Jason DeFord has made a name for himself in country music as the singer Jelly Roll. But where did his stage name originate from? The artist recently found himself in legal hot water after the wedding band Jellyroll sued him for alleged copyright infringement. But DeFord's nickname stretches back to his childhood.
Speaking with People, the singer revealed that fans often give him jelly rolls, which are a sponge cake with a filling. The singer said he enjoys the dessert, but that's not the inspiration of his name. "You know what? Nobody's ever asked, and I kind of do," he said. "But here's a funny thing. I didn't realize that jelly rolls were cakes. I got named Jelly Roll after a jelly donut. My mother didn't know there was a different pastry called a jelly roll."
So there you have it, DeFord has been Jelly Roll since he was a child. He's grown to appreciate the jelly roll cakes that he gets from fans all the time."It is awesome. Venues will always have one,"the singer said. "I love anything with strawberry or grape in it."
The band Jellyroll is attempting to get DeFord to stop using Jelly Roll as his stage name. They claim that he's negatively affecting their business. But the artist is unlikely to stop. He's been known as the name most of his life.
Jelly Roll Sued By Jellyroll
The band previously said, "We have become aware of, and you may have heard of, another 'Jelly Roll', who has recently gained some fame in the country music scene - Jason DeFord, the Nashville area crossover singer-songwriter. It's imperative that we avoid confusion for our band that has been performing as JELLYROLL® for over 40 years."
They continued, "Therefore, we have an obligation to inform the public that Mr. DeFord performing as "Jelly Roll" is misleading, and an infringement on our band's JELLYROLL® trademark. We have run into issues with our social media accounts, search engine optimization, Google Ads, as well as overall brand recognition."
For what it's worth, the singer seems unbothered by the lawsuit. Instead, he's been focused on improving his health and has dropped 70 pounds.
"I'm probably down 70-something pounds," the artist said. "I've been really kicking a—, man. I'm doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I'm doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna. Six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I'm eating healthy right now. I feel really good. I was thinking, I plan on losing another 100, 100-and-something [pounds]. If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I'm going to feel like by the time I go on tour
