Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Cotter King . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Courtney Cotter , thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I was the baby of 6 kids who all did okay and were happy in their childhood/teens and becoming adults. My siblings are great people. It could have been easy for my parents to think that I could follow in their footsteps doing the same things they did and participating in the same programs (most of them liked sports and had different interests). My parents heard me playing piano by ear at the age of 3 and my mom took the time to sit at the piano with me and have me play her music that sounded like such and such. As I grew up, I’d stay up all night writing and they would never come out of their room and discourage me from playing the piano. They knew that I would be tired at school the next day and I would just have to deal with it but supported me in learning that. I appreciated this though because most of my best songs were written in the night. They understood my creative process. I would be so excited to show them new tunes and they always showed excitement too. They never said “not now” or put off listening to it…They tried their best to hear the tune right away and genuinely cared to hear it. Those are a few things they did in my childhood that really helped cultivate creativity and confidence in writing. They also knew an industry guru in the neighborhood and sent me to the Durango songwriting expos that he recommended. Close to my senior year in high school, they bought me some equipment to get started performing in public and they sent me to a berklee college of music summer camp.
Still till this day, even though my music career hasn’t been a huge success with a lot of listeners, they still believe. I’m in my 30’s and my mom helped me plan my album release concert and plan in months in advance. She and my dad have had
ears to listen and have been there for me when the road was hard. They will never know how they played a part in my life in just my artistry and I love them so much for it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Courtney Cotter King. I am a blue eyed soul singer songwriter…When I play live, people have said I sound like Carole King, Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse or Fiona Apple the most. I am very piano driven and have written on the piano most of my life. I am a mom of 3 young kids with a 4th about to be born. I love being a mom first and foremost above anything. I hope that more people have the opportunity to be a parent and see how much beauty comes from children of your own. I hope to keep sharing this message with others throughout my artistry. To hear more visit, www.courtneycotterking.com

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being a creative is when your listeners tell you that you have changed their life or when you know you have helped them feel peace or happiness during a hard time. I remember hearing about a teenage girl on her death bed asking for somebody to put on my music. That is the reason I can keep going and keep writing. There are certain people that can connect with my music.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think sometimes people question why artists do what they do…..I’ve heard things said like, “there are a lot of people putting out uplifting content. Why do you need to?”….Or ….. even just avoiding any comments or conversation about my music life. It has brought awkwardness between me and some people I love. It has opened my eyes and been a learning opportunity for me. I really try to see whats important to people and understand why its important. Our differences that make us unique are the reasons why we can support others and learn from them too. My advice would to be to not doubt people especially if their intentions are to bring good to others. If you disagree with it, you can still ask questions and make effort to understand. We can all keep trying to understand each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneycotterking.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/courtneycotterking
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/courtneycotterkingmusic
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/courtneycotterking
• Other: go.courtneycotterking.com (join my family and hear more of the real and raw and stay in the loop)

Image Credits
@redpoppyphoto http://redpoppyphoto.com/