King settles in Nashville as singer, mom

Singer Elle King has never fit neatly into any one box. Her early years were split between Ohio, New York City and Los Angeles, and her rock music was always banjobased, with elements of bluegrass, rockabilly and country pulling at the seams. Now raising her young son in Nashville, Tennessee, King has released her third album — a country album through a country music label — that is fully connecting all the colorful threads of her life. “Now as a resident and living here, Nashville and country music unfolds more and more layers for me,” said King. She named the album, “Come Get Your Wife,” after a snide comment a man made about her to her fiance, Dan Tooker, but instead of getting angry, she got inspired. The singer-songwriter has spent years trying to figure out where she fits in musically after breaking out with her hit “Ex’s and Oh’s,” but motherhood has given her perspective and some peace of mind. She has had No. 1 hits on four different Billboard formats, but right now she’s just happy putting all her eggs in this country basket. Her 2016 duet with Dierks Bentley, “Different For Girls,” began her journey into country music, winning her a Country Music Association Award. Now she’s a regular on the country awards shows and has toured with Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert. Her single with Lambert, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” was up for a Grammy at the 2022 ceremony. “It’s like everything was thrown into a melting pot to make this country album that is all encompassing of all of the things that I love, which is soulful blues, southern rock ’n’ roll, funny country music,” said King. She wrote eight of the 12 songs on the new record, which starts with King’s ode to her home state, “Ohio,” and touches on her faith and motherhood alongside comical songs. “Try Jesus” is King’s humorous take on coming back to her religious roots. “I did grow up with a very strong faith,” said King. “I also had a wild roller coaster of life. When I became a mother, I started thinking, ‘How do I teach him right and wrong?’ ” King’s son with Tooker, Lucky, was born in 2021 after losing two pregnancies. That experience inspired the emotional song “Lucky” as she reflects on gratitude. She called it her most vulnerable song on the record. “It’s really strange because so many people go through it, and it’s not something that is talked about comfortably,” she said of her pregnancy losses. King says becoming a mother was transformative for her. “The change that he has brought in me, and the fuel and the fire that he lit in me to become the person that I never thought I could be, or the happiness and the joy that I have in my life I never knew could even be attainable, all came and started with him.”

Feb. 5 birthdays: Actor David Selby is 82. Director Christopher Guest is 75. Actor Tom Wilkinson is 75. Actor Tim Meadows is 62. Actor Laura Linney is 59. Bassist Duff McKagan is 59. Actor Chris Parnell is 56. Singer Bobby Brown is 54. Actor Michael Sheen is 54. Singer Sara Evans is 52. Actor Darren Criss is 36. Actor Henry Golding is 36.

AMY HARRIS/INVISION Singer-songwriter Elle King, seen June 12, has released her third album,“Come Get Your Wife.”