Exclusive: JD Clayton Discusses His Groove-Heavy New Single “Let You Down” and the Evolution of His Sound

Fort Smith, Arkansas-based singer/songwriter JD Clayton has been on fire lately. He and his band have been touring nearly non-stop and he’s been releasing some of the best music of his career. Today, he returns with a new single that, more than any of the other new tracks he’s released, shows off the musical chemistry that holds the band together. Check out “Let You Down” below.

“Let You Down” doesn’t just showcase the members of Clayton’s band– Bo Aleman (guitar), Kirby Bland (drums), and Lee Williams (bass). It also highlights the new sound they’ve developed. Clayton has built his career on a rock-solid blend of Southern rock and country music. His new material is a little more funky and the grooves are deeper than ever.

[RELATED: JD Clayton Brings Stadium-Level Energy to Small Venues with His Blue Sky Sundays Tour]

Earlier this week, Clayton sat down with American Songwriter to talk about “Let You Down” and his newfound sound.

JD Clayton Tells the Story Behind “Let You Down”

They say songwriters can turn anything nearly anything into a song. JD Clayton proves this with “Let You Down.” He wrote the song after a humorous interaction in a coffee shop.

“At surface level, the song basically started when I had gone to coffee with a buddy that I was potentially going to hire to play bass,” he recalled. “Basically, we were sitting at a coffee shop and we asked the barista where we should go for dinner and she pulled up like five different places that were all closed. I was just like, ‘Man, you’re just totally letting us down,’” he added.

“When I got in my car, I pulled out my phone, opened my voice memo, and started riffing on that, and a bunch of ideas started coming to me about there are people we trust a lot of times based on appearance. So that’s why the chorus is like ‘Pretty people let you down.’”

“It’s really not too deep but the whole song is really a love letter to my band. A little salute to the band,” he said about the new single. “That’s why the song ends with a jam out where everybody gets a piece. I’m super proud of it.”

JD on the Evolution of His Sound

JD Clayton said his new sound developed organically. “Basically, I had never toured before then I toured with my live band for a year and a half. So, naturally, you just get better as a musician and tighter with your band. I just wanted to record an album with them instead of using session players,” he explained. Additionally, Clayton is producing all of his new music.

Featured Image by Jesse DeFlorio