James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies. Judd has released 11 studio albums and two EPs, and several singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His chart peak is the number-48 "I Love NASCAR", a parody of Toby Keith's 2003 single "I Love This Bar".
Musical career
Judd moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in country music. By 1993, he was living in a house with Daron Norwood and preparing to move back home until he wrote a parody of "Indian Outlaw" by Tim McGraw, which made him decide to pursue a career as a parodist.
1995–1999
Cledus T. Judd released his debut album, Cledus T. Judd (No Relation), on Razor & Tie Records in 1995, the "(No Relation)" part of the title being a reference to Wynonna and Naomi Judd. Two non-country parodies were also included on this album: one of the Eagles' "Hotel California", and one of "We Are the World", a 1980s charity single credited to USA for Africa. Judd's parody, entitled "We Own the World", satirized the marriage of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson.
I Stoled This Record followed in 1996. This album, despite not producing a chart single, earned RIAA gold certification for shipping 500,000 copies. This album included parodies of two Shania Twain songs: "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" became "(I'm Not in Here for Love) Just a Beer" and "Any Man of Mine" became "If Shania Was Mine". John Michael Montgomery's "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" was also parodied twice on this album.
His third album, Did I Shave My Back for This? (a take-off on Deana Carter's Did I Shave My Legs for This?), included his first duet, with Buck Owens on the original track "First Redneck on the Internet". The album also parodied Alan Jackson, Joe Diffie, Brooks & Dunn, Mindy McCready, and Trace Adkins.
1998's Juddmental was his final album for Razor & Tie. It included a duet, this time with Daryle Singletary on "Ricky Tidwell's Momma's Gonna Play Football", a non-parody song previously recorded by Tim Wilson. This album once again parodied a Twain song, with her "Honey, I'm Home" becoming "Shania, I'm Broke". The Garth Brooks/Trisha Yearwood duet "In Another's Eyes" was also parodied on this compilation. It was originally to have been on Judd's previous album, but Brooks had initially expressed concern over a parody compromising the song's chances at winning a Grammy Award.
2000–2005
After leaving Razor & Tie Records, Judd signed to Monument Records Nashville in 2000 to release his fifth album, Just Another Day in Parodies. This album produced his first chart single in "My Cellmate Thinks I'm Sexy", a parody of Kenny Chesney's 1999 single "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" which referenced Chesney's and McGraw's 2000 arrest for stealing a Mounted Reserve officer's horse. The parody charted at No. 61 on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs). Following this song was another chart single, "How Do You Milk a Cow" (based on Toby Keith's "How Do You Like Me Now?!"), which peaked at No. 67; the music video also features Toby Keith. In 2002, he released Cledus Envy, followed later that year by a Christmas album entitled Cledus Navidad. At the end of the year, Judd also made an appearance in the music video for Keith's "Who's Your Daddy?".
His last release for Monument was a six-song EP called A Six Pack of Judd, released in 2003. After Monument closed its Nashville division, he signed to Koch Records Nashville to release a second EP, the four-song The Original Dixie Hick, later in 2003. This release, which contained parodies pertaining to the Dixie Chicks, also produced his third chart single in "Martie, Natalie and Emily (The Continuing Saga Of)", a parody of Brad Paisley's "Celebrity".
Judd's final release for Koch was 2004's Bipolar and Proud. This album produced two more chart singles for him, including his highest-peaking, the No. 48 "I Love NASCAR", which parodied Keith's "I Love This Bar" and included guest vocals from Keith himself. Following this song was the No. 58 "Bake Me A Country Ham", based on Tracy Lawrence's "Paint Me a Birmingham".