Jordan Davis’ No. 1 party was a
family affair
“Take It From Me” co-written
with brother Jacob Davis and Jason Gantt
By Preshias Harris for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
It was a family affair – sort of –
for Jordan Davis as he celebrated his second Number One song. The
family tie-in? He co-wrote the song, “Take It From Me,” with his
brother Jacob Davis along with Jason Gantt. It was a “number one”
in more ways than one: this was the first No. 1 as writers for both
Jacob and Jason.
Jordan, Jacob and Jason met with media
to talk about the song before the official presentations hosted by
the performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI. The party took
place at the venue Ruby in Nashville on Tuesday, July 30.
I asked Jordan if he realized it was
exactly one year ago – July 30, 2018 – that we had all gotten
together to celebrate his previous No. 1.
“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” he
said. “Hey, have you been talking to my mama? She reminded me
yesterday that it was exactly four years to the day that Jacob and me
played the Bluebird Café for the first time!”
Jordan made a point of thanking the
songwriters in Nashville who accepted him even “when I wasn’t
writing good songs like this.” He said those writers continued to
stick with him instead of kicking him out and replacing him with
another writer.
Jordan hit the ground running in 2017
with the smash hit, “Singles You Up” that reached No. 1 on the
Country Airplay chart and No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs
chart. The song became the anchor of Jordan’s debut album, Home
State (MCA Nashville). “Take It From Me” is the second single
release – and the second No. 1 – from the album, produced by Paul
DiGiovanni.
Speaking of family matters, Jacob
recalled that as a child his parents would often tell him to “Watch
baby Jordan” or “Keep an eye on baby Jordan.” Jacob went on to
say that things have come full circle and he has been proud to watch
“baby Jordan” have such success.
Another ‘family’ connection: I
noted that Jordan and Jason’s uncle, Stan Paul Davis, penned
several hits including “Today’s Lonely Fool” and “Better Man,
Better Off” both for Tracy Lawrence.
“Yes,” said Jordan, pointing to the
back of the room, “and he’s right back there. Our
parents have encouraged us in our dreams. Because of our uncle, we
knew what we had to do to achieve our dreams. And we always had a
place to crash,” he added with a laugh. Uncle
Stan looked proud and happy as his nephews were honored.
(On a personal note, I was an intern at
Tracy Lawrence’s record label when Tracy cut “Today’s Lonely
Fool” so I have happy memories of that song.)
As he was recognized for writing his
fist No. 1, Jason Gantt recalled that legendary songwriter Bob
DiPiero had taken him on as an assistant engineer on tracking
sessions. He said that he was “too scared” to tell Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Famer DiPiero that he had ambitions to be a
songwriter himself. Bob’s wife, Leslie DiPiero (now General Manager
at Tree Vibez Music) helped set up Jason with co-writes which led him
to meet Jacob in 2014.
“Slow Dance in a Parking Lot”
Jordan’s third single (also from Home State) was released July 15
and is already impacting country radio. More about Jordan Davis at
his website https://www.jordandavisofficial.com/and on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/jordandavisofficial/
# # #
GROUP PHOTO:
Pictured (L-R): Producer Paul
DiGiovanni, Anthem Entertainment’s Gilles Godard, Wrensong
Entertainment’s Abbe Nameche, ASCAP songwriter Jacob Davis, ASCAP’s
Evyn Mustoe Johnston, ASCAP songwriter and MCA Nashville recording
artist Jordan Davis, Anthem Entertainment’s Tim Hunze, Rezonant
Music’s Tim Wipperman, BMI songwriter Jason Gantt, BMI’s MaryAnn
Keen, Love Monkey Music’s Bob DiPiero, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s
Josh Van Valkenburg, and UMG Nashville’s Mike Dungan. Photo: Ed
Rode.
MEDIA SESSION PHOTOS:
(L to R): Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis,
Jason Gantt. Photos: Preshias Harris.