Growing up in Anderson, Indiana, Jon McLaughlin only wanted to be one thing: a piano man. Following his siblings’ footsteps and starting lessons at the age of four, he set his standards for musical excellence pretty high.
“I always wanted to be Billy Joel,” he confesses. “I listened to a lot of his music when I was a kid and I remember just always wanting to be him. I also listened to a lot of Harry Connick, Jr., and obviously Elton John. After I first heard Ben Folds, I guess it was about 10 years ago now, I’ve been listening to him like every day.”
Now at 24, McLaughlin is living the dream. Last month, his first major-label release, Indiana, ranked No. 6 on Billboard’s Digital Album chart, the No 1. Pop Album and the No. 7 Album overall on the iTunes Store. McLaughlin is breaking new ground for digital album sales while his debut single, “Beautiful Disaster,” is climbing the AC charts.
But a few months ago, McLaughlin wouldn’t have known it. His friends would text him, write on his MySpace page, call him. “Hey, I just heard your tune!” No such luck for McLaughlin.
“People were telling me they’ve heard it in an airport or at a theatre, and for months, I’m like I swear these people are lying to me,” he said.
When it finally did happen, though, it was a total shock. He and his band were in Boston this past March, driving down some random road when a local station spun his disk.
“It was obviously one of those times when you remember what time it is and where you were and all that,” he said. “I wrote a blog about it and it was great. It’s like seeing a celebrity in a restaurant and you stare at them and you’re like, ‘That’s what they really look like.’”
Article comments
1 - A.L. Harper
Great Interview Jon!