Joe King (guitarist)
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Joseph Aaron King (born May 25, 1980) is an American musician who is the guitarist, singer, songwriter, and co-founder of
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
-based rock band
The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...
.


Early life

Joe King was born on May 25, 1980, in
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
. He attended Faith Christian Academy in
Arvada, Colorado Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Coun ...
. Before his success with the Fray, King attended school while he worked as an auto damage appraiser. He learned to play the piano at an early age, but later dropped it and started playing the guitar instead. He states that it was because "the coolest guys in my eighth grade class all played guitar. I wanted to fit in."


Career


Mainstream success

The Fray released ''
Movement EP The discography of the American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States ...
'' in 2002. King sang lead on two songs on the EP: "It's for You" and "Where You Want To". The band released '' Reason EP'' in 2003, to some local acclaim in Denver. This prompted
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
to sign the band in 2004. The band's first album, ''
How to Save a Life "How to Save a Life" is a song by American alternative rock band The Fray, released in March 2006 as the second single from their debut studio album of the same name. The song is one of the band's most popular airplay songs and peaked in the t ...
'', released in 2005, brought the band mainstream success. Apart from playing guitar, King sang lead on the song, "Heaven Forbid", which was about his sister. He also gave backing vocals on "
How to Save a Life "How to Save a Life" is a song by American alternative rock band The Fray, released in March 2006 as the second single from their debut studio album of the same name. The song is one of the band's most popular airplay songs and peaked in the t ...
", "
Look After You "Look After You" is a song by American rock band the Fray. It was released in February 2007 as the third single from their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'', following the widespread success of their previous single "How to Save a Life". Accord ...
" and "Trust Me". The band released their second album, ''
The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...
'', in 2009. The second single from the album, " Never Say Never", was written primarily by King from his perspective of his marriage. Apart from guitar, the second album also saw King singing a lot more: he supplied lead vocals on the song "Ungodly Hour" and on the bonus track "Uncertainty", and backing vocals on "
Syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...
" and "Absolute". The band released ''
Scars & Stories ''Scars & Stories'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. It was released on February 7, 2012. Background ''Scars & Stories'' was recorded beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. Unlike their debut alb ...
'' in 2012, with King singing lead on "Rainy Zurich".


Vocal characteristics and songwriting

While the Fray has been lyrically spearheaded by Slade, King co-writes almost all of the songs. In an interview, King stated that his lyrics were mainly inspired by his experiences with the band: "With success, you have a lot more drama. For me, it was extreme highs in career and extreme lows in a relationship. There were really obvious things to write about." Commenting on the lyrics on the second album, King said: "A lot of really big realizations about ourselves are on this record. We're singing about real things that we've experienced. I'm not really comfortable talking about it, but I'm a lot more comfortable singing about it. It's a different side of me."


Work outside The Fray

King sang in the song "Undertow" off the
Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...
album '' Shock Value 2''. He also co-wrote and co-produced the song "Alright With Me", which was included on ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' winner
Kris Allen Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''. Allen's ...
's debut album, ''
Kris Allen Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''. Allen's ...
''. Commenting on his working with Allen, King said that there was "a good vibe in the studio". In April 2013, King released a six-song EP, ''Breaking'', under the name "King." His single "Need a Woman by Friday" features Trombone Shorty. In September 2017, King released five songs in a project titled "Union Moon".


Personal life

King married for the first time when he was 19 years old. He and his first wife, Julie, had two daughters, Elise Madison King and Ava Julie King, together. King began dating actress
Candice Accola Candice René King ( Accola; born May 13, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Caroline Forbes in The CW supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' and her recurring role as the same character on th ...
after they met at a
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
event in February 2012. They became engaged in May 2013, and married on October 18, 2014, in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. In August 2015, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. They had a daughter, Florence May, born on January 15, 2016. In August 2020, they announced that they were expecting their second child together. Candice gave birth to their second daughter, Josephine June, on December 1, 2020. In May 2022 it was announced that Accola and King have split.


References


External links


The Fray's website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Joe Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers APRA Award winners The Fray members Singers from Denver Guitarists from Colorado 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 1980 births