Jelly Roll Isn’t Allowed to See His ‘Save Me’ Documentary Early
A documentary on Jelly Roll promises an unfiltered look at the "Son of a Sinner" singer's life and career. Jelly Roll: Save Me explores his path from incarcerated teenager to hometown hero.
Talking to Taste of Country prior to the 2023 ACM Awards, Jelly Roll shares that since the film is an ABC News production, he can't preview it or offer an editorial notes. He was allowed to see a two-minute teaser, however, and it left him in tears.
- Jelly Roll: Save Me begins streaming on Hulu on May 30.
- The 38-year-old's real name is Jason DeFord.
- Since signing with Broken Bow Records, Jelly Roll has been very open about his mental health and addiction struggles, as well as the years he spent in jail.
Talking to ToC's Adison Haager, Jelly admits that he gets imposter feelings, or doubts about why he's been so fortunate in recent years. He compared it to a classic episode of Family Guy called "Deep Throats." Peter and Lois smoke weed before a talent show and think they've done great. Their son later reveals it was awful.
Related: Watch Peter and Lois Griffin Get High and Sing
“Sometimes I think I’m just really stoned and high and playing out of key and I’m not really sure what’s happening," he says. "(The documentary teaser) was just like, ‘Oh no. This was real. This moment I thought in my head was happening was actually happening.'”
ABC News Studios have been filming Jelly Roll for at least six months, following him to the CMA Awards, radio stations and concerts. His December 2022 concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena is described as the climax of his rise from the troubled streets of Antioch, Tenn.
Unreleased footage, interviews with his friends and contemporaries and Jelly Roll's own storytelling promise to drive the documentary.
“It is so honest and raw," Jelly Roll tells ToC. "I think somewhere along this journey in the last year, I might have not realized the impact that we’ve been having."
Three days after the documentary's release, Jelly Roll will drop his Whitsitt Chapel album. The project is his first mainstream country album and includes popular live songs like "She," collaborations with Brantley Gilbert, Struggle Jennings and Lainey Wilson and his current radio single, "Need a Favor."
Jelly Roll spent time in and out of jail as a teenager, into his mid-20s. Many of the charges were drug related, and talking to Taste of Country, he shares that addiction is something he was familiar with, although he never says he struggled personally.
His mother and his daughter's mother, are the two women who inspired "She," his most vulnerable song on the topic.
Last month, Jelly Roll won his first major country music award at the CMT Music Awards.
