June 12, 2024 • 18 mins
BELL BOTTOM COUNTRY HAS BECOME MORE THAN A TREND, IT HAS BECOME A HISTORIC PART OF TODAY’S COUNTRY MUSIC, ALL THANKS TO LAINEY WILSON. HER DREAMS HAVE ALL COME TRUE, BUT IT TOOK LONGER THAN YOU THINK, AND THE STRUGGLES WERE MANY, EVEN AFTER THE SUCCESS BEGAN TO ARRIVE. ON THIS EDITION OF CROOK & CHASE NASHVILLE CHATS, LAINEY JOINS LORIANNE AND CHARLIE FOR A VERY PERSONAL VISIT INSIDE THE WORLD OF COUNTRY’S HOTTEST STAR!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Lorient and Charlie Crook and Chase and Nashville
Chats from Music Grow Here in Music City, USA. Man
our topic today, Miss Laney Wilson. And the reason is
everything has been happening for this girl.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Oh tell me about it.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
All kinds of awards, including Entertainer of the Year. Her
albums are number one, her songs are number one. She
is an actress, She is now a restaurant and bar owner,
the newest member of the Grand Old Aubrey, and very
shortly she has a brand new album coming out called Whirlwinds.
So with that in mind, prior to that new music,
(00:39):
let's just take a look back at our first meeting
with this girl and how it has come to this point.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Let's go retro. Shall we like her wardrobe. She's the
one who started the craze of the bell bottoms, of course,
and bell Bottom Country was the name of the album
on Boy. It just took off from there. The hats
the flashy warde. But you know, she's so down to
earth as you're about to find out. We go back
to twenty twenty two, just a couple of years ago,
(01:07):
when we've really talked, we've met her before. But we
were talking with Lenny about this Bell Bottom Country thing
and it's really taken off.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
You know, I've been kind of impressed because in your
music video Heart Like a Truck, you seem to be
quite the equestrian.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So you know what you're doing that's not acting, right.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
So the cutting horse situation, yes, that was acting. I've
never dealt with cutting horses, okay, but I was on
a horse before I could walk. I mean, my parents
had decided I was going to be a cowgirl before
I even wanted to. So that was just a part
of my childhood. Like that's where me and my family
would spend time together. And man, dealing with horses has
taught me a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Oh and just briefly tell me about that because one
of our the girlfriends, and Ia Twain, has all kinds
of horses and has that same connection. I mean, like
Charlie has dogs, big connection with it. I have Chat's
connection with my cats. What is it about a horse
that teaches someone like you about life?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Well, first of all, it's a huge responsibility. I mean
just on in any animal, as you know, I mean
there's times where you take care of the horse better
than you take care of yourself, and also just getting
on it every day and riding it, like persistence and
like and just whether you're breaking a horse or whatever
like that. When I got my second horse I ever had,
(02:24):
he was two years old and I was nine years old,
and this horse had never been ridden a day in
its life. And my daddy put me on him and
I broke him. But there were times where I wanted
to get down and I was crying, saying, let me
get off.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
But that right there taught me a whole lot, him
just telling me to hold on.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
I needed that lesson, especially for the music business.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Did you have to break when you came to Nashville
A lot?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I'm still trying to break a few of them.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
How's it going there later?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Oh my gosh, some of them I think are unbreakable.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You came to Nashville. Of course, everybody knows that you
lived a trailer, you know, a pull trailer there for
a while. What do you recall about that very first
day you came to Nashville. It's just you a guitar
and big dream.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Oh my gosh, I was scared. I was scared.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I don't think I had hardly even driven on an interstate,
especially not eight hours worth.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I didn't know where to start. I didn't know who
to talk to. I was.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
I knew one person in town. His name was Jerry Cupitt,
and he produced like Ken Mellon's Kevin Sharp back in
the day. And I knew him because my grandfather had
given him a few hundred dollars to help him move
to Nashville and get started, like back in the seventies.
