• May 20, 1985
• Jon Pardi carved out a niche in modern country music by blending classic country influences with contemporary production, so you'll get fiddles and twang, but also big drums and blazing guitar solos. It's a honky-tonk swagger that you can hear in hits like "Up All Night," "Dirt on My Boots" and "Last Night Lonely."
• He never recorded it, but one of his popular live numbers early in his career (2011) was "The D.U.I. Song," which won him $300 in a contest to write a song that discourages drunk driving. Instead of writing something sobering, he wrote a catchy tune about a regular guy who gets a D.U.I. and must suffer the consequences.
• He likens his music to that of Florida Georgia Line and Sam Hunt, artists who specialize in fun party songs with modern production. He told Rolling Stone that when fans get sick of those guys, "they'll wanna listen to my record."
• Pardi is a talented guitar player but he usually lets other guitarists play lead and do the solos. For instance, session player Danny Rader has the lead on "Head Over Boots" and studio pro Rob McNelley lends his licks to "Night Shift."
• Jon Pardi lives in the Nashville suburb of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, on a 15-acre property surrounded by hardwood forest. On his days off, he enjoys working on the house, doing yard work, hanging out with his dogs.
  
  "I know a lot of artists that live in the city in the sky rises," he told Sounds Like Nashville. "I couldn't do that. This is my place, so I can go start a fire, shoot a gun or run with the dogs. I can take my Jeep off-roading. You've got to have something to take your mind off of music and being on the road."
• His wife Summer, a hairstylist by trade, has a big following on social media, especially Instagram. She and Jon got married in 2020 and had their first child, daughter Presley Fawn in 2023. Another daughter, Sienna Grace, followed in 2024. Summer shows up in Jon's "Cowboys And Plowboys" video.
• Growing up in Dixon, California, Pardi stayed with his grandmother when his parents went to work. She had a karaoke machine that Jon loved. They would use it to sing songs by country stars like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and George Strait, giving him a solid musical foundation at an early age.
• Pardi is the first performer inducted into the Grand Ole Opry who was born in California. Somehow, none of the 232 members who entered before his 2024 induction were from the Golden State, surprising considering it's where Bakersfield, home of the "Bakersfield Sound," is located. Merle Haggard, who exemplified that sound and was born in California, was never inducted.

Comments

More Songfacts:

MickeyToni Basil

"Mickey" by Toni Basil was originally a song called "Kitty" by a male group. She picked the new name after Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.

UmbrellaRihanna

When Rihanna's "Umbrella" was a hit in the summer of 2007, it rained constantly in London, prompting their newspaper The Sun to suggest a "Rihanna Curse."

GloryJay-Z

Jay-Z's 2012 "Glory" features his daughter Blue Ivy Carter's cries and coos. At less than two days old, she became the youngest ever credited artist to feature on a Billboard chart when the song debuted on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #74.

Don't Mean NothingRichard Marx

Richard Marx' debut single "Don't Mean Nothing" features Joe Walsh on guitar.

Try AgainAaliyah

Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the Hot 100. Aaliyah's "Try Again" was the first tune to top the chart based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included.

APT.Rosé

The chant in the Bruno Mars/Rosé hit "APT" is "apateu," the Korean word for apartment. It's named after a Korean drinking game called "Apartment" that Rosé told Bruno about.

Editor's Picks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.