone from Chris Stapleton to Greta Van Fleet, Rick Rubin decided he dug him and signed King to his American Recordings label. Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys produced his first solo album in 2020 as well as the upcoming album Young Blood — recorded earlier this year and due August 26 — where“Hard Working Man” resides.

Highly inspired by Bad Company and Free, specifically Paul Rodgers‘ vocals and Paul Kossoff‘s guitars, Young Blood features King on guitar, Chris St. Hilaire on drums, and Nick Movshon on bass. A mondo heavy power trio, indeed. Check it out. This song has legs. With any luck, the upcoming album will be just as consistently strong. LA radio? White courtesy phone.

Close Your Eyes. Open Your Mind. Trust Your Ears.

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