So as a favor in return, he just let me
live in his studio parking lot for free. So he
was the only person I knew. But I think that's
(03:44):
everybody's story when they when they get here, there's like
I didn't know anybody, but you just got to get
out there, and well.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
How much mind you have in your pocket when you
got here?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
None?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
No, The good news is they didn't charge me anything
for like living in their parking lot. I was bumming
their water and I find electricity and stuff. So all
I had to pay for was my groceries and gas.
So I was going back and forth to Louisiana and
Mississippi and playing shows. You know, just had enough money
to pretty much eat. So I don't no, I didn't
(04:14):
have no money.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
What you talking about?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
There are so many jobs that would be considered easier.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Oh my gosh, yes, So why how.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Do you hang on to a dream that's so challenging
like that?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Like I always laugh and say, it's the only thing
I know how to do. I mean, I could have
easily gone home and helped daddy farm or do something
like that. But the truth is, like, this is the
thing that gives me life. This is like I mean,
when I wrote my first song at nine years old,
I knew immediately I had got bitten by the bug.
It was just it kind of chose me and I hadn't.
(04:48):
There was no way that I couldn't. And that's that's
kind of crazy to even think about, but but yeah,
it was something that I had to just see through.
I didn't know what that meant it was going to
look like. I didn't know if I would just be
a songwriter or if I would do both.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
But I knew I was going to do it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know, you are living proof of a saying that
I heard recently that I think is so wonderful is
that we're all born good at a lot of things.
But what you need to find and choose is the
thing that brings you joy.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yep, that clarifies, doesn't it And it's exactly what you
have done.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It brings me so much joy in a therapeutic and
Lord knows I need some therapy.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Well, your album is therapy, a lot of the therapy.
Bell Bottom Country, what a great way to describe your music.
Did you come up with that title?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Yeah, we did to kind of describe my music, but
also the way I dress pretty much just my lifestyle.
It's country with a flair. It's finding whatever it is
that makes you you, makes you different. It could be
where you're from, how you raised your story and just
leaning into it as much as you can. And I
think I did that with this record.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Well, and the bell bottoms are so much which I love,
by the way, Oh my god, if I could rock
them like that, I would get rid of these legans.
But what attracted you to that fashion style? Because you
do rock it.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Thank you, sister.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
So my mama got me my first pair of leopard
blue bell bottoms when I was just a little girl pajamas.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yes, and I'm.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Telling you I wore them. I probably slip in them too.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
They were probably pajamas, but at one point in time
she was like, Laney, you got to take them off,
like we gotta wash them.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I was just obsessed with them. So fast forward.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
I moved to town in twenty eleven, about twenty fourteen
or so, I'm like, Okay, I need to start figuring
out what can I do. That's a little different but
true to me, because you know how it is as
a female here in town, like you gotta look different,
sound different, and whatever. And that's what I did. I
was like, Bell Bottoms, That's that's my thing. I've always
(06:54):
loved things that look throwback or come with a good story,
and that's what we landed on bell Botom Country.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I'm throwback in your honor today. I decided to love
that the member's only jacket that everybody said should go
away and never come back.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Uh huh, it's back.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
It's back on me mine to wear six years old.
Where are your shop? To find your fashion?
Speaker 4 (07:20):
So a lot of my shirts and stuff I get
from vented shops and stuff. So if I have any
time off in a city that i'm playing, I try.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
To just go Those are cool, aren't they?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They are?
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And it just kind of intrigues me to think about
I wonder who was wearing the shirt before, and I
wonder what kind of stories there ain't no telling with
the shirts all.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Look overall, we're talking let's talk image, let's talk music
subject matter. Is it difficult to keep things country?
