Marcus King has revealed that an unlikely source of inspiration helped him on his journey to sobriety – a quote from heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne about learning to “drink like a gentleman.”
The South Carolina singer-songwriter and guitarist opened up about his path to sobriety during a recent appearance on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, where he discussed his latest album Darling Blue and the personal transformation that shaped its creation.
King’s relationship with alcohol reached a critical point around the time of his 2022 release Young Blood, an album that explored themes of mortality and self-destruction. “I was feeling really paranoid…that the end was inevitable and that it was coming pretty soon,” King previously told Rolling Stone about that period in his life.
The turning point came through an unexpected connection to Ozzy’s own struggles with addiction. King explained how he was inspired by footage of the Black Sabbath frontman discussing his wife Sharon’s approach to his rehabilitation. “I was inspired recently by an Ozzy Osbourne clip where he’s like, when Sharon put him into rehab, she told him it was for him to learn how to drink like a gentleman,” King shared.
This concept initially gave King hope that he could moderate his drinking, particularly after meeting his wife Briley King. “When I met my wife, I thought that I could do that. I thought that I could drink like a gentleman because I was happy now, you know?” However, King soon realised that controlled drinking wasn’t a viable option for him.
The musician candidly acknowledged his inability to maintain moderation once he started drinking. “Whatever that evil thing is deep inside of you, it always seems to come back up once I’ve had a few too many, and I just can’t have more than a few,” he admitted during the podcast interview.
Darling Blue marks King’s first album with the Marcus King Band since 2018’s Carolina Confessions, representing both a musical reunion and a personal milestone. The record celebrates his sobriety and his relationship with his wife, whom he credits with helping him remember “that life is worth living.”
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