Newcomer and “Hot Mess” singer Tyler Farr has a special connection to true country royalty: the great George Jones. It turns out that Tyler used to look after George’s grandchildren from time to time, but it was watching The Possum perform that really inspired Tyler to get into country music. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Check out Tyler’s debut single, “Hot Mess,” and learn more about him at TylerFarr.com!
• Possum Trivia: It was just over 53 years ago, March 9th of 1959, when George Jones entered the Billboard country chart with the song that would become his first number-one hit, his classic “White Lightning.”

  Tyler Farr talks about the legendary inspiration that helped lead him into country music. (:51)
“When I first got into music, I didn’t know I could do it for a livin’ ’til later on. I first got into music when I was about 16. My mom married George Jones’ lead guitar player, and I started goin’ on the road with him, and I’d watch his grandkids and kind of…he’d have me babysit them a little bit here and there. And I remember standin’ on the side of the stage and watchin’ him sing, and you know, growin’ up, in high school — I graduated in ’02, so in high school, you know, George Jones wasn’t a real big deal. But after hearin’ him sing, not bein’ accustomed to hearin’ that ’cause Garth Brooks was big at the time, Tim McGraw was big at the time, you know, a lot of kids listened to rap. But there was somethin’ really intriguing about him, and I remember watchin’ him sing, and that kinda sparked somethin’ in my mind. I started growin’ towards this country music thing.”