Meet The Song “Hometown Boy” by Kelly Long, available for purchase and streaming now. I interviewed Kelly to get the details on how this special song came about and what it means.
Kelly has another single to be released on May 1st titled “Playing to Win”.
Who are the writers?
I am the sole writer of this one. Although I feel like Charles “Chuck” Adkins had a lot to do with it.
Who are the performers?
The performers on the record are all good friends of mine. We’ve played downtown on Broadway for years together. We recorded it all at Southern Ground studios.
Kayley Green -Bgvs
Josh Hasty – acoustic/electric guitar
Spencer Wade – electric guitar
Kenny Polidan – Bass
Cody James Mckinney- Steel guitar
Dylan Crawford- drums
Where did the idea come from?
I got the idea for the song after I was having lunch at the veterans park by my house. There’s a big wall with a ton of names on it. Names of veterans who have served, those who were killed in action. One name just kept standing out to me and so I decided to do some research when I got home. I looked up his story and wrote down “Hometown Boy”. Hometown Boy was actually a name used to describe him in one of the articles.
What came first, the music, the words, the idea?
I’d have to say the idea came first. I wasn’t really looking to write a song but after that moment, it just snowballed into an obsession to write it. Sometimes the best songs ever written happen that way.
Is it going to be a part of a larger collection, such as EP or album?
This is just a single. I’d love to make it part of an album. It seems to me more people are just releasing singles these days. I’m solely an independent artist so everything that gets done comes out of my pocket. Releasing it as a single was a better move for me. I also have another single coming May 1st.
Lyrically, what perspective is the song told from?
I’d say it’s definitely a narrative perspective. Someone who really wanted Charles’ story to be heard.
Were there any challenges while writing it?
This song flowed out of me after I had done my research. Taking clips of information from news articles and different sights and quotes. It all just kind of came together. I will say I was pretty teary eyed writing it. It has a very powerful message and I did get emotional.
What sets this song apart from your previous work? What sets this song apart from what is being playing on the radio today?
This is actually my debut single! So this song is of its own. I’d like to keep this one set apart from all the other ones I plan to release. It’s just a very special message that can’t be compared to my other work.
What sets it apart from Radio today is that it has all live instrumentation, a true captivating story to break up this monotony of bonfires in fields. (No snap tracks were used in the making of this project.)
Will you be releasing a video with this song?
A video is being discussed as we speak with F.A.M.E. Media Productions. It’ll be a challenge to try and bring to life the message of the song but I’ve never really backed down from a challenge.
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