ITS Home Edition: Jimmie Allen

probably know exactly what he means. But Jimmy also says there's a sense in which quarantine was a blessing in disguise because when things slowed down, he was able to land a pretty remarkable set of guests for his new EP, which is called Betty James, and those guests include people like Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and on a track called

Why Things Happened, both Darius Rutger and Charlie Pride. We started the home edition of the show to let you know how these times were impacting the way that artists make music and how they're coping with life in lockdown, and Jimmy shares some personal lessons that he's learned along the way that they are really moving. So if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to the I Heart Radio podcast hosted by our QUARANTINEAM correspondent Jordan run Talk.

It's called Rivals, Music's Greatest Feuds, and it's available wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody, my name is Jordan run Talk. But enough about me. My guest today is one of my favorite country music success stories. He went from working three jobs and sleeping in his car to earning a pair of back to back number one's on the country airplay charts, Best Shot and Make Me Want To. Now He's assembled an artistic dream team for his new EP,

Betty James. The seven track collaborative collection feature songs with Brad Paisley, Tim mcgrawl, Charlie Pride, the oak Ridge Boys, Darius Run. The list just goes on and on. We're gonna talk all about that, his life in Quarantine and uh, I'll probably slip at Disney World question in there to what the hell? Jimmy Allen, Thank you so much for taking the time. It's a real pleasure. Oh man, no problem.

Thanks for letting me do this. I'm glad, I'm I'm I'm worth a little something that people want to spend time talking to me. Oh man, absolutely, I got I got so many questions for you. I want to talk about life and quarantine, probably slip at Disney World question in there too, you never know. But but this EP is incredible. Betty James, You've got You've got everybody on there. You've got Brad Paisley, You've got Tim mcgrawl, You've got Charlie Pride, you got the oak Ridge Boys, Darius record,

the list just goes on and on. This is gonna be like a childhood dream for you come true, right man, It is a childhood dream. I remember being a kid wanting to do a song with Charlie and Darius together, you know, because at the time, you know, Darius Darius was the lead singer the one of the biggest rap bands of all time. But yeah, man, it was it

was dream come true man. And for me, it was just crazy that these artists would even want to, you know, waste their time, not waste their time, but take their time to do something with me. You know, really you're surprised by that, yeah, man, Like I only got two singles on out, you know, I had my little project out, but these these these artists are legends, you know, and oh't no, man, it was just it was It was a wild moment for sure. It was a definitely a

I can't believe this is happening sort of thing. Oh man, Now, what was the process like recording this? I imagine they did their vocals separately in isolation and then and then sent them over or Yeah, so me and uh Nelly were acts in the same place because we wrote it before quarantine. Uh. And then Mickey Guidon recorded her vocals before Quarantine, and then Darius oak Ridge boys, you know, Rita, Wilson, turn Wells, Brad m All did their vocals doing Quarantine.

So Quarantine was kind of like a blessing in disguise, because I don't know if I could attract all these people down if they were they were still torn. I'm bummed for your sake because you're doing an album of duets with some of your heroes. I wish you were able to like be next to him in the studio and no, we want to get some behind the scenes footage. One day. We'll probably go back in and like fake do some stuff, you know, so we could just have it.

I think it'd be cool. And I got some footage of me Brad and Tim and Darius weird Brad's house, like just playing around on the guitars and stuff like that. So I'm sure we can incorporate that somehow. Oh man, I would love to see that. I mean, Nashville is such a collaborative place. What made you decide to go

big and make the whole ep of collaborative effort? So I plan a lot of things out and my plan from day one was, Okay, I want to get best Shot the number one, and then I want to put out my first album with no features at all, just to there's just something I just wanted to do when I said my second and I said, I want to do an album EP album EP, and EP could be whether it's three songs or five or six or whatever.

But I wanted my first thing to be a collaborate because I actually got a song with Wide Cleft I recorded, but there's a bunch of stuff that we couldn't get done in time to get on the project. So I'm still sitting on that Wild Cleft song. So hopefully one day we can we can we can get we can get that out there. But it's just something I wanted to do because collaboration happens all through the music process, and it normally stops when it gets to the artist.

