One of Jelly Roll‘s best friends happens to be a Grand Ole Opry member, who seems on the surface to not have any similarities with the former convict and addict turned country music star. But to Jelly Roll, there isn’t a better person, in music or in life, to have in his corner than Craig Morgan, who has become both an advisor and confidant to the rising star.

“He’s just unreal,” Jelly Roll shares with Audacy’s Rob + Holly. “I love it because I am a huge fan of unlikely friendships. I just love unlikely friendships, because I’ve learned that we all have so much more in common than the surface level with each other when we really dig deep.”

Jelly Roll concedes that their friendship is unusual, and not one anyone could have predicted, but that doesn’t change the respect and admiration he has for Morgan.

“That’s one of my best friends in the music business,” Jelly Roll says. “I actually can really count on Craig to be there for me as a good friend, just a good shoulder to lean on. I can ask him for anything. Sweet guy. I called him Mr. Morgan for the first six months I knew him. He goes, ‘Just call me Craig!'”

Morgan recently spoke about his friendship with Jelly Roll, after he saw a video of Jelly Roll recalling a time when he was determined to turn his life around, and was inspired while sitting at the Grand Ole Opry, listening to Morgan sing “Almost Home.”

“If you haven’t seen it, you need to go back and pull it up on YouTube, and find his first appearance,” Morgan said while at the Grand Ole Opry last year. “I happened to be out on the road somewhere, and someone called me and said ‘Man you have got to see this Jelly Roll guy. He was just on the Grand Ole Opry and he don’t look like somebody who would be on the Grand Ole Opry, but he was talking about you.’ And so I went back and watched it, and he was standing there talking about how when he was in jail and struggling how a particular song helped him get through it. And he mentioned the fact that he came to the Grand Ole Opry when he got out.

“He said, ‘I was sitting right over there … and Craig Morgan was singing ‘Almost Home.’ And it moved me,’” he continued. “It moved me. It just proves exactly what he said, that music can change lives. So before I do the song that he said changed his life, I would love it if y’all give him a big round of applause and get him to come out here and sing this out with us.”

Jelly Roll recently announced plans to release his debut country album later this year.

“I got a country album coming in April or May. I’m all in. I’m here for the long haul. [In] 2022 I climbed the mountain of country music,” Jelly Roll said. “2023, I’m gonna plant the flag to show y’all I’m here… Let me claim a little space.”

Jelly Roll just celebrated his first  No. 1 hit with “Son of a Sinner.” He is back at radio with “Need a Favor” from his forthcoming new album. All of Jelly Roll’s music and tour updates can be found by visiting his website.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry