For many, the Grand Ole Opry would be the pinnacle of achievement. For steel guitar player Jacob King, this is just the beginning.
King got his start at a young age, listening to the classics and learning from his family. His family not only loved music, but were performers themselves. “My dad and Grandpa were a part of a local bluegrass band called Kentucky 31,” said King. “They for years played locally in a lot of fall festivals. My grandpa was a country bass player and singer and played country music his whole life.” King was able to do live performances with his family, learning alongside them and honing his craft. With heavy country and bluegrass influence, King also gained a background in gospel music from his mother, Julie King, who was a concert pianist and saxophone player who played at their church. This allowed King the opportunity to be around a variety of influences and talent that helped him grow his passion for music.
Starting off, King began playing the acoustic guitar. But after listening to the music his father would play around the house, like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, King began to fall in love with the steel guitar sound. “As dad kept exposing my ears to those sounds, he asked if I would be interested in playing it, which is a bold question to ask a 10 year old,” said King. “A steel guitar is quite the investment. For my 11th birthday, he ordered a student model guitar.”
The steel guitar requires much more than the initial instrument. To properly play, you need toners, seats, amplification devices and much more. King's father saw the passion his son had, and made an investment in his son's future. After learning the basics on this student model guitar, King graduated to his new instrument, one he calls his “baby”. “Right before my 12th birthday, I got what I considered my baby,” explained King. “It has two necks on it and it's my favorite and best sounding guitar. I played it in Nashville and during recording sessions but I don't like to take it on the road, it's precious and there's a lot of value to it.” King's father purchased three or four guitars and several amps, seeing the potential in his son and recognizing his dedication. “I know a lot of young kids take music and parents force them to take lessons and then eventually it fizzles out and they quit playing the instrument,” said King. “That didn't happen for me. There was a love for the instrument and music and it just has grown since then.”
King's love for the instrument came from many different sources, but Jamey Johnson's album “That Lonesome Song” particularly stood out to him. “My dad played that for a year or two almost on repeat,” remembered King. “I would hear all of this great steel guitar music in Jamey's songs, and there was something about those older records that was magical. There was an emotional attachment for me.” The emotional aspect plays a large part in King's early days as a musician. From his favorite steel guitar, his favorite album, and his family influence, King has fallen in love with the music. This love turned learning his craft from a chore into a passion.
Keeping this passion going was no easy feat. King has just recently graduated from College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri, with a major in speech communications. College of the Ozarks requires their full time students to maintain an on-campus job while taking their classes. While pursuing his degree, King was able to get a job at the news station at College of the Ozarks, hoping to maybe do play-by-play broadcasting in the future. “I was very fortunate my last two semesters at the news station,” said King. “My favorite job was being the radio news anchor. I would write radio newscopy, track it and send the audio to the station 91.7 KCOZ. I was really heavily considering entering broadcast, particularly baseball play-by-play broadcasting. Through a lot of prayer and reflection I decided that music was the direction I wanted to go down.” While ultimately King decided to pursue his professional musical career, he still had many obligations at school while doing musical performances. “The last four years for me have been such a great time in my life. I was really involved in Missouri FFA the first two years out of high school, and by my sophomore year I was the mentor of that team. There were a ton of leadership obligations I had off campus, on top of music and college life. It was a lot to balance.” Throughout all of this, King kept his steel guitar inside of his dorm room, practicing whenever he could, and working with the band Travis Scott and the Playboyz, performing almost every weekend. Playing with this band was a big stepping stone in King’s musical career.
”I always had the dream of playing professionally and playing on big hit country songs. I think when that came into fruition for me was when I made the choice to play with Travis Scott and the Playboyz,” said King. “I had the privilege of playing with them for almost five years every Sunday night in Springfield. I think that was when I was able to immerse myself in many genres of country music and different styles of steel playing and take the knowledge I got from those gigs and apply it to different settings, and then I started to get calls from other artists and do overdub.”
After gaining this experience, King's music career began to explode. He started making content on many different social media platforms, which got him attention from other artists. He started to diversify his playing range, experimenting with multiple genres of music and honing his technique. Instead of just playing country, King began to learn jazz, rock, and blues, all on the steel guitar. “It expands my musical horizons and it really allows me to enter different musical realms that challenge me,” said King. “The creativity part is really fun for me even though it can be a challenge.” He hopes to expand what people think of the steel guitar, and change the stereotype that it can only be on country songs. By learning the techniques of these individual genres, he can find ways to fit his steel guitar to more artists styles.
Because of King's ability to adjust his sound and his consistent practice, he has earned opportunities to play with many big names in the music industry. This includes Terry Bradshaw, Tony Booth, Barbara Fairchild, Leona Williams, and many more. Using his experience on a big stage, King was able to land a gig on possibly the biggest stage of them all.
On August 8, King made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a steel guitar player accompanying Randall King. This was Randall King's first performance back after taking a break, something that made this debut more special for King.
“It was a magical experience,” explained King. “I think every country singer or artist dreams of playing on that stage just because of its history and how many greats have been able to perform. Another reason it was so special to me is because I got to make my debut with Randall King. King and I have grown really close in the last few months. He's not only a great singer, he's also a great writer, acoustic player and sound guy. He has gone through a lot these last few months, and the opry debut was his first show back after taking time off. Watching him be in that element was really cool.”
While King recognizes the significance of this performance, he does not believe that this is his ultimate goal. He will continue to do road gigs with Randall King, as well as local performances with Travis Scott and the Playboyz. With content creation and individual projects still in the works, King is continuing to grow and improve with his craft. If you are looking to see King locally, he performs with Travis Scott and the Playboyz almost every Sunday at the Queen City Eagles 3934 in Springfield, MO.
