R&B singer/songwriter Gary King couldn't ask for a better start to the spring season after his song "Your Eyes" appears prominently on the soundtrack of the number one movie in the U.S.A remake of the original 1980 horror movie release starring Jamie Lee Curtis reports JAMES ATOA from the US.
"Prom Night" opened in theaters April 11th in the US with an all new cast and accompanying updated movie soundtrack including an R&B ballad performed by samoan born artist Gary King.
Born and raised in Amouli on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, Gary grew up singing and performing at an early age with a fondness for the old school styles of Stevie Wonder and Sting. His parents were the late Jake King, a former musician from Alabama, and Rowena Johnson of Saluafata on the island of Upolu in neighboring Samoa, who owned and operated the original Samoa News newspaper in the US south Pacific Island territory and later the Samoa Journal in the early 80's.
Upon graduating from the all boys Marist High School in American Samoa, Gary left the islands to attend the Berkley College of Music in Boston, MA after graduating with a Bachelor of Political Science at American University in Washington D.C. before eventually moving to Los Angeles to pursue his fledgling music career.
After releasing his first album "Songs from the Black Book", a mutual friend from Boston put him touch with song producer Mike Balardi who was working on the upcoming movie soundtrack for "Prom Night". The soundtrack was to be released by Lakeshore Records, the company who released the soundtracks for movies like Doomsday, Jumper, Little Miss Sunshine and Superbad. Balardi was looking for something along the same style and feel as popular R&B singer Robin Thicke, so along with King the two penned and recorded "Your Eyes" in two days and the track was released on the movie soundtrack and featured prominently in the movie. This was enough to garner 2000 additional track plays on King’s myspace page in the first week of the movie’s release, let alone the friend requests from movie goer's who waded through the movie credits just to find a name to google.
Gary is currently working on his second album scheduled for release later this summer. He has five more songs being released later in the year on the soundtrack to an upcoming indie film "All About Us" which includes a cameo by actor Morgan Freeman. Along with a Gospel project further down the road, Gary also has plans to eventually release a Samoan album. Only fitting since his family genealogy include samoan mainstays uncle Alapati Savea and aunty Malia Savea of Penina O Tiafau fame along with distant cousin Ben Vai. Gary also has an older sister with a very impressive resume in government, but that will be for another article. This spotlight will stay on the little brother.
