Following an unexpected clash with Ella Langley’s label, singer-songwriter and parody master – Cledus T. Judd – has pledged his allegiance to another rising country music star.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with the work of Cledus T. Judd, he’s basically the Weird Al of country music. He’s had massive success over the years with parody songs like his “I Love NASCAR” take on Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar” and “(She’s Got a Butt) Bigger Than The Beatles,” a parody Joe Diffie’s “Bigger Than the Beatles.”
Throughout his career, he’s always approached his parodies in a respectful manner that ends up honoring the artist and their original song. That’s actually how he’s become friendly with some of the biggest names in country music, from Toby Keith and Shania Twain to Buck Owens and Ronnie Dunn. Artists like them heard Cledus T. Judd’s takes on their songs, and got a kick out of them.
And fans do as well… Judd has sold millions of copies across his three decades of parody writing.
But with his latest entrant, “Meet Her,” which was his take on Ella’s “Be Her,” he ran into a bit of a problem. The parody that he created that basically just explores the fact that he’d love to meet Ella Langley was requested to be taken down. Langley’s label reached out and said that the longtime parody maker needed to remove his new track off all platforms, and he reluctantly complied. Judd said that it was the first time in his 30-year career that a parody song of his received a takedown request from a label.
Judd was very open about his feelings – and the confusion he felt – following the parody take down request. In a “final thoughts” video, he explained that had worked hard on the track, and even brought his family in on the “Meet Her” video and marketing. He said the pain it brought his family was the hardest part of having to remove the song, which at the time that he took it down was the No. 1 comedy song in America. Judd later removed that video as well.
Whiskey Riff reached out to Sony and they declined to comment on the matter…
But through it all, he promised that he’d keep his head high on move on to the next one. What is the next one for Cledus T. Judd? Well, based on his latest social media post, it appears that he’s repurposing and redirecting his “Ella Fella” energy into being a “Stella Fella.”
That’s right. Cledus T. Judd is Stella Lefty super fan now. He even described the motivation behind his decision, saying that both he and Stella Lefty get “put through the ringer” when they release their music. That’s a reference to country fans constantly discovering that Lefty’s songs sound like other, already existing ones, in case you didn’t know.
Judd even appears to have the “Stella’s Fella” sweatshirt to prove his fandom:
“I am now a Stella’s fella… I think we have a lot in common when it comes to songs. We both get put through the ringer. Big fan here.”
Honestly, this is a great move by Cledus T. Judd.
He’s spinning all of the strange controversy around his now-removed Ella Langley parody into some extra publicity, and there’s no better way to grab the attention of country music fans in the present day than mentioning Stella Lefty. Here’s to hoping he actually comes through and takes a stab at one of Stella’s big songs.
And if Stella Lefty ends up seeing it, and accepts it with open arms, it could be a win-win for everyone.