Because you figured when you write the song, most songs are ninety percent of songs are co written. You know, you got producers, you got players, You've got so many people that collaborate to make the project what it is. I said, let's just take it all the way to the delivery, to where you have different artists come in and and and uh and sing it, to where the packets to finished package start to finish. Is just a

full collaboration with people. Now, when you wrote some of these songs, did you have the collaboratives in mind when you were working on them or did you kind of almost cast it later like you cast a movie. I kind of cast it later, you know, like me and Nelly and my buddy Zack Cale wrote Good Times Roll Together.

But the rest of the songs, after I got them, there's a few that would pitched to me, and the other ones I wrote, I just little it for a while, and I started hearing a different artist's voice on the song. And I remember the woman Darius and Charlie. I actually pitched another song first to Darius and he was like, I love this song, but I don't know if our first song out should be a drinking song. You know.

He was like I wanted to, you know, he said, because it's a it's a moment in history because I think me and Mickey were the first ever recorded country duo with two black country artists, and I think me, Charlie and Darius were the first ever trio with three black country artists. So he was like, we need to

say something. So I wrote Why Things Happened with my bass player Tate, Carrie Barlow and Brandon Day the day after Kobe died um And then we we're in Amsterdam and March playing a show with Darius and in Berlin, and I played on Why Things Happened and he was like, that's the song. I mean, it's an incredible So you got three generations in there, and it's hard to write a song that works for you know, that transcends anything, But to work on three different generations of artists, that's

that's really something special. Man, It's crazy. I still can't believe it happened. I can't believe I got all these artists to say yes and then do it, you know, because getting somebody to say yes and getting them to do it are two completely different things, you know what I mean? How mean how many times you didn't tell people yes and you ain't do it? Like, man, you're gonna come over with barbecue? Yeah? Man, yeah, man, when are you coming about that? I'll be there later, be

there later. Oh you see me? Oh he stopped. I didn't see me, and I stopped by. I didn't know what the park and it was crazy, you know what, David's crying of dogs and crying. I had to get home. Oh man. I mean, I'm so glad for for all of our sakes, they all said yes because the results are amazing. I mean, I gotta ask Charlie Pride, what was it like working with him? And what does he mean to you? Just as like as as a when you were a younger artist, Like did you look up

to him in a major way? Yeah? Man, Charlie, did you figure out? I remember being a kid with my grandmom and my dad listening to Charlie Pride, and you know, when he first came out, it was like the sixties in seventies, and you know, this guy is a black guy getting number ones in country music while black people were still getting hosed down in the streets. You know what I mean, Mike, what what this guy did you know? For not only for country music, but also artists that

looks like me. Man, he really showed that if he could make this happen, then yes, they're still obstacles and stuff that you have to overcome. Uh, but if he can do it, man, there's no excuse for us to quit. There's no excuse. Man. You mentioned your grandmother and your father talk about the the name of the album, Betty James. I know it's named for two big influences on your life. Yeah. Yeah, So my grandmom died in thousand fourteen and my dad

died September of twenty nineteen. And you know, growing up with my pops, man all he listens to his country music, he was he was a redneck, for sure. I finally accepted the fact that my dad was red neck. Uh, you know. And my grandmom, you know, quiet church going lady. Um. My dad always talking to take risk, to be yourself or take risk. My grandma always talking to be patient. You know. So I wanted to start to leave a

trail of their legacy through my music. You know, it's super important to me because when I create music, I don't I don't think in my head this is the number one song people are like it. I create for me, you know what I love, like what's special to me, because at the end of the day, I feel like that's what makes music special. You know, you create what what matters to you, and then along the way you find people who are like minded and lighthearted and and

that's what the connection is, you know. Um So I wanted to take risk and do this collaboration project, even though it's a bunch of people told me, oh, it's too soon, you won't be able to get no artists on it and not but I had to take a risk, but at the same time still be patient and writing the songs and finding the right artists for those songs. I mean, I'm sure this EP took care of most of your bucket list collaborations, but is there anyone else left out there that that you still want to do

a song with? Me? Know you mentioned Sia Twain in the past. Yeah, Snia Twain, Reba, Rob Thomas del Huge, Matchbox Twin Fan. I'm actually I'm actually writing Robbing a couple of days. Who else Uh, right and tether from one Republic. Man, that's a lot. Man. I want to do something with Keith uh Love Brother's Osborne. Just there's so many, man, so many people that I want to work with that I'm gonna try to make it happen.

