Blackjack Billy is an American
country rock
Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
group composed of Noll Billings (vocals), Clayton Shay (vocals, bass guitar), Jeff Coplan (electric guitar), and Weston Jordan (drums). Based in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, they describe their music as "Redneck Rock." Their debut single, "The Booze Cruise," was independently released in March 2013.
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
satellite radio's new country channel "The Highway" began playing "The Booze Cruise" as a Highway "Find." It's cited as the biggest-selling song on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
by any band without a major record deal in the first half of 2013. As of Aug 12, 2013, the song has sold more than 100K in the US and more than 150K worldwide. It reached platinum status in Canada and Australia.
Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' gave "The Booze Cruise" four stars out of five, writing that "clever lyrics and a melody that grabs your attention like that hottie oiling up with sunblock make this an easy song to finish before you realize you’ve begun." The song was written by Noll Billings, Jeff Coplan and Chuck Jones on August 24, 2011. A writing session was set for that very hot summer day in Nashville, when Billings said that a fun way to spend that day would be to get on a booze cruise. The song was written in 45 minutes.
The single "Drinking all weekend" was released in 2020.
Founders
Rob Blackledge is originally from
Madison, Mississippi
Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The city of Madison, named ...
and toured as a solo artist while attending the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. Blackledge co-wrote
Love & Theft's first top 10 single "Runaway" with LNT's Stephen Barker Liles and
Canaan Smith
Canaan Lee Smith (born August 24, 1982) is an American country music singer and songwriter signed with Round Here Records, an independent label founded by Florida Georgia Line. He has released two albums, ''Bronco'' in 2015 and '' High Country S ...
. (Liles is a musician often cited as the inspiration for
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's song "Hey Stephen," from her second studio album "
Fearless
Fearless or The Fearless may refer to:
Psychology
* Lack of fear
* Courage or bravery
Film, television and audio Film
* ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi
* ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...
.") "Runaway" reached No. 10 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart.
Noll Billings is originally from
Kennett, Missouri
Kennett is a city in and the county seat of Dunklin County, Missouri, United States. The city is located in the southeast corner (or " Bootheel") of Missouri, east of Arkansas and from the Mississippi River. It has a population of 10,932 accor ...
and while pursuing a solo career, he signed a publishing deal as a songwriter with
EMI Music Group
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
.
Jeff Coplan is originally from
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and lived in New York before relocating to Nashville. Coplan is a songwriter and musician who began producing and engineering projects for others; including
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing voc ...
,
Love and Theft, and
Tim Hicks
Tim Hicks (born August 22, 1979) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. Since he released his debut single "Get By" in 2012, he has charted eighteen top ten hits on the Canada Country chart. Hicks’ catalog ...
. Coplan, together with
Robert Ellis Orrall
Robert Ellis Orrall (born May 4, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene ...
, developed the group Love and Theft and produced their first album. Coplan also co-wrote their #1 hit
Angel Eyes with LNT's Eric Gunderson and Eric Paslay. Coplan jumped back onstage with Blackjack Billy, and publishing company is Roots Three Music/Ole.
The three met in Nashville and began writing songs together. Blackjack Billy band members are considered a part of the so-called "young crop" of country artists finding success; Coplan and Blackledge were on a softball team from 2009-2010 together with Gunderson and Liles of Love and Theft, Tyler Hubbard of
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
and Canaan Smith.
Brad Cummings joined in 2012. Cummings is originally from
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census.
Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, an ...
, and previous played drums for
Randy Houser
Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the '' Billboard'' country singles chart a ...
and
Bobby Bare Jr.
Robert Joseph Bare Jr. (born June 28, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Early life
Bare was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of singer Jeannie Bare (née Sterling) and country musician Bobby Bare, Sr. His parents met i ...
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Country music groups from Tennessee
Musical groups established in 2011
Bigger Picture Music Group artists
2011 establishments in Tennessee