Donald Alan King (born May 4, 1954, in

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city and county seat of Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 census. Fremont is the home of Midland University. History From the 1830 ...

) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and trumpeter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he recorded a total of four major label albums, and charted more than fifteen hit singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' country music charts.

Early career

His first job was at a

Quality Inn Choice Hotels brands Quality Inn is an American multinational chain of hotels based in Rockville, Maryland. It is a part of Choice Hotels International family of brands which has operations in more than 40 countries. Quality Inn is the foundi ...

club in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

in 1974, where he was able to make valuable connections. He signed with

Con Brio Records Con Brio Records was a record label active from 1975 to 1979 based in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeff Walker was co-founder and President of the label with his father Bill Walker. It was named Billboard Magazine's "Best New Country Label of the Year" ...

and in 1976 his song "Cabin High (In the Blue Ridge Mountains)" placed him on the charts. In 1977 he reached the Top 20 with "I've Got You to Come Home To", after which he released his first album, ''Dreams 'n Things''. His second album, ''Feelings So Right,'' (1978) yielded four Top 30 hits. In 1979, the single "Lonely Hotel" reached the Top 40. After two more hits in 1980 he began touring with well-known artists, such as

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

, John Anderson,

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

, and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta ...

. In 1981, he reached the Top 40 twice, first with his

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

's "

I Still Miss Someone "I Still Miss Someone" is a song co-written by Johnny Cash and his nephew Roy Cash, Jr. and originally recorded by American country music singer Johnny Cash. He first recorded it in 1958 as the B-side to "Don't Take Your Guns to Town". History ...

" and then with "

The Closer You Get ''The Closer You Get'' is the second album by English indie rock band Six by Seven, recorded at The Square Centre in Nottingham with Ric Peet (who produced one track on their first album), and John Leckie, (who has worked with many British ban ...

." That same year he released his third album, ''Whirlwind''. Members of King's road band went on to become the country music group

Sawyer Brown Sawyer Brown is an American country music band. It was founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida, by Mark Miller (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards, vocals), Bobby Randall (lead guitar, vocals), Joe "Curly" Smyth (drums), an ...

Later years

By the end of 1981, he had launched the Don King Music Group, a recording studio, with his father. In 1985 they built a 24-track studio to record demos. In 1992, they added a video production company. In late 2007,

GMV Nashville GMV Nashville is a digital record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, founded by Jeff Walker in 2007. History Walker founded the label primarily to release digital versions of classic releases from Con Brio Records, which was founded by Walke ...

released two albums on King, and in 2008 they released two more, many including unreleased tracks. Since 2007, Don King has been performing with The Road Crew 'America's Route 66 Band.' The Road Crew received the first Bobby Troup Artistic Achievement Award presented by the International Route 66 Association. The band are the official musical ambassadors of The Mother Road. The Road Crew bandmates are Woody Bomar, Jason Harmon and (songwriting partner) Joe Loesch. Don King was inducted into The Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame by The National Traditional Country Music Association in 2015. This distinction honors his years of advancing traditional country music throughout his touring and recording career.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Don 1954 births American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters American trumpeters American male trumpeters Living people People from Fremont, Nebraska Guitarists from Nebraska 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Epic Records artists American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Nebraska