April 1, 2021 at PDT
Company's Comin'
You may think you know Leslie Jordan, but the actor, comedian, and beloved Instagram star begs to differ on his first album. Company’s Comin’ finds Jordan digging into his Southern roots with a collection of playfully reimagined gospel songs, aided by the likes of Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Eddie Vedder, and more. “I wanted it to be like we're just all in the living room, and somebody picked up the guitar and we just all started singing,” Jordan tells Apple Music of the collaborative project, which recalls both the hootin’ and hollerin’ of a Southern drag brunch and the spirited fervor of a Pentecostal service in a cinder-block church. While the LP has its humorous moments, like on the handful of skits between tracks, Company’s Comin’ is a real-deal star-studded musical affair. Below, Jordan walks Apple Music through some of his debut’s key tracks.
“This Little Light of Mine” (feat. Katie Pruitt)
“Katie Pruitt comes from a similar place as me, which is a very polite way of saying we're both gay. But she comes from a similar place as me, and we both want to use our little light to shine some love and positivity.”
“Angel Band” (feat. Brandi Carlile)
“Brandi encouraged me so much. I had dinner with her in Nashville. We were at the Hermitage [Hotel] and she was in town with her wife, who's English and terribly elegant, just wonderful. She said to me, ‘Do you want to have dinner with Tanya Tucker?’ I wrote, ‘When I think of angels, I think of Brandi Carlile.’ She's a type we should all surround ourselves with.’”
“Where the Soul Never Dies“ (feat. Dolly Parton)
“What can you say? Both Dolly and I are getting older, and it's comforting to know we'll see each other—and we're going to see all y'all—where the soul never dies. We met in Nashville at a soundstage where she was actually doing a Good Morning America or some kind of Zoom tape something or another. And she said, ‘I'll sing with you.’”
“In the Sweet By and By” (feat. T.J. Osborne)
“That was my daddy's favorite hymn, so it was one that was real special to me. And when I heard T.J. Osborne's voice, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what better voice to honor my dad?’ And he was going through a struggle at the time. He wanted to come out of the closet publicly. And I think he's probably the first country-western artist signed to a major label. And that was very brave of him, and I don't think that it's affected him adversely at all.”
“In All Things” (feat. Danny Myrick)
“Danny Myrick and Travis Howard, who's got a cut on this album as well, produced it for me, along with my friend Mike Lotus, who sort of put it all together and helped getting most of the artists. They had each written a song that they let me listen to apart from all this. And I said, ‘Let's put that on the album.’ And they said, ‘Well, it doesn't quite fit because they're all these old wonderful hymns.’ I said, ‘It fits, trust me. It fits.’ So ‘In All Things’ with Danny Myrick is one of the few songs on there that's not a standard old hymn, but I just love it.”
“When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” (feat. Tanya Tucker)
“Everything is done remotely now. And I don't know if it's just because of COVID or the way it is. I was out in Los Angeles and they took me into a studio and I laid down my track and then we would send it to the artist and we would just wait with bated breath for theirs to come back. But Tanya was one of the few that, when we were in Nashville, she said, ‘I want to come into the studio.’ And when she opened her mouth, I thought, ‘Her voice has not changed one iota since she was 14 years old.’ It’s just that voice. I mean, you know it immediately. We talk on the telephone all the time.”
“The One Who Hideth Me” (feat. Eddie Vedder)
“What a story: I have a friend who I met years ago in Seattle. I was doing my one-man show. And on the guest list was Jill and Eddie Vedder. And I said, ‘The Eddie Vedder? What on earth?’ They were just looking for something fun to do. Well, it ended up that Eddie didn't get to come, but Jill came with all her girlfriends and she asked if she could come backstage and meet me. And la la la, we connected. And then all these years later, I was in Hawaii and we met up for a day. We went out on a boat, and here's Eddie Vedder. He said, ‘What are you up to?’ And I said, ‘Well, I'm doing this gospel album.’ He said, ‘I'll sing something.’ And it was that simple.”
“The Longest Day” (feat. Travis Howard)
“‘The Longest Day’ was Travis' song that he wrote. From the moment I heard it, I said, ‘I just love this song.’ Travis has been my good friend for a long time now. He's one of the main reasons this album exists.”
“Working on a Building” (feat. Ashley McBryde and Charlie Worsham)
“This is an old song that I did not know. We got Charlie Worsham to play the guitar; he's a wonderful guitar player. And Ashley McBryde came in to sing. It's one of the few songs on the album that's just rowdy. I mean, it's old-time. We holler, we talk. Once again, not in the same room. Nowhere near one another. They're the future of this kind of music. And they carry that torch proudly. That's the new Nashville right there.”
“Farther Along” (feat. Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton)
“When I heard that they might be able to get Chris Stapleton, I said, ‘You've got to shut up now. You've got to shut up. What do you mean?’ So they both got on the phone, and I'm telling you, we talked for an hour. And I told him a little bit about what I wanted to do. I said, ‘This great song, “Farther Along.”’ And of course, I sing a verse of it. And then Morgane sings a verse of it. She’s got the most beautiful voice. And this horn section comes in, and I'm telling you, when Chris Stapleton starts wailing, I almost wet my pants every time I hear it.”
15 Tracks
