Ella Langley had a pretty unusual way of getting comfortable performing in front of people long before she was playing sold-out shows across the world.
The “Choosin’ Texas” singer shared a childhood memory involving one of her cousins, who worked at a dentist’s office. Instead of simply hanging around while her cousin worked, Langley would apparently become part of the entertainment.
Ella Langley’s Weird Childhood Gig: Singing for Dental Patients [WATCH]
Langley’s cousin would have her sing songs for patients at the dentist’s office.
It’s a pretty funny image when you think about it: People sitting in a dentist’s chair, waiting for their appointment or trying to relax, and there’s a young Langley standing there singing for them.
One of the First Songs Ella Langley Learned to Sing is 478 Years Old
Langley said one of the first songs she learned to sing at the dental office was “Froggy Went a-Courtin’,” a traditional folk song that dates as far back as 1548.
If you have heard the entire Dandelion album, you know that it opens and closes with her singing a shortened version of the tune to show respect to her roots. If you didn’t know this story before listening to the record you might be confused as to why she bookended her album with such an old track that isn’t hers.
That means Langley was learning a song that was already nearly 500 years old and then using it as part of her impromptu performances at a dentist’s office. This story can’t get any more random than it already is.
It may have been an unusual place to start, but those kinds of early experiences can make performing in front of strangers feel a little less intimidating.
Looking back, it’s also a pretty good story for someone who would eventually make a career out of entertaining people. The setting may have been strange, but the basic idea was the same: Get in front of people, open your mouth and sing.
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Years later, I wonder if those people she sung for, while they were likely in pain, either from the dental drill, or from a toothache that they were there for a dentist to see, realize that they had a front row reclining dental chair to watch a future country star perform right in front of them.
Top 10 Ella Langley Songs – Country Music’s Most Important Modern Artists
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
The 15 Best Ella Langley Songs
Ella Langley showed up in country music’s mainstream as a dark horse with an unlikely hit: “You Look Like You Love Me,” a Riley Green duet that was catchy as all get-out but featured some unusual (and old-school) stylistic choices like talk-singing.
But it was a smash. And that turned out to be just the beginning of what Langley had to offer. She’s continued to dominate with hits like “Weren’t For the Wind” and the crossover mega-hit “Choosin’ Texas,” becoming one of the most high profile acts in country music and a bonafide star even beyond the genre.
Keep reading for Taste of Country’s countdown of 15 Ella Langley songs that put her on the map, and then rewrote the rules of what traditional country sounds like — and how successful it can be even beyond the genre.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