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Not for me?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I'll that out here.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Not for me, because that's who I am to my core.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
I mean, you know, the people can say whatever they
want to say about me, especially online. But the one
thing that drives me the most insane is when people
say that my accent is not this thick that I'm
laying it on. And I'm like, well, you need to
talk to my mama and my daddy and my sister
and my granny.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
We're gonna took them on the line.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
And you ought to hear me when I'm drunk, so.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
That would be fun. You'll do that tonight. Let me
tell you, girl, Let me tell you what strikes me
about your music. Because I am old enough to be
blessed enough to say that I knew Johnny Cash and
Whalen Jennings and Roger Miller and Jerry Reid, and I
hear a little Dina Carter. Of course, I hear a
(08:51):
little bit of all of that. Wow, our music just
tinges of it, not like you're trying to beat somebody else,
but those influences bubble up and are magical.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
That's pretty cool that you say that.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Well, And I don't even know if that was intentional,
if you love those people's softwriting style or music.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I think it just kind of organically like worked its
way in there. I can't help, but just like that's
where it started for me, especially like nineties country, like
Dina for instance. Yeah, I mean, and she's just become
a dear friend of mine too, So it's like you
can't help but have some of your influences kind of
peak out every now and then. Of course, I'm trying
(09:29):
to like do my own thing, but i mean people
influenced me.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Hey is a watermelon moonshine sort of a tip of
the hat to Dina and Strawberry Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yep, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
A lot of people have been comment and saying this
is like, you know, the modern day version, and that's
a huge compliment because I mean, what a timeless song
Strawberry Wine. There ain't nothing like it, and we weren't
trying to you know, definitely not trying to like redo
it because it can be redone, but watermel Moonshine. It's
really not even a about watermel moonshine, not at all.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah. More on the way with Landy Wilson, including probably
the most meaningful song she's ever written. It's on her
Bell Bottom Country CD, and you're going to get the
very personal story of Those Boots and how it recently
became more important to her than ever. That's next time,
Crook and Chase Natural Chats with Landy Wilson. All right, folks,
as we continue our visit with Landy Wilson, and we'll
(10:23):
point out again that this was a couple of years ago,
as during our conversation, Landy's going to talk about her
father's frightening illness. We're happy to point out he's fine now,
but as things were really starting to take off for Laney,
there were some very trying times back home in Louisiana.
I think the song that impacted me most was Those Boots. Okay,
(10:43):
let your dad. Yeah you say a lot there. Yeah,
you really say so much in that particular song, And
I guess impacted me the most because I'm probably his
age yep, you know, And I'm just curious how you did,
what did the song do for you, and what did
(11:04):
you do for your dad?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah, well, so the entire song kind of came from
this story of when I was a little girl. So
we lived in this uninsulated house in basking on forty
acres and instead of building onto the house, my parents
cut the side out of a portable building and stuck
it onto the side of the house. And that's what
me and my sister lived in. So we would just
(11:27):
kind of like run into the house. Well, every morning
when my daddy was getting ready for work, he would say, Laney,
come in here, and I would run from the portable
building into the house and I would help him pull
his pants leg down over his boots. That was kind
of like my job for the day. And it made
me feel special. I mean, it made me feel like
I was really doing something. And I'll never forget the
(11:48):
way that that just that made me feel. And I
would think about that memory like throughout, you know, my
adult years and stuff. And I was just telling him
about it, and we decided to write this song. And
it's going to take a very special man to fill
the boots of my daddy because he's a he's a
good one. He's you know, this song meant a lot
to me when we wrote it, but now even more
so because the last few months he was sick. He
(12:10):
was in the hospital for two months and then rehab
facility for three weeks and he got home I guess
about three days ago, and just had a birthday yesterday,
and oh my goodness, he is on the up and
up and we're lucky to have him.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Oh my gosh, girl, I didn't know you were going
through that. How do you stay focused with something that
emotional going on in your life.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
It's been hard, especially with just getting on stage and
you know, pouring my heart out of pretending that parts
of my life are fine, and also with film and Yellowstone,
It's been it's been crazy. I would I'd feelm a
scene and I'd go over to the corner and cry
for a minute and then come back because I mean
there for a minute, like doctors were telling us this
(12:52):
ain't this ain't good. So yeah, but he is a
tough cookie. And he taught me how to pull up
my boot straps growing up, and now we have to
tell him to pull his up.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So something great you learned from him for sure, that's it.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Who is Abby and how do you relate closely to her?