I want to do I know this is crazy and it might never happen, but I want to get jay Z on the song. I want to get Usher on the song. You know, just so many people. Oh man, you mentioned having a session with Rob Thomas in a couple of days. Are you feeling productive in Quarantine? Yeah? Man, I've actually had time to work on a lot of my side projects. Like I signed a book deal, working on a kid's book right now. Uh. I started publishing company.

I signed my bass player Tate UH. Working on a TV show right now, talk show UH with me and Kathy Lee Gifford. Uh. Working on a movie uh of my life right now. The guy named Brandon Camp who did like Love actually and stuff like that I'm working on. There's a there's a there's a network slash media outlet that's interested in me doing this fifteen part comedy series

to where that each one is a different subject. And I just because I did stand up comedy in college, and I just get on each subject and just rant and talk jokes. Um, you know, I'm trying to do that, trying to start this ac sceptic company, trying to start this transportation company, so a bunch of different stuff that I've actually had time doing this quarantine to like do. So I'm like, let's just do it. That's my my mouth is hanging open right now. That is the most

productive quarantine I've ever heard. That's like several people's lives right there. That's I don't even know where to start with that. I mean, so the movie of your life I mean you you're writing the script for it? Or Yeah. This guy named Brandon Camp who did like Love Actually and a bunch of other movies. I met him through my agent and we just started talking to told him about my story and everything, and he was like, houses not being captured. I was like, I don't know, let's

do something with it. Do you want to be you? Do you want to cast somebody who if you had to cast somebody as you, who would you cast? Well, since I want to get into television, I'm going to play the older me, like post college on younger me, I know, to kid me, I'm gonna have my son play it, and then like that middle teenage years. I'm not sure yet, and then the plan is to cast like one or two A list actors around me. That kind of really helped sell the movie. Oh so yeah,

I'm just trying to trying to figure that out. Get somebody to play my best friend. I would love if I could get Samuel Jackson to like play my dad, and that would be amazing because my dad, Loki, looks like Samuel Jackson. Oh man, you gotta ask him in the same if you ask everybody to be on the EP, gotta ask him me old Jackson to be in your movie. Man. All they can say is no, yeah, oh that I've heard no a lot, a whole lot. I mean, your

story really is incredible. What you came to Nashville, what seven, working three jobs, sleeping in your car for a while, and then you got back to back number one songs on the country airplay charts, Like that's incredible. Like that perseverance is that you don't see that? You know? Yeah, man, I I am. I don't know. I just tried to picture myself not doing music, and even though I'm all about when you're chasing a dream, you got a family.

I had had a son at the time. You know, he's six now, but when I was first starting off, you know, he was a newborn, and as a parent, you chased your dream, but you still have to do whatever it takes to provide for your family, because your kids shouldn't have to sacrifice, you know, eating or getting those are going on vacation just because you got this

dream you're chasing. And I remember I was a server at the time, and I worked at Walmart for a little bit, and uh, I would pick up extra jobs just to make sure we had enough money to go to Disney World two or three times a year because that's what he wanted to do, so you know, get it done. Was there a moment when you knew, Okay, this is actually gonna work out. We're good now. This

music thing is it's really gonna happen. Yeah. The crazy thing is I'm definitely a lunatic to where I've I always knew it would happened, you know, I didn't know when, I didn't know how, but I knew it would. And I was going to this writer's around at Pucket's grocery store in Franklin, Tennessee. It's a grocery store, a restaurant, and a music venue. Wow. And I got a call that's said, hey, I got this opening at this writer's round.

Would you want to fill in? And I say yeah, because my dad always told me always make yourself available. And I was like, all right, I'll at least get to play some songs. I make two hundred dollars and I get a free meal. Let's do it. And that's where I met Ashbowers, the guy that signed me to a publishing deal. Now he's my he's my he's my manager. Now, so many great messages in your life and in your music. I one of the tracks on your EP. Uh, when this is over, I thought I just had a really

beautiful message, I mean the lines. When this is over, I hope I take a little less for granted. I hope I'm a little more understanding when some things don't make sense. What are some big lessons you've learned throughout quarantine and the pandemic. I know it's been troubling for many reasons. I've learned life is short. Do what you love, love who you love, and do not listen to the

opinions of other people. Never let someone else's opinion stop you from being the person you want to be, because at in the day, the only pinion that matters is your own. It's it, you know. I've seen so many people make career changes during quarantine and everything because you realize life is short, man, Like, why are you just waiting around, uh for other people to tell you what's okay for you to do instead of you just chasing it?

