from Dawson Prater at Locust Music:

Cast King passed away at his Old Sand Mountain home in Alabama On December 13th. He will be missed.

Cast taught himself to play guitar when he was a 10-year-old boy on Sand Mountain. In 1955 King recorded fewer than a dozen songs with his Honky-Tonk band, The Country Drifters, at the legendary Sun studios in Memphis. Five decades later, he recorded his debut for locust music with local producer & musician Matt Downer at the age of 79.

To many of you, this single album release – Saw Mill Man – became a household favorite, a taste of something raw & unadulterated from a musician few had heard of but whose rough and ready confidence & knack for song garnered praise in Rolling Stone, No Depression, Arthur, Mojo, Harp, Spin, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications. Filmmakers started emerging out of the woodwork from all over wanting to tell Cast’s story. No documentary was ever made but Cast’s music graces the closing credits of Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park which is expected for theatrical release in the U.S. in 2008. Promoters far and wide tried their best to bring Cast to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and a number of European Cities throughout 2005 & 2006 but, having never flown in an airplane, he didn’t see reason to begin now.

As many of you know, Cast was working on new material for a second record. Cast had talked often about wanting to make a gospel record, not the kind you’d see on television, he’d say, but the kind that really gets to a man’s soul. “Saved” is one of those songs. Please download the song & enjoy it. If you can, consider making a donation below. 100% of the proceeds will go to Cast’s family to help cover medical and funeral expenses. Thanks to all who wish to show their support.

From Cast King producer Matt Downer…

“On December 11th, we learned that 81 year old country singer Cast King is terminally ill with cancer and won’t likely make it to the new year. Earlier this Fall, Cast had some back trouble which he thought was from chopping wood out back behind his Alabama home. It was the day of he and his wife Helen’s 59th anniversary that doctors found cancer in his body from head to toe. After some time in the hospital, Cast was brought home this week where he is expected to live out his final days. To many of you, his single album release – Saw Mill Man – became a household favorite, a taste of something raw & unadulterated from a then 79 year old musician no one had heard of but whose rough-and-ready confidence awakened a taste for the real & immediately captivated the attention of fans worldwide. As many of you know, Cast was working on new material for a second record. Cast had talked often about wanting to make a gospel record, not the kind you’d see on television, he’d say, but the kind that really gets to a man’s soul. “Saved” is one of those songs. Please download it and enjoy the song. If you can. please consider making a donation below. 100% of the proceeds will go to Cast’s family. His wife Helen is deep in mounting debt due to hospital bills and impending expenses for his burial. If you would like to include a message for Cast, we will be passing along daily emails to his family to be read to him. Thanks to all who wish to show their support.” More…