Jelly Roll Can’t Believe This Iconic Star Knows Who He Is
Jelly Roll appeared on Jimmy Kimmel this week, which was hosted by Martin Short. In the new interview, he told Martin what he had besides talent to make it in the tough music business.
Jelly said, “Talent will get you far, but if you ain’t got a horseshoe hidden somewhere, you will be in a little bit of trouble. Lucky for me I had a rabbit foot in my butt.” He paused and asked, “Did I just say that on TV?”
Short told Jelly that his friend and co-star Steve Martin was commenting on Jelly’s success, to which he replied, “What a minute. Steve Martin knows I’m a human. This is awesome.”
Jelly also talked about his name, saying that he prefers to be called Jelly instead of Mr. Roll because the latter sounds like mistletoe, which confuses him, wanting “to kiss people.”
Jelly then told his story of incarceration and drugs and how his daughter saved his life. He noted that he wrote many songs in prison but started writing them as a kid to connect with his mother because she loved music.
Jelly demonstrated on the desk how he blended music with his lyrics in jail by beating his fist to the melody. Sitting on the show coach as the second guest, he cleverly rapped, “I’m in between Martin Short and the lady from Glee,” referring to Jane Lynch. The audience laughed and roared with applause.
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In a recent interview, Jelly compared his career and ability to succeed in country music to country legend Merle Haggard. Haggard scored many hits from the 1960s to the 1980s and is a member of the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Jelly said, “Merle, for me, was one of the guys. Merle did time in prison. I connected to his story at such a young age. If it weren’t for Merle, guys like me wouldn’t have a chance in country music.”
In the same interview, Jelly talked about appearing on CBS This Morning and going back to his Nashville prison cell to visit. He noted that the experience was “way more emotional” than he anticipated it being. he said he knew that the cell was small, but said, “I forgot how small it was.” It also freaked him out a bit that it smelled the same, and it “brought me back to being in jail.”
Jelly will celebrate his 40th birthday later this year In December. He said he doesn’t know what he’s going to do to celebrate, but he is thinking about going to the comedy club and even renting one. He did say that would “be a dream night for me.”
