Apple Music is launching a program dedicated to songwriters. On Tuesday (July 25), Apple Music unveiled Lost & Found, a new program that unearths unreleased songs and shares them directly with fans. Working in tandem with the Nashville songwriting community, Apple Music has chosen six unreleased demos by country artists to be re-recorded for the first time.
Videos by American Songwriter
Jelly Roll is the first artist to participate, releasing “Dragging These Roots” written by Josh Thompson, Ben Hayslip and Jesse Frasure. The demo for the track was presented to Apple Music in 2019. The rapper and country singer doesn’t often cut outside songs, but when he saw his friend Frasure listed as one of the co-writers, “Dragging These Roots” immediately caught his ear.
“I believe that songwriters are the backbone of this town,” Jelly Roll tells American Songwriter. “I thought this would be a great opportunity to stand by my songwriter brothers and sisters, bring attention to how important they are to the community of music in general.”
The swampy melody supports lyrics that personally resonated with Jelly Roll’s journey of past drug abuse and spending years in and out of jail. Dragging these roots/Like a bag of bones/You can cover them up/Shake out the dust/But you’re never gonna cut them loose/Yeah I got/Where I got/And I get where I’m going to/Just dragging these roots, he sings on the track.
“It was probably the most autobiographical song I ever heard that I didn’t write,” he professes. “Something about this coming from where I came from, the idea of my past still being drug with me, won’t let me go, everything about it just screamed Jelly Roll. It felt like my story.”
The fast-rising star guesses that there are “tens of thousands” of songs in Nashville that get lost in phones and archives, while others get placed on hold and then let go, never to be re-pitched. “I believe that if somebody has a story to tell and they don’t have the ability to tell it themselves, then the story should still be told. This gave me the opportunity to do that,” Jelly Roll says of being part of Lost & Found. “So many great stories in this town die, and I think Lost & Found is a great way to bring some of those back around. I really believe this is great for songwriters.”
[RELATED: Top 10 Jelly Roll Songs]
The demos will be released once a month. In addition, Apple Music is launching Lost & Found Radio, a monthly radio show hosted by hit songwriter Lori McKenna. The first show is co-hosted by McKenna and Apple Music Country host Kelleigh Bannen and features appearances by the songwriters whose demos will be heard on Lost & Found.
“I’m so thrilled to be a part of this initiative and host the companion radio show on Apple Music Country,” McKenna says. “Every songwriter has a catalog full of lost songs. It’s exciting that Apple is bringing these almost hits to life and giving some space to these writers, and the stories behind these songs.”
“At Apple Music, we are passionate about celebrating and championing artists and creators,” Bannen adds. “From advocating for the songwriters, to highlighting the enormous wealth of untapped music, Lost & Found is emblematic of what we do every day, not just here in Nashville, but worldwide. We’re so excited to continue marching towards that mission and look forward to inviting incredible artists to partner with us in unique ways like this.”
Photo Courtesy of Apple Music
