Last week, Nashville country singer-songwriter Derek Jones released “Everybody’s Somebody” off his forthcoming EP of the same name. Today he shares the story behind the song and debuts a new lyric video below.
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“There wasn’t any particular event that inspired this song,” Jones tells American Songwriter. “James LeBlanc and I met up at FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, where we were both playing at the W.C Handy Songwriters Festival. We had never met in person before but we had been texting each other about getting together for a writing session. For the first 30 minutes or so we were just tossing out ideas to see if anything would stick and we weren’t really getting anywhere. I had come across an old idea on my phone I had written down and when I said it out loud—‘Everybody’s Somebody’—James looked up and said, ‘That’s it right there, that’s the song. Let’s write that.’ About 25 minutes later we had it written.”
“Everybody’s Somebody” is a gritty country-rock number that pairs Jones’ low, gruff vocals with twangy strings. As its title suggests, the song is about treating others with kindness and dignity.
“I’ve always tried to live my life with the mindset of Everybody Is Somebody,” Jones said in a press statement upon the track’s release. “I try to treat people the way that I’d want to be treated. Whether you’re black, white, red, blue, green, left, right, rich or poor, it doesn’t matter to me. If you treat me nice, I’ll treat you the same! I’m hoping that we can all listen to this song, and that it will inspire us to just be good people and treat people accordingly! It’s really not that hard to be a good person!”
Jones was born in Indiana but relocated to Nashville in 2010. “I started writing poems and stuff when I was in the military but I never took it very seriously,” he explains, referring to his service in the US Navy from 1999 to 2003. “When I picked up a guitar and taught myself how to play in 2005 is when I started writing songs. Some songwriters that have influenced me would definitely be Greg Allman, Jamey Johnson, Jason Isbell, and Waylon Jennings to name a few.”
Country legend Billy Ray Cyrus is another important influence for Jones.
“Cyrus was a great mentor and he always believed in me. He’d tell me that there will be highs and lows but no matter what, you keep your head up and be persistent. The music business is rough and you gotta be tough if you’re going to be in it. I experienced a lot in my years on tour with him—we played all around the world together and we wrote a song called ‘Meant to Be,’ which was on my Pray EP. Billy is a good dude and I’m proud to call him a friend.”
“Everybody’s Somebody” is Jones’ first release since 2018’s Pray, which came after his 2015 self-titled EP. Check out the lyric video below.
“Everybody’s Somebody” is out now. Do all your ordering and saving, here.
