Singer/songwriter Jordan Davis may have the most formidable beard in country music . . . and that’s saying something. Sure, Chris Stapleton has a prominent prospector’s beard and William Lee Golden has a wicked wizard’s beard, but Jordan has the only beard that looks like it would break your hand if you punched him in the face. Not that anyone would want to do that.
“It’s definitely full,” says Jordan with a laugh. “It’s been three years in the making, and now people probably wouldn’t recognize me without it.”
While Jordan’s beard has been three years in the making, his journey to a career in country music has taken considerably longer. The Shreveport, La., native picked up the guitar at age 12 . . . and he picked up a number of varied influences along the way, including John Prine, Jim Croce, Don Williams, Kings of Leon, Usher, and his uncle, Stan Paul Davis, who penned Top 5 hits “Today’s Lonely Fool” and “Better Man, Better Off” for Tracy Lawrence in the 1990s. Jordan’s older brother, Jacob, is also a Nashville country artist, currently signed to Black River Records.
“Me and Jacob tried to outrun it as long as we could, but music was around us so much growing up that I never realized it,” says Jordan. “That’s 100 percent honest. I can remember just always wanting to write songs, always looking for new songs. Finally, it just knocked me down enough that I decided to go to Nashville.”
After graduating from LSU with a degree in resource conservation, Jordan moved to Nashville in 2012. He signed a publishing deal with ole Rights Management in 2015 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group in 2016.
As he continues to work on his first studio project expected “later this year,” Jordan released his debut single, “Singles You Up,” to country radio on June 5. Co-penned by Jordan, Justin Ebach and Steven Dale Jones, the clever tune is a “gentlemanly” take on a situation a lot of guys have found themselves in—pining for a girl who’s dating someone else.
“Justin had just gotten engaged, and we were congratulating him, and we told him he was smart not to ‘single her up,’” says Jordan. “I remember we all looked around and were like, ‘Is that dumb or should we write it?’ I bet you a lot of great songs have been written after saying that. We had all be in that situation with a girl, but we tried to be respectful when writing ‘Singles You Up.’ We didn’t want the guy to come across as a jerk or the girl to cheat . . . we wanted to be as gentlemanly as we could about it. Every once in a while you have to wait your turn. If you do get a chance, you have to capitalize on it.”
Check out Jordan’s “Singles You Up” below.
