Songs I Grew Up On with Levi Hummon

On March 22nd , we had the pleasure of chatting with singer-songwriter Levi Hummon on our latest edition of Songs I Grew Up On. Being raised by Grammy-award winning songwriter Mark Hummon, Levi’s father, greatly influenced Levi’s musical taste and career path. In 2021, Hummon collaborated with Walker Hayes to release his hit “Paying for It.” He also tells us that his newest single, “Bottled Up,” which is about a breakup Hummon had experienced and he describes it as “a mixture of 'A Great Day To Be Alive' meets 'Whiskey Glasses.'"

1. “Bless The Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts (2004)

Hummon’s dad wrote “Bless The Broken Road” with Jeff Hannah and Bobby Boyd. Hummon reveals that it was originally written for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the song was 20

years old before it was cut by the Rascal Flatts. “Bless The Broken Road” has “life-changing” events associated with it because Hummon went to the Grammys for the first time when his father was nominated for Country Song of the Year.

2. “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons (2010)

Hummon details how this Mumford and Sons song inspired him when he started songwriting more seriously during his sophomore year of college. In particular, the “double time banjo vibe” tremendously influenced Hummon’s earliest songs.

3. “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley (1994)

“The first record I remember listening to front and back was Jeff Buckley’s record,” Hummon recounts. The record had belonged to his father, who said it was one of his favorites. Hummon remembers his father telling him of the story of Buckley’s death, which made Buckley’s music even more impactful.

4. “London Calling” by The Clash (1979)

When asked to explain this unusual song choice, Hummon explains, “I was a skateboarder growing up,” which he notes has a “rebellious” genre of music associated with it. This song was one of the reasons why he “fell in love with culture” and ultimately had an important role in his teenage memories.

5. “You and Tequila” by Kenny Chesney ft. Grace Potter (2010)

Hummon admits that “it was one of the songs that made me fall back in love with country music” because it made him want to tell stories. Especially after seeing Chesney live, Hummon was really inspired by how energizing the artist is and wanted to emulate that in his own performances.

Honorable Mention: “Portland, Oregon” by Jack White and Loretta Lynn (2004)

Before we finished chatting, Hummon wanted to add in this song to his list because White helped him realize that country was “cool” and this album “converged both of those worlds” of his dad’s country music and his own music. “Portland, Oregon” has greater significance to Hummon today because he named his dog after Lynn.

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