And I'm going to compound the question here, was acting
always in your dream or did you have to be convinced.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
So you don't have to really convince me that it's
a good idea. If if it means that I get
to share more of my music with the world, That's
how this happened. I was like, I mean, I just
without even thinking about it, I just said yes. Taylor
Sheared and called me back in February, the writer and producer,
and he just he's been a fan of mine for
(13:37):
a while and put three of my songs in the
show over the years. And he called me in February
and just said, I want to create a character specifically
for you. And he said, I want you to wear
what you wear, I want you to sing your songs
and I pretty much just be you. And I'm like, Lord,
have mercy, this is a gift from God. This is huge,
(13:58):
and I know it. And I know that, like I
got really lucky with especially my first acting gig, of
having to not be anything other than myself, because you'll
know I have a.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Hard time of that.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Well, so is your Abby. Actually, Abby is going to
be you Abby has.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Made with a little extra you know, salt and pepper
on it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I was going to say, what do you get to
be or do as Abby? That is different from Laney?
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Seeing if I tell you, oh, you can't, then then
I'd be spoiling at all.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Okay, she can't.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I know you're grateful, you're happy about all this, but
you also say to get where you are today has
been a challenge. What's been the most challenging thing?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Oh my gosh, just the amount of time I guess
it has taken me.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
How many years I have.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Been in Nashville. Eleven years and a few months now.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Okay, so it's now an eleven year town.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Eleven year town, you know. I'm like, they just keep
tacking one on.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Actually was actually it was ten when you think about.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
It, it was ten almost to the date when things
am in. I don't know ended up going number one,
but yes, it's just it's been hard. A lot of
people message me and they're like, hey, I'm thinking about
being a songwriter and moving to Nashville.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Let me know what I need to do.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
And my question back to them every time and this
might be a little harsh, is can you imagine yourself
doing anything else? And if they say, yeah, I could
be a school teacher, I could be a doctor, a lawyer,
I say, then you need to go do that.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
You that you made a statement that I think it's
so profound. You said something along the line if you
have a plan B, Plan A is not going to work. Yeah,
how did you come to that conclusion?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I just knew it.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
I knew that if I did not keep my blinders on,
and I knew that, you know, if I had a
backup plan, that I would just take the easy route.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
I knew that.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I knew I could go home and get another job,
Like I knew that deep in my heart. But I
was just I just pretended. You know, I'm just like
I guess that makes me a little borderline psycho. I
don't know, but dang it, I I don't know where
I'm gonna end up. I don't know if that means
I'm just gonna be a songwriter. I don't know if
that means I'm going to be both. But I know
that I'm not going home. I know that I'm supposed
to be here. And I think that was just a
(16:10):
sense of peace that the Lord put on my heart
even at an early age.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
You have had an explosive touring experience with all the
different people you've been able to sing with and share
the stage with. I'll just let you describe what has
the experience been like.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
I mean, these folks are my friends now, which is
kind of weird even things.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
So we're talking Morgan Wallen, Luke Khmbes, Yep, you got
with John Party, Oh.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, okay, any big names.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, I don't know they going out on the tour
with me.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
But I'm telling you, I'm such fans of all those guys.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
And what do you learn from them?
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I mean, I really get I get to like do
my thirty forty five minute set, and then I get
to put on my comfy pants and I get to
say it like side stage, and I get to watch
what they do to make people laugh and cry and
like feel every emotion that you can possibly feel in
an hour and a half. And I'm excited to have
my own headline and set that way I can do
(17:14):
the same thing and really just watch how they connect
to their fans because they all do it in a
different way, but they all do it and they all
get the job done, and I think people leave there
feeling better than they did when they came.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I want to tell you if you've ever seen Lady
Wilson in concert, I mean I saw it recently on
the stage of the Granduel Operator. She is so full
of energy. She loves what she's doing. This is her dream,
this is something she's been thinking about since. I think
she pointed out she was writing the first songs of
nine Years nine years ago, and it couldn't happen to
a finer lady. Seriously, And you're right.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And the thing is, she is such a good person.
And let me tell you this, and this tells you
everything about country music and why we love being in it.
Saw an interview with Brand New Artists' Dasha. She was
talking about the fact that early on, before Dasha ever
became a star, that anyone had even heard of, one
(18:11):
of the people that was supporting her and urging her
on was Laney Wilson. And to repeat Dash's description, which
I think is so beautiful, Dasha says, this is why
because all of the support artists root for each other.
