Shooter Jennings Defends Charley Crockett’s Authenticity, Says He’s “A Very Larger Than Life Personality… A Delightful Guy”

Defending his friend.

Last week, Shooter Jennings sat down on the Drifting Cowboy podcast to talk mostly about the forthcoming Songbird project he’s releasing on October 3rd, which is a collection of unreleased Waylon Jennings songs he discovered and produced, that will come out in the form of three separate records.

And something country fans might not realize is that Charley Crockett was a co-executive producer on the project, and helped Shooter with the music aspect vs well as some of the marketing and things of that nature. They got to work on it right after Shooter produced Charley’s recent Dollar A Day record.

Of course, you’ve probably seen his name in headlines more lately for the beef he’s had with Gavin Adcock, who called Charley out for being a “cosplay cowboy” among other things.

They went back-and-forth pretty publicly for a few weeks, and honestly, Gavin’s claim that Charley isn’t exactly who he says he is falls in line with something many on the internet criticize him for daily. Crockett’s story goes that he was a homeless, struggling musician who traveled the world playing for tips on the street. He played rap, R&B and various genres of music while he was busking, and eventually, he made his way into the independent country scene and became a star there. He releases multiple albums a year and is one of the most prolific artists today, but many aren’t buying his rags-to-riches story and some accuse him of creating this whole persona to essentially play a character of sorts, and some say he’s not quite as authentic as he presents himself to be. Even fellow artists and industry people, like Paul Cauthen for example, have claimed that it is all an act.

Crockett’s real name is Matthew Charles Crockett, and he was raised in Texas, though as a young adult, became a nomad and student of the world, so to speak. But you’ll often see comments on his posts, and posts about that, questioning his full backstory. Some have claimed he grew up quite wealthy and lived in an expensive part of Dallas near his rich half brother. I don’t really know if there’s any legitimacy to it or not, but regardless, Crockett is an extremely talented musician who makes great music.

But Shooter, who is a close friend of Charley’s, defended him during this podcast episode, calling him “a complex character,” adding that it’s “laughable” that people think he’s faking the whole thing:

“That’s the thing, man. He’s a listener, he’s an interpreter and he’s a fan of artists, you know, first and foremost.

But Charley, Charley’s like a complex character. And it’s so funny, I don’t wanna get into all the bull**** that’s on the internet all the time, but when I see people accusing him of being not real, and I’m sitting here still got blood in my hair and my teeth from ‘Dollar A Day’ and what we went through making that record, which was an incredible experience.

And I just like, it’s so laughable to me when someone says that he’s faking this and it’s not the real deal. Because what I experienced was the creative highlight my whole life, making ‘Dollar A Day’ was.”

He added that he can see how people might find it a little off-putting at times because Charley is a very “larger than life personality,” who rents a ’60s Cadillac convertible to drive to the studio when they record and does have a certain persona and act going, whether or not that’s “fake” is up to your interpretation as a listener:

“Well I mean, look, here’s what it is that he’s a very larger than life personality. Every every time he comes to the studio, he is renting a 60’s Cadillac convertible and pulling up in his cowboy hat and this whole thing, you know.

I mean, every moment of every day, he is Charley Crockett. But he’s like a f****** delightful guy, and he’s hilarious and he’s all smiles. He’s very kind. He’s a delightful guy.”

Either way, he’s very much committed to the bit, so to speak, and the same vintage, throwback look and style he curates on a daily basis that make so many love him is what many of his critics can’t stand. The whole renting the Cadillac does sound like doing the most to many of us, but I think fans forget sometimes that many entertainers are eccentric characters, and in the day and age of social media, they’re all trying to craft a brand and make it all look very cohesive.

So whether or not it’s all an act is not so much the question for me, it’s whether or not you’re into it and like that about him. Clearly, many find it to be contrived and inauthentic, but some appreciate it for what it is and the fact that he’s bringing that throwback look and sound into the 21st century.

I’m more interesting in the music, which speaks for itself, and if you don’t like it, the great news is, there’s tons of other great country artists out there for you to listen to.

Shooter is an incredible producer, and it’s a great conversation which you can watch here:

The post Shooter Jennings Defends Charley Crockett’s Authenticity, Says He’s “A Very Larger Than Life Personality… A Delightful Guy” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.