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Born Robert Dustin Jr., Dusty King Jr. grew up in Quebec’s Eastern Townships where his father, Dusty King Sr., had established a name for himself as a recording artist. At 16, billed as "Bobby King", Dusty was performing as a duo with Bruce Golden around the Ottawa Valley and the Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec circuit. Moving to Ottawa in the late 70’s, he played bass guitar in year-long stints with Russ Orange and with Valley legend, Ron McMunn.
In 1980, Dusty was hired by Terry Carisse as band leader/bass player in Terry’s re-formed band, Tracks, and quickly established himself as a top-flight front man. The band toured Canada extensively, headlining for TV shows, fairs, festivals and concerts and opening for many Nashville acts, including Kenny & Dolly, the Gatlin Brothers and Conway Twitty. During his tenure with Tracks, the band received several nominations from the Canadian Country Music Association for "Back-up Band of the Year", an award they won in 1985, and Dusty was also honoured with several CCMA nominations for "Bass Player of the Year". Dusty released his first single, "When It Comes To Love", in 1987, and the Savannah Records recording, penned by his mentor, Terry Carisse, achieved Top 10 status on several major market radio stations. Dusty was the winner of the 1992 CKBY Bud Country Talent competition, and he has released a number of other singles over the years.
From 1993 to 2008, Dusty played bass with a number of different bands and worked festivals and corporate events with Bobby Lalonde throughout Canada and the US. For the last four years, Dusty has been the front man and bass player with the Tim Sanders Band in addition to performing as a solo artist at many music festivals. Dusty has performed on the OVCMHOF Show several times and has been the rhythm guitarist in the HOF Band for the last four years.
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