Jessie Murph Discusses the Origins of “Wild Ones” and Her Collaboration with Jelly Roll

Jessie Murph and Jelly Roll released “Wild Ones” in October. The song saw the two blending country and hip-hop for an upbeat ode to the kind of rule-breaking adrenaline-seekers that get their motors running. The duo brought the song to Jimmy Kimmel Live shortly after its release. Since then, the song has seen some chart success. Recently, Murph revealed how the song and her collaboration with the CMA New Artist of the Year came about.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Wild Ones” brought Murph her fourth entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It peaked at No. 42, making it her highest-ranking song on the survey to date.

[RELATED: Jelly Roll and Jessie Murph Team Up on New Track “Wild Ones”]

Murph sat down with Billboard to talk about “Wild Ones” in-depth. During the conversation, she also talked about Jelly Roll and how he ended up adding a verse to the song.

“I’ve always been attracted to crazy things or chaos. That’s where the song came from,” Murph said. “I don’t normally write fun songs, so it’s one of my first songs like that—really cool and different,” she added. Then, she discussed the writing process that created the song.

Murph recalled that the song came after a fruitless day-long studio session. “In the last 30 minutes, I remember [co-writer/producer Jeff Gitelman] played this guitar lick and we ended up writing it super fast.”

[RELATED: Jelly Roll and Jessie Murph Bring “Wild Ones” to ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’]

She wrote the song quickly. However, the singer/songwriter told the publication that releasing “Wild Ones” was a long process. “I feel like I made it months before it came out,” she said. Murph also added that she planned to record the track solo. Then, at the last minute Jelly Roll heard it and immediately said, “I have a verse for this.” The singer/songwriter was already a fan of Jelly Roll’s work. As a result, she was excited for him to join her on the track.

“I think something that’s so special about him is he’s always just so grateful. You can tell he’s such a gratitude-based person and it’s beautiful,” she said of Jelly Roll. “Every time I’m around him I leave feeling so happy,” she added.

Leave a Reply

Jenny Lewis

5 Underrated Jenny Lewis Collaborations Worth Hearing