What's been the hardest thing about quarantine for you? Being in one place longer than four days, because I'm used to every two days going somewhere else. So we've actually been taking the tour bus back and forth from Delaware to Nashville to Florida so I can go fish. Oh man, are yeah? We uh we went to Delaware. We're actually going to Della in a couple of days again so I can go fishing. And then we go to Florida. A lot we go to a lot of people go to like you know, thirty A and stuff. We go

to We go to real Florida. We go like Orlando, Tampa in real Florida. And to me, that to pay handle, that's Alabama. That's Alabama, And of course you got Disney down there too. That's that's But talk to me about Disney a minute. How many times have you been there? I know it's pushing fifty. Man. I've been to Disney at least seven times a year every year for since two thousand and fifteen and two thousand thirteen, two thousand, fourteen, thousand and twelve, I went about four times. Is this

for your son or for you or for both? For me, it's for me. I love it. Luckily, my son loves it. My fiance likes it. I think she tolerates it more because I love it, But we start going so much, I think she's starting to like love it now too. I love that place, man. It's because for me it represents more than the mouse. It represents perseverance. You know, when you think of Walt and how he could have just quit after his first character, Oswald, got stolen, he

kept going. You know, this guy had nothing. He literally betted all himself and it worked out, you know, um. And it's just that's why I go to think. Man, there's there's no other place to think and just feel pure innocence and the future impossibility, and then just surrounding yourself. When I go there with my son and you see all these other kids and they're happy and they have no care in the world. Like once you enter those gates of Disney, everything else, all the nonsense in your

life doesn't matter, man, it just disappears, you know. And for me, that's where I go to think and plan and just enjoy life, you know, with you know people I care about when you're when you're not thinking. You have a favorite ride there? Oh yeah, I'm a classic I'm a classic Disney fan. So my favorite attraction is actually Caresel of Progress. It's that Magic Kingdom in in Tomorrowland over by buzz light Year. The thing you sit around and go there is a great big due to

fol Tomorrow Row shining as. I love that. I love uh to Marline Speedway, Uh Epcot, I love Test Track and uh what else do I love? Man Figments imagination thing is cool as cheesy is I don't know what, but I love it. Purple Dragon at Animal Kingdom. I love when I got Avatar there now, which is Monday. They got Star Wars Land there now at Hollywood Studios. So yeah, I'm all about my Disney bron and there's so much other stuff to do that like you can.

They got fishing guys there will take your out bass fishing. You used to be able to pay shell go horseback riding. It's a bunch of stuff to do. Wow, I haven't been since I was a kid. I definitely gotta gotta see it with with a doll eyes now. Oh, you gotta go back there as an adult, especially Epcot. You can get your drink on all around the world, man, I mean. And what I love is they actually have

people from those actual countries working there. I didn't realize that, Like when you go to Germany, those are people from Germany work because they I think they come over like six months at a time. I know, you became a father again in March. I guess probably even had a chance to take your your your new daughter down there. Yet. Man, what the crazy thing is when quarantine started, we went to my daughters born the first the same day. Uh

make me want to with number one? Uh. Two days later there was tornadoes in Nashville, so I had to leave to go to Germany, and so my tour bus driver took um. If y'all say, my daughter and my uhay's mom in Florida because her parents have a house in Florida. So when I came back in March, they were still in Florida. So we went to Disney a couple of days. We just didn't post any pictures on social media because we want to look like bad parents. Because I got back on like the thirteenth, and Disney

was open to the twenties. That's all we're going. So we went. But we got one those v IP tour guys to where you know, we didn't wait in lines when kind of went around the back and they drove us from park to park. So, oh man, so she's been. She went to Disney at three weeks old, first of many, first of minute. She's already got a bunch of Disney princess dresses and everything. Oh man, I know you had a wedding on the books for this summer too, right,

what's the latest with that? How's the planning for that? Pushed it to next year? Push it to next year, like we I think I proposed at Disney World. We had the baby reveal at disney World, the gender revealed thing at Disney World. Everybody's like, you get married at Disney World. No, but I thought about it. I thought about it, are you are you gonna sing at the wedding? And thinking of writing any songs the wedding. Now, I'm not gonna sing at the wedding. I just wanted to.

