On December 4, 1984, Jason DeFord, now known as Jelly Roll, was born in Antioch, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. Now one of country music’s most inspiring singer-songwriters, Jelly Roll’s humble beginnings did little to indicate the massive career he would one day have in country music.
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Raised in a low-income community, where drug use was prevalent, Jelly Roll has been open about his challenging childhood. His mother, Donna DeFord, battled mental illness, and Jelly Roll was often forced to fend for himself.
Not surprisingly, Jelly Roll soon found family in the wrong kind of people, leading to several years in and out of incarceration, both as a youth and an adult.
“I spent my 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th birthdays incarcerated,” he reveals (via Fox 17). Jelly Roll was ultimately charged with a felony, for armed robbery, and seemed destined for a life in and out of the judicial system. But in 2008, while incarcerated, he found out that he was a father, with the birth of his daughter, Bailee Ann. It changed everything for him.
“It’s like a Damascus Road experience in the Bible,” Jelly Roll tells Joe Rogan. “I immediately was like, ‘I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to quit this s––. I gotta figure it out.”
Jelly Roll Finds Success as a Country Artist
When Jelly Roll was released from prison, he determined it would be for the last time. Writing music since childhood, Jelly Roll began releasing his own style of rap-infused country and rock music as an independent artist, making just enough to make ends meet.
In 2020, Jelly Roll released “Save Me“. Admittedly a departure for him, the song quickly went viral, and his life was never the same. The honest lyric says, “All of this drinking and smoking is hopeless / But I feel like it’s all that I need / Something inside of me’s broken / I hold on to anything that sets me free / I’m a lost cause / Baby, don’t waste your time on me / I’m so damaged beyond repair / Life has shattered my hopes and my dreams.”
“I had trouble playing it in a room for people for like 3-4 weeks after I recorded it,” the singer tells Taste of Country. “Like, I couldn’t listen to it with them, you know what I mean? And so, singing it was really rough.”
It might have been hard, but it changed everything for him. The viral song got him a record deal with BBR Music Group. His debut single, “Son Of A Sinner”, also became his first No. 1 hit.
In 2023, Jelly Roll released a new version of “Save Me”, this one with his good friend, Lainey Wilson. Now, Jelly Roll, who has lost more than 250 pounds, has had numerous hit singles, and amassed several awards, including the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year in 2023. He has a total of seven Grammy nominations, including three for the upcoming ceremony.
Photo by Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images
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