This is why country music is a beautiful bubble that
we never want.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
To leave, well said, I got to tell you so
much is happening for her right now. I can't wait
to see what the future holes for Landy Wilson, but
we will have you covered on that, my friends. Listen
to Crook and Chase count Down every weekend on hundreds
of radio stations across America and streaming on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram at Crook and
Chase
Hey, it's Lorient and Charlie Crook and Chase and Nashville
Chats from Music Grow Here in Music City, USA. Man
our topic today, Miss Laney Wilson. And the reason is
everything has been happening for this girl.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Oh tell me about it.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
All kinds of awards, including Entertainer of the Year. Her
albums are number one, her songs are number one. She
is an actress, She is now a restaurant and bar owner,
the newest member of the Grand Old Aubrey, and very
shortly she has a brand new album coming out called Whirlwinds.
So with that in mind, prior to that new music,
(00:39):
let's just take a look back at our first meeting
with this girl and how it has come to this point.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Let's go retro. Shall we like her wardrobe. She's the
one who started the craze of the bell bottoms, of course,
and bell Bottom Country was the name of the album
on Boy. It just took off from there. The hats
the flashy warde. But you know, she's so down to
earth as you're about to find out. We go back
to twenty twenty two, just a couple of years ago,
(01:07):
when we've really talked, we've met her before. But we
were talking with Lenny about this Bell Bottom Country thing
and it's really taken off.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
You know, I've been kind of impressed because in your
music video Heart Like a Truck, you seem to be
quite the equestrian.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So you know what you're doing that's not acting, right.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
So the cutting horse situation, yes, that was acting. I've
never dealt with cutting horses, okay, but I was on
a horse before I could walk. I mean, my parents
had decided I was going to be a cowgirl before
I even wanted to. So that was just a part
of my childhood. Like that's where me and my family
would spend time together. And man, dealing with horses has
taught me a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Oh and just briefly tell me about that because one
of our the girlfriends, and Ia Twain, has all kinds
of horses and has that same connection. I mean, like
Charlie has dogs, big connection with it. I have Chat's
connection with my cats. What is it about a horse
that teaches someone like you about life?
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Well, first of all, it's a huge responsibility. I mean
just on in any animal, as you know, I mean
there's times where you take care of the horse better
than you take care of yourself, and also just getting
on it every day and riding it, like persistence and
like and just whether you're breaking a horse or whatever
like that. When I got my second horse I ever had,
(02:24):
he was two years old and I was nine years old,
and this horse had never been ridden a day in
its life. And my daddy put me on him and
I broke him. But there were times where I wanted
to get down and I was crying, saying, let me
get off.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
But that right there taught me a whole lot, him
just telling me to hold on.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
I needed that lesson, especially for the music business.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Did you have to break when you came to Nashville
A lot?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I'm still trying to break a few of them.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
How's it going there later?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Oh my gosh, some of them I think are unbreakable.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You came to Nashville. Of course, everybody knows that you
lived a trailer, you know, a pull trailer there for
a while. What do you recall about that very first
day you came to Nashville. It's just you a guitar
and big dream.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Oh my gosh, I was scared. I was scared.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I don't think I had hardly even driven on an interstate,
especially not eight hours worth.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I didn't know where to start. I didn't know who
to talk to. I was.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
I knew one person in town. His name was Jerry Cupitt,
and he produced like Ken Mellon's Kevin Sharp back in
the day. And I knew him because my grandfather had
given him a few hundred dollars to help him move
to Nashville and get started, like back in the seventies.
So as a favor in return, he just let me
live in his studio parking lot for free. So he
was the only person I knew. But I think that's
(03:44):
everybody's story when they when they get here, there's like
I didn't know anybody, but you just got to get
out there, and well.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
How much mind you have in your pocket when you
got here?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
None?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
No, The good news is they didn't charge me anything
for like living in their parking lot. I was bumming
their water and I find electricity and stuff. So all
I had to pay for was my groceries and gas.
