Testing ERNEST's Country Music Knowledge
4/22/202643 min
This week on the Track Star Podcast, we’re joined by country singer-songwriter Ernest. Having collaborated with some of the biggest names in modern country music, including Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen, Ernest sits down with Jack to discuss the legendary artists who have helped shape both his career and the genre itself. Ernest walks us through what it takes to produce a hit record. Breaking down the tools, techniques, and songwriting approaches he relies on, while also reflecting on how his process differs from some of his peers. Sometimes, through collaboration, it's the combination of methods that creates the most hard hitting and well received songs. We’ll listen to foundational country artists that Ernest grew up with such as George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Keith Whitley, as well as explore the contemporary artists that Ernest works closely with today like Tim McGraw, Megan Moroney and HARDY. We’ll even dip a toe into Ernest’s new album and if you stick around to the end of the episode, you’ll get to hear Ernest play one of his unreleased songs live on the podcast. The tracklist for this episode runs deep, but we promise for this one, it’s worth it.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJack Coyne· Host0:00
Before we start with the music, just introduce yourself.
Ernest· Guest0:02
What's up? My name's Ernest.
Jack Coyne· Host0:03
I want to, like, get a deeper understanding of country music songwriting.
Ernest· Guest0:09
Okay.
Jack Coyne· Host0:09
So the first song I'm gonna play is not a country song.
Ernest· Guest0:11
Okay.
Jack Coyne· Host0:12
But you can tell me who the artist is and what this song means to you.
Ernest· Guest0:15
[upbeat music] Everything.
Eminem· Soundbite0:19
May I have your attention, please? And Dr. Dre said, "Nothing, you idiots. Dr. Dre's dead. He's locked in my basement." [laughs] Feminist women love Eminem. Chicka, chicka, chicka, Slim Shady. I'm sick of him.
Ernest· Guest0:29
All right.
Eminem· Soundbite0:29
I'm sick of him walking around, grabbing his- I wanted to start with that song ...
Ernest· Guest0:32
that's, that's better than coffee.
Jack Coyne· Host0:34
You're a fan?
Ernest· Guest0:35
I love it. I love it. Yeah, that was, like, third grade, third grade me. I, I had no business knowing all those words as a third grader, especially at a private Christian school, but my dad coached baseball, so I had access to all the high schoolers' burnt CDs. That burnt CD specifically had some stuff on it. I remember my mom, it was after a, one of my dad's baseball games, we were leaving, I think I was, like, in fourth grade, we were gonna go eat at a cheeseburger place, Cheeseburger Charlies, actually, and I was listening to my little Walkman or whatever, and I forget what song it was. I, I feel like Ass Like That came out later, but it was some shit that my mom did not want me listening to that she heard coming through, and she was like, "What is that?" Took it out of the CD player, snapped it in half, threw it out the window and was like, "You're gonna tell your dad what you're listening to," and I'm like, "Ugh." And I just remember thinking, I was like, "I wanna do this when I grow up, dude, evoke that kind of emotion out of somebody." And, uh,