Joe King, who is quite used to see his name on the marquees for the last 15 years, mostly in the Fort Worth Stockyards district, be it at the Longhorn or the Rodeo Exchange among others, wants to take his career to a new level and therefore recorded a new album. A first single "Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" was recently released to Texas radio, where it started to climb the charts.
The song, co-written by him and producer Benny McArthur (George Strait, Texas Jamm Band), evokes Strait's early '90s sound, which is not too much of a surprise if you look at the roster of the musicians who backed him up.
Some of them are members of the Texas Jamm Band, which in itself is a side project for some members of Strait's Ace In The Hole Band, for "Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" it's Ronnie Huckaby (pno), Joe Manuel (gui), the rhythm section of Bobby Jarzombek (drs) and Tom Batts (bs) and Haydn Vitera (bg vocs). Additional guests include Jason Roberts, who now fronts his own band after playing fiddle for Asleep At The Wheel and the Texas Playboys for several years, and Tommy Detamore on steel guitar, who laid it out from Moe Bandy and Ray Price to Clay Blaker and Jake Hooker.
"Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" doesn't go too deep, lyrically. But its two-step beat, soaked with prominent fiddle and steel guitar, sure makes you wanna dance and swirl up some dust, maybe at the mentioned Tumbleweed, the Stillwater dancehall that caters to the Texas/Red-Dirt music fans. You may hang and get some grub at Eskimo Joe's, another local venue, perpetuated in the lyrics.
The song is part memory and reminiscing about the good (old) times during one's college years, but also about getting older and being a different person: playing another kind of show.
To have a "...six-string box in my hands," and that becoming "a part of who I am...," is still quite unexpected to hear from a former football player, but it is not completely unique. Actually, King is in good company, former Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw had a Top Twenty Hit with a Hank Williams cover "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and Cincinatti Bengals' Mike Reid even won a Grammy as a co-writer on the Ronnie Milsap Hit "Stranger In My House" and scored with "Walk On Faith" a Number-One-Hit himself.
There is a contemporary hitmaker, who played college ball, didn't make the Pros and moved to Nashville. I wish he would still play ball, instead of polluting the airwaves. But that's another story.
I prefer the simplicity and the traditional approach King put into his single and hope he keeps on climbing the charts with it. Currently the single reached #57 after four weeks, but has some more potential if other radio stations will add it to their playlist and give it a spin. "America's Friendliest College Town," according to VisitStillwaterOK.org's self-promotion, sure could make "Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" a genuine, local anthem. For radio airplay call your station and request it, to buy it or stream it, follow the links below.
I prefer the simplicity and the traditional approach King put into his single and hope he keeps on climbing the charts with it. Currently the single reached #57 after four weeks, but has some more potential if other radio stations will add it to their playlist and give it a spin. "America's Friendliest College Town," according to VisitStillwaterOK.org's self-promotion, sure could make "Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" a genuine, local anthem. For radio airplay call your station and request it, to buy it or stream it, follow the links below.
Joe King - "Down In Stillwater, Oklahoma" ***(*)/***** 3.5/5
Media Links for Joe King
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joekingband/
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