Hit Songwriter John King Finally Tells His Own Story, Start-To-Finish On Debut LP ‘Always Gonna Be You’

Having spent the better part of a decade in Music City, hit songwriter and emerging country star John King will release his debut LP Always Gonna Be You on October 8 via Starstruck Records. The 10-track collection establishes the Georgia native as a boundless artist with an undeniable talent for truth-telling. Having made a name for himself in Nashville landing cuts by Hootie & The Blowfish and a No.1 hit, “We Went” for Randy Houser in 2017, it’s finally time for King to tell his own story from start to finish.

“My favorite type of artists to follow are the ones who when you hear the songs, you can just feel the sincerity coming through in the lyrics, you can feel that they’ve been there, or that they’ve at least put themselves into somebody else’s shoes as a writer,” King tells American Songwriter over the phone. “Sometimes you’re just the vessel, writing that song that’s going to go to the artist that it belongs to. And then other times, it’s your song. Every track on this record, I just knew, ‘Man, this is my story.’”

He describes his album as “autobiographical,” adding, “It is about my relationship with my wife, who I went to school with in our little hometown, and moving to college together and then coming up to Nashville, settling down and starting a family with our baby girl.”

He likens his song selection process to putting a puzzle together. “It was hard to find the right songs. I write so many and you hate to leave some of them out. So it’s been a tedious process, but I’m really excited about how it turned out.”

Album opener “Easy” kicks off the project with a flirty, uptempo tone that intentionally evokes the limitless feeling of young love. Penned alongside Nick Bailey, Ryan Ogden, King admits this nod to his childhood sweetheart was the most effortless track to write. Similarly, the title track considers the constants in his life—his first car, an old ’86 Chevy Suburban he still keeps at his mother’s house in his hometown, and his now-wife who has stood by his side since he was 15 years old. Co-written with Leslie Satcher, the song serves as a centerpiece of a project that postulates the importance of family above all else.

A few tracks reflect some of the hard-learned lessons that led King to this point. He describes “Try Saying Goodbye” as the most “humble” and “honest” contribution to his catalog to date. There is something for nearly everyone in this long-hard-look in-the-mirror type of heartbreak song. “I put a lot of pieces of my own truth in there, and a lot that I pulled from other people who’ve been in similar situations,” says King. “The fan reaction was insane. It was really eye-opening to see the song move people like that, and how they made this story their own. Something about that song kind of changed my whole psyche on the way I looked at releasing songs as an artist, and even writing songs—you really don’t have to hold back.”

A troop stationed in Afghanistan reached out to King to tell him that song was helping him cope with the homesick feeling of being away from his family for two years. “Often, we have preconceived notions about songs,” says King. “We want it to be broadly appealing, and situations people can identify with. But also, there’s just something that pulls people in when you just tell the truth.”

Welcoming his daughter Scarlett into the world shifted his perspective as a songwriter more than any milestone thus far in his personal life. “People always tell you before you have kids, ’just wait, everything is gonna change,’” King explains. But then you actually have kids, and oh man, does it change you. I think it’s really helped me gain a more broad perspective, and allowed me to step outside of myself. It sounds weird, but you kind of start looking at everybody else as a child, and it makes you more empathetic to those around you. As a songwriter, I feel like I’ve been able to step into others’ shoes a little bit better.”

Songs like “Better Man” and “Prettiest Girl In The Room” were written with his dad hat on. The latter, which he wrote with Jason Gantt, Trannie Anderson, Jessica Cayne, began with a hook and song title he had been walking around with for a while. With the help of this dynamic team, he was finally able to expand the concept into a meaningful track that speaks to the two most important people in his life. “When we got to the bridge, I just melted thinking about my sweet little baby girl wrapped up in that pink blanket,” says King. “Every line of this song came straight from the heart and it’ll forever be one of my favorite.”

Always Gonna Be You concludes with “Better Man.” With the help of co-writers Seth Mosley and Jesse Lee Levin, King was able to articulate the change he felt inside of him when he became a father. This ballad-like tribute showcases yet another face of King’s artistry as he steps away from the ‘formulaic’ approach to crafting songs for commercial consumption. Instead, this one comes straight from the heart.

“Being Scarlett’s Dad just gives me so much purpose, and ‘Better Man’ talks about that,” says King. “It felt like the perfect song to anchor this album and brings the listener up to the present day in my life. I’m so happy to be where I am right now.”

Pre-save John King’s Debut LP Always Gonna Be You, here.

Photo Credit: Ford Fairchild