Willie Jones Talks Influences and Writing With Darius Rucker on ‘Country Heat Weekly’
Willie Jones joined hosts Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson on a recent episode of Amazon’s Country Heat Weekly podcast, during which he chatted about his sound, the artists that inspired him and more.
The Louisiana-born singer rose to country music prominence with tunes such as “Bachelorettes on Broadway” and “American Dream,” and he is known for his distinctive style that blends country, hip-hop and plenty of flavor from his home state. Jones chatted with Sutton and Anderson about his homegrown sound, which, he humorously admits, features a little bit of everything.
“Just a soulful, gumbo, ratchet, good time,” Jones says of his music. “Hootin’, tootin’, boot scootin,’ ratchet, zydeco, black, fun, good time.”
Jones also says he hopes his music can be a bridge to potential fans who wouldn’t ordinarily listen to country music.
“That was kind of my whole goal was to do country music and welcome people into the genre who don’t typically listen because it has such great content and great stories and the fashion — it’s just great,” he says. “It’s cool to be that gateway and that bridge for people to discover something different and new.”
Although Jones is undeniably bringing something different to country music, his roots go back to country traditionalists like Josh Turner. In fact, Jones says Turner was the first artist who made him fall in love with country music way back in 10th grade.
“I did a talent show in high school where we had to sing a country song, we had to sing a show tune song and a pop song,” he says. “Show tune was easy because I was really into musical theater. Pop was easy to find because I was really into pop, and the country one was hard for me to find,” says Jones.
“When I found Josh Turner, I actually sang ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’ that year, and I ended up winning,” he adds.
Jones says that after he won the talent show, he vowed to become a country singer someday. And Turner wasn’t the only artist who has guided him in his musical journey. Darius Rucker is another artist, who, as a Black country singer, helped pave the way for him. The two have shared a camaraderie over the years, and they’ve even written a couple of unreleased songs together.
“Just to see him grow and to see all that he’s put into the game of country — he puts out such great music, great videos — it’s just great to see,” says Jones. “And it’s also great to see him around Nashville. I might run into him in midtown or downtown, and he’s always really cool. We’ve written together before, during quarantine over Zoom.”
“I think he might put it on the album, I’m not sure. Fingers crossed,” Jones says of one of the songs.
To hear more from Jones, including the inspiration behind his powerful tune, “American Dream,” listen to his episode on Country Heat Weekly.