So I was going back and forth to Louisiana and
Mississippi and playing shows. You know, just had enough money
to pretty much eat. So I don't no, I didn't
(04:14):
have no money.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
What you talking about?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
There are so many jobs that would be considered easier.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Oh my gosh, yes, So why how.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Do you hang on to a dream that's so challenging
like that?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Like I always laugh and say, it's the only thing
I know how to do. I mean, I could have
easily gone home and helped daddy farm or do something
like that. But the truth is, like, this is the
thing that gives me life. This is like I mean,
when I wrote my first song at nine years old,
I knew immediately I had got bitten by the bug.
It was just it kind of chose me and I hadn't.
(04:48):
There was no way that I couldn't. And that's that's
kind of crazy to even think about, but but yeah,
it was something that I had to just see through.
I didn't know what that meant it was going to
look like. I didn't know if I would just be
a songwriter or if I would do both.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
But I knew I was going to do it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know, you are living proof of a saying that
I heard recently that I think is so wonderful is
that we're all born good at a lot of things.
But what you need to find and choose is the
thing that brings you joy.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yep, that clarifies, doesn't it And it's exactly what you
have done.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
That's it.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It brings me so much joy in a therapeutic and
Lord knows I need some therapy.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Well, your album is therapy, a lot of the therapy.
Bell Bottom Country, what a great way to describe your music.
Did you come up with that title?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Yeah, we did to kind of describe my music, but
also the way I dress pretty much just my lifestyle.
It's country with a flair. It's finding whatever it is
that makes you you, makes you different. It could be
where you're from, how you raised your story and just
leaning into it as much as you can. And I
think I did that with this record.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Well, and the bell bottoms are so much which I love,
by the way, Oh my god, if I could rock
them like that, I would get rid of these legans.
But what attracted you to that fashion style? Because you
do rock it.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Thank you, sister.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
So my mama got me my first pair of leopard
blue bell bottoms when I was just a little girl pajamas.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yes, and I'm.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Telling you I wore them. I probably slip in them too.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
They were probably pajamas, but at one point in time
she was like, Laney, you got to take them off,
like we gotta wash them.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I was just obsessed with them. So fast forward.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
I moved to town in twenty eleven, about twenty fourteen
or so, I'm like, Okay, I need to start figuring
out what can I do. That's a little different but
true to me, because you know how it is as
a female here in town, like you gotta look different,
sound different, and whatever. And that's what I did. I
was like, Bell Bottoms, That's that's my thing. I've always
(06:54):
loved things that look throwback or come with a good story,
and that's what we landed on bell Botom Country.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I'm throwback in your honor today. I decided to love
that the member's only jacket that everybody said should go
away and never come back.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Uh huh, it's back.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
It's back on me mine to wear six years old.
Where are your shop? To find your fashion?
Speaker 4 (07:20):
So a lot of my shirts and stuff I get
from vented shops and stuff. So if I have any
time off in a city that i'm playing, I try.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
To just go Those are cool, aren't they?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They are?
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And it just kind of intrigues me to think about
I wonder who was wearing the shirt before, and I
wonder what kind of stories there ain't no telling with
the shirts all.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Look overall, we're talking let's talk image, let's talk music
subject matter. Is it difficult to keep things country?
