After 30 Years of Spoofing Country’s Biggest Stars, One Ella Langley Parody Lands Singer in Hot Water With Sony

While Cledus T. Judd was a famous country music singer, his approach to the industry was a little different. Instead of releasing songs about heartbreak, revenge, or the warmth of love, he parodied hit songs in the genre. And since the 1990s, he has offered some unique versions of country’s biggest hits. They included “I Love NASCAR” and “How Do You Milk a Cow.” Although most of the genre loved his Weird Al Yankovic persona in country, apparently, Ella Langley and Sony weren’t big fans. 

With Judd spending decades in the genre, he was excited to give Langley’s hit song “Be Her” the royal Cledus treatment. The product was “Meet Her” and seemed more like a compliment to Langley than a joke. But no matter what, Judd found himself dealing with Sony. “I got a letter this week … from Sony Music New York that said, ‘Hey, take the Ella tribute video down off your social medias, off the platforms everywhere. Get it down.’” 

Sharing a video about the entire incident, Judd explained how shocking it was to get the letter after creating an entire career around parodies. “I don’t know how many I’ve done. Everybody from Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, Wynonna, Trace, Rascal Flatts, Toby. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. And never in my 30 years, I don’t think I’ve ever had somebody not comment or say, ‘Great job,’ or ‘That sucks,’ or whatever the case may be.” 

[RELATED: Ella Langley Helps the Billboard Hot 100 Make History With First-Ever All-Country Top 5]

Ella Langley And Sony Might Forget Who Cledus T. Judd Is

Not taking the letter too personally, Judd admitted that it stung given his discography. “Am I disappointed? Ridiculously, professionally and personally disappointed, because I’ve never done a song where I’ve beat up on the artist or took advantage of a bad situation, you know? I mean, it ain’t like I’m ever gonna do a parody of ‘Go Rest High on That Mountain.’ But this one kind of shocked me.”

As Langley focused on expanding her global stardom, Judd hoped to remind the suits at Sony who used to sign his paychecks. “I used to be an artist on Sony. I got records at Sony. I was a writer for Sony ATV and Nashville. Half my music catalog’s there, and they still said take it down.” 

Although disappointed by Sony’s request, Judd didn’t appear interested in turning the situation into a war with the label or Langley. Instead, he left fans with one final thought. “I guess everybody ain’t got a sense of humor like a lot of ’em do.” 

(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

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