Jake Owen and Kid Rock’s ‘Grass Is Always Greener’ Was Born From a Pickleball Game
There's an old business saying that gloats 'deals are made on the golf course,' but for Jake Owen and Kid Rock, deals are apparently made — during pickleball?
Owen and the Detroit cowboy teamed up for a song — "Grass Is Always Greener" — on Owen's forthcoming album Greetings From… Jake (out March 29), but the feature wasn’t born via suits and ties of the Nashville music industry.
"The Kid Rock thing popped off because he and I play pickleball together a lot," says Owen at a March media roundtable in Nashville. "Two things you definitely wouldn't think would happen. Us hanging out, let alone playing pickleball together."
For those unfamiliar (it's OK, we had to look it up, too), pickleball is a sport based on the elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Or as Owen states, "a short version of tennis, but with a paddle and a wiffle ball."
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Owen's sporty afternoons at Kid Rock's house led to some playful envy of the rocker's possessions, and the country star realized his feelings were similar to the content of "Grass Is Always Greener." The song explores the classic saying and digs into always comparing what you have to what others around you have.
"I've had a great career," Owen admits. "I'm happy with where I am in life. I love where I live. I have a great family. My daughter (Pearl) is taken care of. I've been blessed ... but I found when I went over to play pickleball at Kid Rock’s house, I was like, I want a frickin’ Dukes of Hazzard car. Know what I mean? Or why does he have this?"
"As I tell you, I'm happy, but I'm sitting there going, 'Man, I wish I had that!'" he continues, "So in that song – 'We’re always gonna want a little more than we got, it’s just the way the big world turns' – it occurred to me at that moment. I was like, I have to ask Kid Rock if he wants to sing on this song, because it's exactly how I feel like my life is and it would make sense. It's really funny just to think about."
Though they're unequal on the pickleball court (Owen says he's never defeated Kid Rock), the two shine together in the just-over-three-minute, summer-friendly track. "Grass Is Always Greener" is one of 14 new songs on Greeting From… Jake.
Note: Owen warmed up his sports announcer voice and jokingly suggested a headline of — "The Rockstar Kid Rock, Music led him to Pickleball" — but we went with this instead.
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