Photo Courtesy of Artist
sacred soul and gospel
Memphis, Tennessee
Elizabeth King is a sacred soul and gospel singer from Memphis, Tennessee, known for her powerful voice, decades of ministry through music, and a life story rivaled by few others. Born in the Mississippi Delta and raised in a family of singers and preachers, King began singing in church at the age of three, using her voice both to battle chronic illness and to express her deep faith. Now in her 70s, she has recently returned to performing professionally; listening to her music, you would never know she took a decades-long break. With Memphis as her long-time home, King combines classic gospel lyrics with electric guitars and sparse percussion on songs that exemplify the city’s blues-inflected sacred soul and gospel sound.
King’s childhood was steeped in music and hard work. She started singing as soon as she could speak. At the age of nine, she became seriously ill. When doctors were unable to diagnose her illness, her mother put her in bed and King feverishly sang through the night. Recovering miraculously the next morning, she gave glory to God and has sung in church ever since. Years later, she was injured in a devastating car crash and told she would never walk again. Not only did she walk again, she decided to take her singing outside the church. “I kept going,” she reflects. “Because, if you got a voice and you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. I kept going,”
King quickly made waves in the Memphis gospel scene in the 1970s, leading the all-male group the Gospel Souls, touring with them and recording for the iconic D-Vine Spirituals label. Those recordings were layered with touches of funk, soul, and rock ’n’ roll, courtesy of D-Vine’s signature sound—a tight rhythm section and prominent, nearly hypnotic wah-wah guitar. Elizabeth King & the Gospel Souls cut five singles for the label, as well as an album that was never released for financial reasons. Despite her rising profile, King stepped away from touring and recording by the end of the ’70s to raise her family, including 15 children and, eventually, dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But she never stopped singing, continuing to be a part of the church choir and performing gospel on the radio.
In 2019, when King was in her early 70s, the founder of D-Vine wanted to re-release some of the label’s 1970s recordings. When he realized that King was still alive and singing, he agreed with Bruce Watson of the Bible & Tire Recording Company, a Memphis-based record label that specializes in presenting older gospel artists in the spirit and sound of the past, to record new music from King—although, at first, she was doubtful that anyone would want to record her after so many years had passed. In 2022, King recorded I Got a Love with a band that recreated the classic D-Vine sound, as well as three of her daughters on backup vocals. Her voice as powerful as ever, King’s unique blend of gospel and Memphis’s signature sacred soul sound gives her music a groove and a message that are equally transcendent. Her return has received widespread acclaim. She has been featured by NPR and other national news outlets, and is still on a mission to share her message of faith and resilience, representing Memphis’s soulful gospel sound while inspiring new generations. “God is an awesome God, and I refuse to let anybody change my mind about the power of God.”