I don't know. To me, I just think it's cheesy when the groom sings, especially. It's just I'm a singer. Now. If I didn't sing for a living, I charge people tickets. Yeah, I just want to be different and special, you know. And I could write her a song sing it then, but I just don't want that day to be like

any other day. I meant to mention this earlier, a really cool thing I thought on social media, you know, I mean, the quarantine and the pandemic has been tough on everybody, but especially for people who struggle with mental illness. And you shared a song that touched on your own battle. I thought that was really amazing. What words do you have for those right now who are struggling internally with sort of their own inner demons and inner battle right now?

Find your center, you know, find what it is in life that motivates, find your reason why, whether it's someone in your family, ah, dream your check and find whatever it is and really focus on that. That's what helped me. I took medication when I was younger for a little bit, but it kind of killed my creative vibe. So I touring helped me a lot. Uh, just being out meeting people touring. But then when this whole quarantine stopped and that was taken away, like my medication, I had to

find other stuff. So I dived, you know, you know, I got to be around my Beyonce and my son and my daughter helped a lot. But also just the other side projects I'm doing really helped as well. What do you do when when the when the music is not coming, when you sit down and write a song and it's just it's not happening for some reason. You have a way to reset or do you just plow through it? I just don't work. I just don't write that day. I just don't. I'm not the type to

like when creative isn't coming. I don't force it, you know, I just say, hey, this ain't the day, fellas. You know, I'm gonna let y'all stick to it, but I'm out because I don't want to waste their time or mine, you know. So you know, I've had plenty of rights like that, where I had nothing, just wasn't in the mood. So I'll show up, I'll try. There's nothing now, I'll leave, go home, hanging my family, play PlayStation, watch TV, and just reset. That's kind of how I said, I just

step away from it. Every day is another day. Mm hmm. You mentioned so many projects. Is there anything that you're working on now musically that you're the most excited about. Yeah. I started working, started writing and choosing songs from my next album, hopefully we'll put out next year. Um, I just just thinking about that. Songs for it kind of the direction I want to go because I like, I know there's some people that want their album to be

sonically cohesive, where it kind of sounds the same. But me, I like when songs sound completely different. I don't want to track to the sound part two of track one unless it's intentional, you know, I just I don't know. I want every song to be a different moment, you know, a different feeling, a different vibe. Um yeah, uh any uh? Do you think the White Cleft song will end up on that or I hope? So I'm a push for it and see we can see we can make that happen.

You gotta ask jay Z and Shanaya and all those people too. You gotta um no, man oh man. Well, I don't want to take up too much more your time. But my my, my final question. And I always asked this, and I'm always so fascinated by everyone's answers. Though. I think I have a good idea what yours might be. If you could snap your fingers and have the pandemic be over, everything goes back to normal. What's the first thing you do? Trips? You take people, You hug, restaurants

to go eat at. I do a meet and greet. Yeah, I love meeting people. I do. Uh. And that's been the hardest thing for me, ah when I first started. Even now you know, ah, when I see people and I want to say hello, you know, uh, somebody wants to take a picture. You know, it's the hardest because for me, I would do it, but I think about, you know, my fiance, and I don't want to get her sick or my grandfather and stuff like that. But that's the first thing I'll do. Go do a meat greek,

a long one at Disney World. I was thinking, you gonna say, Disney world do the Disney. Oh Man, I'm going to Disney first week August. Yeah. I have friends over there yesterday they said that. They said, Jimmy, you'll love it now too. It's like not a lot of people, they're super so. And I'm like with Disney, if anybody's gonna do social distancing, right, it's going to be there. Yeah, that's true. You're right, it's gonna it's gonna be there. So people in the parks they got their mask on.

People are more than twenty feet away from each other. So I was like, you run into more people at Kroger at the grocery store than you do it Disney. Oh Man to me, O, thank you so much for your time today and your music. So appreciate it. No problem, Thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside the Studio Home Edition, a production of I

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