Country star Jordan Davis recently had a chance to meet legendary “Highwayman” Kris Kristofferson, a music legend who he says “truly built the genre that I’m in today.” PopCulture.com had a chance to chat with Davis just days after the life-changing meeting, which he shared with his Instagram followers. During our conversation, Davis opened up about how Kristofferson is one of the songwriters he “first fell in love with” because of his dad.
“I was listening to the guys that my dad listened to; Kristofferson, John Prine, Jim Croce, Don Williams,” Davis recalled. “That’s like early memories of me, and I even said in that, my dad’s favorite song was Darby’s Castle. I remember learning that and singing with him.” Fast-forward to just one wee ago, Davis revealed that he got a enigmatic call from a friend that would lead to an incredible meeting. “I have a buddy that was a mutual friend of Kris’, and he called me one night and was like, ‘Man, are you at the house… I’m going to bring somebody by. They want to say hello.”
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“I was sitting there and I saw him pull in the driveway,” Davis continued, “and I just was watching the window and Kris Kristofferson gets out of the passenger seat, man, and I lost it. I was like, ‘Wait a second.” Reflecting on their visit, Davis said, “His wife was amazing, and they both came and hung out for a little bit,” then confessed that he had a “tough” time keeping his fanboy in check. “I just immediately started spitting out how amazing he is and how he’s possibly the greatest songwriter to ever live,” Davis joked, “‘and you’re in my living room!’”
Davis went on to say, “To get to talk about songs like ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ and hear stories… Dude, he’s a Highwayman. He kicked it with Waylon and Willie, so it’s like he truly built the genre that I’m in today.” The songwriter then added, “It was just a lot of thank yous and a lot of me talking about, “How did you write this song? How do you come up with words like that?” It’s truly probably the coolest thing that I’ve been gifted through music, just to get to spend some time with him, and I’ll never forget it.
In addition to chatting about his time with Kristofferson, Davis also dished on his new charity partnership with Crown Royal, benefiting a group near and dear to both his and Kristofferson’s hearts: U.S. Veterans. “Crown Royal has been a huge supporter of the military for a long time,” he told PopCulture, going on to note that he was thrilled “when they reached out to let me be a part of That Deserves a Crown campaign, the Purple Bag project, honoring Bunker Labs.” Davis also showered praise on Bunker Labs CEO Blake Hogan, and shared that he had an incredible experience meeting “four veterans that Bunker Labs has helped.”
Notably, during Wednesday night’s CMA awards, Davis presented Hogan with a $50,000 donation on behalf of Crown Royal for his contributions to the Bunker Labs organization. Fans can contribute as well, simply by visiting www.crownroyal.com/cmabunkerlabs and checking out the donation options. Click here to read more from our chat with Davis!
