“Take It From Me” co-written with brother Jacob Davis and Jason Gantt
By Preshias Harris
It was a family affair – sort of – for Jordan Davis as he celebrated his second Number One song. The family tie-in? He co-wrote the song, “Take It From Me,” with his brother Jacob Davis along with Jason Gantt. It was a “number one” in more ways than one: this was the first No. 1 as writers for both Jacob and Jason.
Jordan, Jacob and Jason met with media to talk about the song before the official presentations hosted by the performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI. The party took place at the venue Ruby in Nashville on Tuesday, July 30.
Exactly one year to the day
I asked Jordan if he realized it was exactly one year ago – July 30, 2018 – that we had all gotten together to celebrate his previous No. 1.
“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” he said. “Hey, have you been talking to my mama? She reminded me yesterday that it was exactly four years to the day that Jacob and me played the Bluebird Café for the first time!”
Jordan made a point of thanking the songwriters in Nashville who accepted him even “when I wasn’t writing good songs like this.” He said those writers continued to stick with him instead of kicking him out and replacing him with another writer.
Second No. 1 from Home State
Jordan hit the ground running in 2017 with the smash hit, “Singles You Up” that reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart and No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The song became the anchor of Jordan’s debut album, Home State (MCA Nashville). “Take It From Me” is the second single release – and the second No. 1 – from the album, produced by Paul DiGiovanni.
Speaking of family matters, Jacob recalled that as a child his parents would often tell him to “Watch baby Jordan” or “Keep an eye on baby Jordan.” Jacob went on to say that things have come full circle and he has been proud to watch “baby Jordan” have such success.
Another ‘family’ connection: I noted that Jordan and Jason’s uncle, Stan Paul Davis, penned several hits including “Today’s Lonely Fool” and “Better Man, Better Off” both for Tracy Lawrence.
“We had a place to crash”
“Yes,” said Jordan, pointing to the back of the room, “and he’s right back there. Our parents have encouraged us in our dreams. Because of our uncle, we knew what we had to do to achieve our dreams. And we always had a place to crash,” he added with a laugh. Uncle Stan looked proud and happy as his nephews were honored.
(On a personal note, I was an intern at Tracy Lawrence’s record label when Tracy cut “Today’s Lonely Fool” so I have happy memories of that song.)
As he was recognized for writing his fist No. 1, Jason Gantt recalled that legendary songwriter Bob DiPiero had taken him on as an assistant engineer on tracking sessions. He said that he was “too scared” to tell Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer DiPiero that he had ambitions to be a songwriter himself. Bob’s wife, Leslie DiPiero (now General Manager at Tree Vibez Music) helped set up Jason with co-writes which led him to meet Jacob in 2014.
“Slow Dance” is third single
“Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” Jordan’s third single (also from Home State) was released July 15 and is already impacting country radio. More about Jordan Davis at his website and on Facebook
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com