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Not for me?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I'll that out here.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Not for me, because that's who I am to my core.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
I mean, you know, the people can say whatever they
want to say about me, especially online. But the one
thing that drives me the most insane is when people
say that my accent is not this thick that I'm
laying it on. And I'm like, well, you need to
talk to my mama and my daddy and my sister
and my granny.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
We're gonna took them on the line.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
And you ought to hear me when I'm drunk, so.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
That would be fun. You'll do that tonight. Let me
tell you, girl, Let me tell you what strikes me
about your music. Because I am old enough to be
blessed enough to say that I knew Johnny Cash and
Whalen Jennings and Roger Miller and Jerry Reid, and I
hear a little Dina Carter. Of course, I hear a
(08:51):
little bit of all of that. Wow, our music just
tinges of it, not like you're trying to beat somebody else,
but those influences bubble up and are magical.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
That's pretty cool that you say that.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Well, And I don't even know if that was intentional,
if you love those people's softwriting style or music.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I think it just kind of organically like worked its
way in there. I can't help, but just like that's
where it started for me, especially like nineties country, like
Dina for instance. Yeah, I mean, and she's just become
a dear friend of mine too, So it's like you
can't help but have some of your influences kind of
peak out every now and then. Of course, I'm trying
(09:29):
to like do my own thing, but i mean people
influenced me.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Hey is a watermelon moonshine sort of a tip of
the hat to Dina and Strawberry Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yep, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
A lot of people have been comment and saying this
is like, you know, the modern day version, and that's
a huge compliment because I mean, what a timeless song
Strawberry Wine. There ain't nothing like it, and we weren't
trying to you know, definitely not trying to like redo
it because it can be redone, but watermel Moonshine. It's
really not even a about watermel moonshine, not at all.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah. More on the way with Landy Wilson, including probably
the most meaningful song she's ever written. It's on her
Bell Bottom Country CD, and you're going to get the
very personal story of Those Boots and how it recently
became more important to her than ever. That's next time,
Crook and Chase Natural Chats with Landy Wilson. All right, folks,
as we continue our visit with Landy Wilson, and we'll
(10:23):
point out again that this was a couple of years ago,
as during our conversation, Landy's going to talk about her
father's frightening illness. We're happy to point out he's fine now,
but as things were really starting to take off for Laney,
there were some very trying times back home in Louisiana.
I think the song that impacted me most was Those Boots. Okay,
(10:43):
let your dad. Yeah you say a lot there. Yeah,
you really say so much in that particular song, And
I guess impacted me the most because I'm probably his
age yep, you know, And I'm just curious how you did,
what did the song do for you, and what did
(11:04):
you do for your dad?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah, well, so the entire song kind of came from
this story of when I was a little girl. So
we lived in this uninsulated house in basking on forty
acres and instead of building onto the house, my parents
cut the side out of a portable building and stuck
it onto the side of the house. And that's what
me and my sister lived in. So we would just
(11:27):
kind of like run into the house. Well, every morning
when my daddy was getting ready for work, he would say, Laney,
come in here, and I would run from the portable
building into the house and I would help him pull
his pants leg down over his boots. That was kind
of like my job for the day. And it made
me feel special. I mean, it made me feel like
I was really doing something. And I'll never forget the
(11:48):
way that that just that made me feel. And I
would think about that memory like throughout, you know, my
adult years and stuff. And I was just telling him
about it, and we decided to write this song. And
it's going to take a very special man to fill
the boots of my daddy because he's a he's a
good one. He's you know, this song meant a lot
to me when we wrote it, but now even more
so because the last few months he was sick. He
(12:10):
was in the hospital for two months and then rehab
facility for three weeks and he got home I guess
about three days ago, and just had a birthday yesterday,
and oh my goodness, he is on the up and
up and we're lucky to have him.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Oh my gosh, girl, I didn't know you were going
through that. How do you stay focused with something that
emotional going on in your life.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
It's been hard, especially with just getting on stage and
you know, pouring my heart out of pretending that parts
of my life are fine, and also with film and Yellowstone,
It's been it's been crazy. I would I'd feelm a
scene and I'd go over to the corner and cry
for a minute and then come back because I mean
there for a minute, like doctors were telling us this
(12:52):
ain't this ain't good. So yeah, but he is a
tough cookie. And he taught me how to pull up
my boot straps growing up, and now we have to
tell him to pull his up.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So something great you learned from him for sure, that's it.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Who is Abby and how do you relate closely to her?
And I'm going to compound the question here, was acting
always in your dream or did you have to be convinced.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
So you don't have to really convince me that it's
a good idea. If if it means that I get
to share more of my music with the world, That's
how this happened. I was like, I mean, I just
without even thinking about it, I just said yes. Taylor
Sheared and called me back in February, the writer and producer,
and he just he's been a fan of mine for
(13:37):
a while and put three of my songs in the
show over the years. And he called me in February
and just said, I want to create a character specifically
for you. And he said, I want you to wear
what you wear, I want you to sing your songs
and I pretty much just be you. And I'm like, Lord,
have mercy, this is a gift from God. This is huge,
(13:58):
and I know it. And I know that, like I
got really lucky with especially my first acting gig, of
having to not be anything other than myself, because you'll
know I have a.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Hard time of that.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Well, so is your Abby. Actually, Abby is going to
be you Abby has.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Made with a little extra you know, salt and pepper
on it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I was going to say, what do you get to
be or do as Abby? That is different from Laney?
