Drake King was born on May 31, 1993 in Las Vegas, NM. As a kid he moved around a bunch and ended up in a little town in Oklahoma called Fort Towson. Drake's dad taught him how to play a few chords on his guitar, and from there he picked everything else up by ear. He started playing the guitar at the age of 12 and started to write songs at about 15. Home life was a little rocky for Drake as a teenager, and his guitar became the gate to his happy place. It wasn't until Drake went to college at The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma that he really started to pursue music as more than a personal escape. After meeting Joe and Donna Settlemires, who were instructors of the university's USAO Showband, Drake paid his dues as the front man of that ensemble for next 3 years. Joe then provided Drake with the chance of a lifetime, an opportunity to record an album with the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Harold Bradley. Harold not only produced Drake's first full studio album "Better Man", he also played guitar on each and every song. "Better Man" has brought Drake King recent success, helping him to be awarded Pop Artist of the Year at the 2017 IndieVilleTV Awards, Vocalist of the Year at the 2017 Josie Music Awards, as well as nominations for Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year at the 2017 Josie Music Awards.
Drake has written over 600 songs to date, and is currently in the studio working on the next album! From writing his own songs, to singing, mixing, and mastering the entire next album, Drake King is truly the Total Package as his Manager Phyllis has been known to refer to him as.
"The songs that I write are all inspired by very real situations or events that I have experienced personally. Some people have told me they feel like they know my life story after hearing my music. That is exactly what I want. My hope is that listeners of my music are touched by what they hear and can somehow feel the emotion that created it. I would be nowhere without the support of those whom I call family and friends. I owe everything to Joe and Donna Settlemires for getting me started and to my manager Phyllis Salter-Gann who has put me on track to becoming the artist I have always worked towards being." - Drake King
Who is your biggest influence? I don't think I have one specific person I could claim to have been my biggest influence. I have been shaped and molded by all sorts of artist from many different genres: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Staind, Matchbox 20, John Mayer, Tim Mcgraw, George Strait...the list literally goes on and on. I've always liked taking different aspects from each genre and integrating them into what feels right for me.
Where would you be without music? I would probably be in jail, or in some other bad situation. Music has allowed me a place to vent; an outlet that didn't exist previously. It's not good to bottle things up, so I guess music has essentially kept me from imploding.
What made you decide to sign with SGU Promotions and Management? I have always been the type of person to do everything on my own. I reached a point where I just couldn't handle it all on my own efficiently. I knew I needed help if I wanted to really do this music thing the right way. So, I reached out to Phyllis. She had been following my music for a while, and, after we talked about my goals with music, she decided she would manage me. That was the best decision I could have made. All of my recent success has been a result of her involvement. I can't wait to see where we go from here.
What is your ultimate goal? I believe I was put on this earth to help people, and I have found that my music does a great job of that. So I hope to have a platform big enough for my music to help make the world a better place. It may sound cheesy, but in the end, all I care about is leaving the world in a little better shape than I found it in.
What is a fun fact, story, or quirk about you? Growing up, baseball was my first love. So I was out back practicing my swing. My dad told me to watch out for my little brother because he was in that same general area, playing in the dirt like us country boys do. I made sure to look in front of me each time I took a swing, but unfortunately, I never thought about looking behind me. Not even a minute after my dad told me to be careful, my perfect swing came to abrupt stop about 3/4 of the way through my backswing. There was a loud "PING" sound. You know, one just like when you hit the sweet spot of the bat? Immediately after the "PING" was the sound of my little brother crying his eyes out. There was blood coming from his mouth, and my dad was about as mad as he's ever been, "Boy I told you to be *&*^%$& careful!! Ya'll don't ever %%#$%@ listen!" I knew for sure my behind was gonna be his belt's next victim. Haha. Dad went over there to check if my brother had any teeth left, and all of this brown mud-like stuff was coming out of his mouth. After getting it all out, we were happy to find all of his teeth. Come to find out the dog food bowl was empty though! Hahahaha. That mud-like stuff was chewed up dog food. Hahaha. My brother still thanks our dog to this day for his teeth.
What is your favorite quote? "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein