Blackberry Smoke • Lonesome for a Livin’ BTS
Back in October my brother Jamie and I had the opportunity to shoot the music video for Blackberry Smoke’s “Lonesome for a Livin'” at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee.
The song, featuring Jamey Johnson, was written as a tribute-of-sorts to George Jones. So with permission from The Jones Estate, we peppered in archival footage of him throughout the edit. Oddly enough, this tribute came full circle in a way I never thought imaginable.
When we were kids… we lived in Nashville, Tennessee for 18 months. Coincidentally, we lived in the neighborhood next to George Jones. One day my brothers and I were selling M&M’s door-to-door to raise money for Scouts. George’s wife, Nancy, saw us and invited us into their home. George was there watching football with Little Jimmy Dickens.
My brother said “Hey you look familiar”… to which George replied “Well, I’m a country music singer… and I’ve been on TV”… to which my brother replied “Yeah, I thought so”. Nancy told George that we were selling candy for Scouts, and George asked “Well how much candy do they have?” We had 48 boxes of M&M’s. When he found that out George said to Nancy “Mama… get the cash”.
George Jones bought all 48 boxes of M&M’s from us that day. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have been able to tell him that story so many years later. Who would of guessed that two of those boys would be directing, shooting, and editing a tribute for him decades later.
I cannot thank Blackberry Smoke enough for this opportunity. It was an incredible experience getting to work with them and Jamey Johnson on this project. Most of all, a very special thanks to Nancy Jones for allowing us to use the archival footage of George for this video. It is an honor to be a small part of the legacy of all of the incredible musicians that were involved in this project!
The video is currently airing on CMT… and can be viewed online below! Enjoy!