A middle-aged to older adult male wearing a dark-colored t-shirt with a simple design sits inside a car, showcasing part of the steering wheel and dashboard. 4:25
Pearce Entertainment channel icon Pearce EntertainmentOriginal creator 680K views Save

Parked by the highway, a dad sings 'Simple Man'

Kris Jones has pulled his truck off the side of the highway. His wife just called, and she wants a song. more

He says a few words first. He hopes he can make it onto The Ellen Show, he tells the camera, and this one goes out to his wife. Then, still parked, he starts "Simple Man."

It opens with a mother's advice to her son. "Mama told me when I was young, sit beside me, my only son," he sings. "Take your time, don't live too fast. Troubles will come and they will pass." By the time he reaches "be a simple kind of man," his eyes are closed and his voice fills the cab.

A bald man with his eyes closed sits inside a car, his mouth slightly open. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Eyes closed, he reaches the first "be a simple kind of man."

He does all of this sitting behind the wheel, which one listener still can't get over. Many write about the size of his voice and the soul in it, and more than a few say it brought them to tears.

A middle-aged to older adult male wearing a dark-colored t-shirt with a simple design sits inside a car, showcasing part of the steering wheel and dashboard. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Kris Jones has pulled his truck off the side of the highway.

The advice keeps coming. "All that you need is in your soul," he sings, and later, "follow your heart and nothing else." By the final chorus his eyes are shut again, and he sings "be a simple man" one more time for her.

A bald man with a goatee sits inside a vehicle with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Near the end, he closes his eyes again for the final chorus.

Some of the people listening found him through another song. His daughter once filmed him singing "Tennessee Whiskey" in the car, just for family and friends. It reached Ellen DeGeneres, who called and invited him on her show. He plans to audition for The Voice, too.

His listeners treat him like a request line. They ask for other songs, and when the album is coming out. And here he sits on the shoulder of the highway, still hoping he can make it onto The Ellen Show. He did.

#singing