Jessie Jo Dillon is one of the most in-demand songwriters in Nashville. In a conversation with Lisa Konicki for American Songwriter’s Off the Record podcast, Dillon discussed the secret to crafting hits for some of country music’s biggest stars.
“The most important thing to me as a co-creator with someone is really caring for the artist in the room and what they’re trying to say. Even if it’s not the way I would say it or sing it, you get a sense of what they’re trying to do,” Dillon said. “I just always have thought that’s so important to care for them. It’s their record, their voice, their intent that you need to protect and help them get to come across in the way that they want.”
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It’s for that reason that, when Dillon enters a writing room, she starts by taking stock of the situation.
“I like to really talk to them, [find out] where they’re at in their life, where they’re at in the record process,” she explained. “Are they going through something they want to talk about, they feel like they haven’t been able to? Are they burnt from working on the record and they want some of my ideas? It always looks kind of different. It matters a lot to me to try to get in their orbit really about what they need or are feeling.”
Once that’s established, the process really begins. For Dillon, it all starts with a lyrical idea, and then the vibes take over. Then the hits come.
“It has this little pixie dust, like je ne sais quoi about it,” Dillon said of writing a hit. “There have definitely been times I think, ‘This is a hit,’ and it’s not been, but I think more times than not, those special ones you do kind of know.”
Jessie Jo Dillon on Her Superstar Collaborators
Dillon has had many such tunes throughout her career. She’s penned tracks for the likes of Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Grimes, Jelly Roll, Dan + Shay, Megan Moroney, and countless others.
Speaking of the latter artist, Dillon said she and Moroney “clicked immediately.”
“She is such an incredible writer,” Dillon praised. “I love her voice tonally. It’s my favorite kind of female [voice], smokey.”
That led to an epic collaboration, much of which was seen on Moroney’s latest album, Cloud 9. One of the LP’s biggest hits, “Am I Okay?” came naturally to the women and their co-writer, Luke Laird.
“It’s cool what it’s turned into,” Dillon said of the track. “Especially live, hearing all the fans lose it at her shows.”
Similarly easy to pen was “10,000 Hours.” Dillon wrote the song with Dan + Shay in what became one of her “favorite music stories ever.”
“Dan and I can kind of notoriously be tough on songs in some writes. I remember that it was this kind of effortless day,” Dillon recalled.
A couple of months later, Dillon met up with Dan + Shay in New York and got quite the surprise.
“I was like, ‘Are you guys going to play 10,000 Hours? What are we doing?’ And Dan was like, ‘Justin Bieber’s on it.’ And I was like, ‘No, he’s not.’ I didn’t believe him,” Dillon said. “I was like, ‘That is crazy.’ And I was like, ‘Dan.’ And he was like, ‘I’m serious.’ I was like, ‘I do not believe you.’ And then he eventually just put the headphones on my head and I cried. It was so crazy. I’ll just never forget that.”
Jessie Jo Dillon on Gatsby Records
It’s not just in songwriting that Dillon thrives. She started her own imprint, Gatsby Records, with Carter Faith as her first-ever artist.
“I’ve always just been such a believer in her and her artistry. She’s so cool, and herself. For the imprint, I feel like I want to work with artists that I have this little thing that I say—versatility with spine,” Dillon said. “You can put Cart on anything production-wise and you’d always know it’s her vocally and her perspective, even lyrically and melodically.”
“When we were opening the imprint, we all kind of dreamed it up a bit together to have her be able to be the first flagship person,” she continued. “It meant so much to me, because she is like a little sister and I just believe in her so much. It’s just perfect that it got to happen that way.”
Jessie Jo Dillon Shares Her Love for Songwriting
For anyone who dreams of having a career like hers, Dillon had two pieces of advice: write from your heart and outwork everyone.
She is certainly qualified to dole out words of wisdom. Dillon was recently named the ACM Songwriter of the Year for the third consecutive year.
“It just feels kind of out of body. It feels like you’re talking about someone else. But at the same time, I just feel so proud,” Dillon said. “It makes me emo because I love songs and music so much. To get recognized by our community that I love so much means the world to me and is pretty surreal… Hopefully it continues into the next year.”
