Jelly Roll Opens Up to Eric Church About His Childhood

Ask country music superstar Jelly Roll to name his top five musical artists of all-time, and you might be surprised by the answer you get. 

On February 21, Jelly Roll and fellow industry stalwart Eric Church were having a one-on-one conversation on the final day of Country Radio Seminar, an annual convention held in downtown Nashville for artists, broadcasters and recording industry representatives. Jelly Roll, the artist-in-residence for “American Idol,” was talking about the importance of music in his upbringing, when he named the quintet of artists that had the biggest impact on him. 

“It’s James, Jim, Bob, Bob, and Bob,” he said. “Truly that easy. 

As in James Taylor, Jim Croce, Bob Seger, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan. Perhaps not the first choices that would come to mind when thinking of someone that has made such a big splash on the country music scene, but it makes sense, given the music that Jelly Roll said he grew up around in his family. 

Jelly Roll Talks With Eric Church About Music From His Childhood

It was an atmosphere that he described as, “a bunch of tone-deaf drug addicts and alcoholics that just loved music.” 

“We sounded like a bunch of drunk alley cats when we sang together as a family, but we loved doing it, you know what I mean?” he said. 

And Jelly Roll, being the youngest of four, with two brothers and a sister, said he was constantly soaking in whatever the older siblings were blasting. Whether it was Public Enemy from the brother who “was the hip-hop guy,” or the sister introducing him to grunge as “the next big thing.” 

“I was influenced by all these things,” Jelly Roll said. 

Jelly Roll, Eric Church Conversation as Part of Country Music Radio Event

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The conversation between the two artists took place in an auditorium, in front of a crowd of country music industry stakeholders. Earlier in the day, Country Radio Broadcasters, a Nashville-based trade organization, honored Church and Luke Combs with its annual Artist Humanitarian Award in recognition of their efforts to help residents in North Carolina who were devastated by the impacts of Hurricane Helene. 

“I’m incredibly uncomfortable with an award like this,” Church admitted. “A mentor of mine said a long time ago that you should never think about what you get from doing the right thing, you should just do the right thing, and in this regard, this was the right thing.” 

Church felt much more comfortable talking to Jelly Roll later in the day in what was billed as a “fly on the wall” scenario, with the two talking to each other, while hundreds of people eavesdropped. Jelly Roll would comment on the strangeness of talking so intimately to a friend and mentor in a crowded room of country music radio insiders. 

“We’re sitting here just talking in front of a bunch of people like we would on your bus,” he said, laughing.