Jordan Davis Goes Behind the Romance of ‘Slow Dance In a Parking Lot’
Believe it or not, his latest single tells a 100 precent true story ...
Jordan Davis brings a real-life story of love at first dance to life in his new single, “Slow Dance In a Parking Lot,” and in a pair of behind-the-song videos premiering today (September 17) on Sounds Like Nashville,we’re learning how it all happened.
Full of romance and featuring with a uniquely modern, hearts-on-fire sound, the track is a special one for Davis — even after scoring back-to-back Number Ones with “Singles You Up” and “Take It From Me” to start his career. The Louisiana native co-wrote the track with fellow tunesmith Lonnie Fowler, and believe it or not, it’s a word-for-word retelling of the story behind Fowler and his now-wife’s first date.
It might sound too good to be true, but according to Fowler and his wife, Sara, the romantic tale of being so deep in love you’ve gotta pull over and ask for one more dance really did happen.
“Our first date had two big moments,” Fowler explains. “The first was grabbing her hand to go out on the dance floor, and it was like enough electricity to light up Times Square – I could tell she was feeling it, too, because she had a huge smile. We spent this whole night dancing, but it was crowded and loud and all that kind of stuff, so we were driving in my ‘86 Dodge Colt named Cliff on our way back from Indianapolis, and I just pulled off into this empty parking lot.”
With his still-smitten love looking on, Fowler describes the chill in the late night December air and how the actual moment only lasted for one song – but both knew the memory would be with them for a lifetime.
Fast forward a few years and Fowler had been offering the idea of “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” to all his co-writers, but none were interested until Davis came along. “Thank God for all the writers who passed on this title,” Davis says with a grin.
“I just started saying exactly what happened, and he was like ‘Let’s use all of that!’” Fowler recalls. “I remember we started and we had this conversation about the date, and since he loved the title I threw out this stuff and [Jordan] just like, [had this] stream of consciousness. [He] didn’t really have the exact phrasing or the melody, but just started the ‘Lights go down, the wheels go ‘round, the dashboard glow,’ all this stuff, and it was so hard to write down.”
“I think that’s one reason why me and Lonnie write so well together, because I can just ramble,” Davis admits. “Anybody that’s a fan of mine, I look at it as ‘We’ve only got three and a half minutes, I’m gonna put as many words in there as I can’ because the more words, it tells more of the story.
“Which by the way, is that not the slickest thing?” Davis continues with a laugh. “I said to him, like ‘Dude, no wonder she married you.’ You roll into a parking lot and ask for a slow dance?”
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In Davis’ eyes, “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” sums up what country music is all about – truth – and Fowler says there’s no song he’d rather be known for than he and Sara’s actual love story. But an important question remains: How does she feel about it?
“It was perfect,” says Sara about the dance she and Fowler shared all those years ago. “I didn’t know what he was doing when he pulled off into the parking lot – but I didn’t really care. We had such a fun time, so it was just exciting to see where it was gonna go. The memory of our first date has always been such a special part of our relationship. … So for [Lonnie} and Jordan to write the song, it captured so much of that moment and I loved the way it was written. They did an amazing job.”
“Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” is part of Davis’ breakout album debut, Home State, and is now inside the Top 40 of both Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay radio chart. He’s currently on tour with Rascal Flatts for the Summer Playlist Tour, and will visit Europe and the U.K. with Old Dominion in October.