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Seeing if I tell you, oh, you can't, then then
I'd be spoiling at all.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Okay, she can't.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I know you're grateful, you're happy about all this, but
you also say to get where you are today has
been a challenge. What's been the most challenging thing?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Oh my gosh, just the amount of time I guess
it has taken me.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
How many years I have.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Been in Nashville. Eleven years and a few months now.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Okay, so it's now an eleven year town.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Eleven year town, you know. I'm like, they just keep
tacking one on.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Actually was actually it was ten when you think about.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
It, it was ten almost to the date when things
am in. I don't know ended up going number one,
but yes, it's just it's been hard. A lot of
people message me and they're like, hey, I'm thinking about
being a songwriter and moving to Nashville.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Let me know what I need to do.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
And my question back to them every time and this
might be a little harsh, is can you imagine yourself
doing anything else? And if they say, yeah, I could
be a school teacher, I could be a doctor, a lawyer,
I say, then you need to go do that.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
You that you made a statement that I think it's
so profound. You said something along the line if you
have a plan B, Plan A is not going to work. Yeah,
how did you come to that conclusion?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I just knew it.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
I knew that if I did not keep my blinders on,
and I knew that, you know, if I had a
backup plan, that I would just take the easy route.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
I knew that.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I knew I could go home and get another job,
Like I knew that deep in my heart. But I
was just I just pretended. You know, I'm just like
I guess that makes me a little borderline psycho. I
don't know, but dang it, I I don't know where
I'm gonna end up. I don't know if that means
I'm just gonna be a songwriter. I don't know if
that means I'm going to be both. But I know
that I'm not going home. I know that I'm supposed
to be here. And I think that was just a
(16:10):
sense of peace that the Lord put on my heart
even at an early age.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
You have had an explosive touring experience with all the
different people you've been able to sing with and share
the stage with. I'll just let you describe what has
the experience been like.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
I mean, these folks are my friends now, which is
kind of weird even things.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
So we're talking Morgan Wallen, Luke Khmbes, Yep, you got
with John Party, Oh.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, okay, any big names.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, I don't know they going out on the tour
with me.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
But I'm telling you, I'm such fans of all those guys.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
And what do you learn from them?
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I mean, I really get I get to like do
my thirty forty five minute set, and then I get
to put on my comfy pants and I get to
say it like side stage, and I get to watch
what they do to make people laugh and cry and
like feel every emotion that you can possibly feel in
an hour and a half. And I'm excited to have
my own headline and set that way I can do
(17:14):
the same thing and really just watch how they connect
to their fans because they all do it in a
different way, but they all do it and they all
get the job done, and I think people leave there
feeling better than they did when they came.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
I want to tell you if you've ever seen Lady
Wilson in concert, I mean I saw it recently on
the stage of the Granduel Operator. She is so full
of energy. She loves what she's doing. This is her dream,
this is something she's been thinking about since. I think
she pointed out she was writing the first songs of
nine Years nine years ago, and it couldn't happen to
a finer lady. Seriously, And you're right.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And the thing is, she is such a good person.
And let me tell you this, and this tells you
everything about country music and why we love being in it.
Saw an interview with Brand New Artists' Dasha. She was
talking about the fact that early on, before Dasha ever
became a star, that anyone had even heard of, one
(18:11):
of the people that was supporting her and urging her
on was Laney Wilson. And to repeat Dash's description, which
I think is so beautiful, Dasha says, this is why
because all of the support artists root for each other.
This is why country music is a beautiful bubble that
we never want.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
To leave, well said, I got to tell you so
much is happening for her right now. I can't wait
to see what the future holes for Landy Wilson, but
we will have you covered on that, my friends. Listen
to Crook and Chase count Down every weekend on hundreds
of radio stations across America and streaming on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram at Crook and
Chase
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