Marcus King announces debut solo album, shares first single, The Well

From appearing at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival to revealing the imminent release of his signature Gibson ES-345, Marcus King has had a busy couple of months.

Now, the 23-year-old electric guitar phenom has announced his debut solo album, El Dorado, produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

You can check out the first single, The Well, above.

Billed as a “contemporary genre-bending sonic exploration of classic rock, blues, southern R&B and country-soul,” El Dorado was written and recorded by King and Auerbach over three days at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studios in Nashville.

Also along for the ride were writers including Paul Overstreet, Ronnie Bowman and Pat McLaughlin, as well as studio musicians like drummer Gene Chrisman and keyboard player Bobby Wood.

(Image credit: courtesy of Fantasy Records)

Said Auerbach about working with King, “Marcus is known by so many as a phenom guitar player, and rightfully so. He’s regularly the best player in the room, hands down.”

He added, “I was equally blown away by the way he can sing – so effortless, so soulful, straight from the heart. He’s a naturally gifted writer too, which was clear right away. Everything for him is so innate – that’s why he can always go right to the heart of a song and connect in a deeper way. He’s really one of a kind and I’m proud I got to work alongside him on this record.”

El Dorado is out January 17 via Fantasy Records. You can pre-order the album here

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Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.