Jensen and Music
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Contents
History
When Jensen was growing up, his mother played the piano, and his father played the guitar. However, guitar was the instrument Jensen preferred.[1]
Jensen counts a number of musicians amongst his circle of friends - Jason Manns, Steve Carlson and Christian Kane.
Jensen talking about singing and music:
- Recording covers and Jared teases about his favorite songs at Asylum 6 2011
- Fangasm report about collaborating with Steve Carlson and Jared filming the video, from his Meet & Greet at Salute to Supernatural Dallas 2012.
Recordings and Performances
On Screen
Supernatural
On the show, Dean has broken out in song on a number of occasions - the joke being that Dean is a terrible singer. For more on Dean's musical tastes see this article about the music of Supernatural.
2006:
- Blue Öyster Cult’s ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’ as Dean Winchester in 1.17 Hell House (video)
- REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ as Dean Winchester in 2.05 Simon Said (video)
2007:
- A messy version of the hymn ‘Silent Night’ as Dean Winchester in 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas (video)
2008:
- Bon Jovi’s ‘Dead or Alive’ as Dean Winchester in 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked. (video)
- Bell Biv DeVoe’s ‘Do Me!’ in the season 3 gag reel (video)
- Miming to 'Eye Of The Tiger' by Survivor. (video). This aired after 4.06 Yellow Fever. This was entirely spontaneous on Jensen's part. It was set up when Jared decided not to give Jensen his cue to stop, and decided to see what would happen. Luckily, director Philip Sgriccia kept the cameras rolling.[2]
2009:
- The national anthem of Canada, ‘O, Canada’ in the season 4 gag reel (at 6m40s in this video)
2010
- Sam and Dave’s ‘Soul Man’ with The Impalas at Supernatural’s 100th episode party. (video)
2011:
- Air Supply’s ‘All Outta Love’ in an outtake from 7.06 Slash Fiction. (video) This sequence was an homage to the scene of Brad Pitt singing Air Supply in the 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith. (see the comparison here).
2014:
- Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' karaoke as Deanmon in 10.01 Black (video)
- Atlanta Rhythm Section's 'Imaginary Lover' karaoke as Deanmon in 10.01 Black (video)
2015:
- Bob Seger's 'Night Moves' as Dean Winchester (video)
2018:
- Jensen performed at the 300th episode party with The Impalas. They performed Bob Seger and Kid Rock's 'Real Mean Bottle', and ZZ Top's 'Tush'. (video)
2019:
- Kansas' 'Carry On Wayward Son' (video), and Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' (video) at the Mardi Gras Baccus coronation.
- The song 'Sounds of Someday' from Radio Company - the band Jensen formed with Steve Carlson - featured in 15.04 Atomic Monsters. (video)
- Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard, 'Good Ol' Boys' as Dean Winchester (feat. Lee Webb) in 15.07 Last Call (video)
Mr. Rhodes
Jensen's first on-screen performances were during his 8-episode stint on the sitcom Mr. Rhodes.
- In S01E14, he sang ‘La Donna È Mobile’. (at 21m40s in this video)
- In S01E17, he sang 'You Are So Beautiful' by Joe Cocker. (video)
Days of Our Lives
Jensen's first studio-recorded performance was recorded during his time on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
- On the album Soap Sessions: Vol. 3, he sang backing vocals on a cover of The Beatles' 'Saw Her Standing There' with co-star Roark Critchlow. (listen here)
Dark Angel
- For S02E11 of Dark Angel, Jensen learned 8 bars of Chopin’s Etude No. 3 in E Major for piano that his character Alec had to play. (video) Although it had been planned to completely use shots of a professional musician playing the piece, Jensen's playing was so good they also used it for most of the final cut.[1]
The Boys
- 'Rapture’ by Blondie as Soldier Boy in S03E04 is done in the style of William Shatner who famously did a cover of 'Common People' by Pulp. (video) The Blondie official Twitter account responded gleefully to the clip.
- ‘From A Logical Point Of View’ by Robert Mitchum as Soldier Boy in S03E07. (video) In this tweet, Kripke explains the Robert Mitchum inspiration for the video.
Conventions
2007:
- Van Morrison's 'Crazy Love' with Jason Manns at Asylum 2007. (video)
2010:
- The Band's 'The Weight' with Jason Manns at Jus In Bello Italy 2010. (video)
2011:
- At the Salute to Supernatural L.A. 2011, Jensen and Jason gave a private jam session for around forty fans. Tickets, through silent auction, were around $1500. The jam session wasn't filmed, but you can read some reports from the session below:
- Playlist of the songs they sang.
- Report on the Jensen and Jason jam session by Fangasm
- Report on Jensen and Jason Jam session by indie chicks
- Jensen and the jam session by sweetondean
- Jensen's jam session by a-sick-puppy
- Jensen and Steve did a jam session at Salute to Supernatural Nashville 2011. Part of the proceeds went to support victims of the recent tornadoes. It wasn't filmed, but you can read some reports from the session below:
- Report on Jensen and Steve's jam session via danielltbd
- Report on Jensen and Steve's jam session by Fangasm
- Report on Jensen and Steve's jam session by sen1995
2013:
In 2013, Louden Swain began performing at conventions between the guest panels leading to spontaneous performances by Jensen during his panels or at the Saturday Night Special Concerts.
- Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ (video), and ACDC’s ‘Back in Black’ (video) at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2013 with Elastic Waste Band
- Kansas’ ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ at Jus In Bello Italy 2013. (video)
- Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy Love’ with Jason Manns and Rob Benedict at Jailbreak. (video)
- ‘The One and Only Cheerios’ at Salute to Supernatural Dallas 2013. (video)
2014:
- Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice, Ice, Baby’ at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2014. (video)
- Warrant’s ‘Heaven’ at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2014 (video)
- Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ (video), Marty Robbins’ ‘El Paso’ (video), and The Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ (video), and Journey's 'Any Way You Want It' (video) at Salute to Supernatural New Jersey 2014.
- The Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ at Salute to Supernatural Dallas 2014. (video)
- Scottish folk song ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ (video), Tom Waits’ ‘Picture in a Frame’ (video), and The Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ (video) at Salute to Supernatural Toronto 2014.
- Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ (video), and The Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road' with Louden Swain and Richard Speight Jr. (video) at Salute to Supernatural Chicago 2014.
2015:
- Sturgill Simpson’s ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ at Salute to Supernatural San Francisco 2015. (video)
- The Eagles’ ‘Seven Bridges Road’ with the cast at Salute to Supernatural Phoenix 2015. (video)
- The Eagles’ ‘Seven Bridges Road’ (video), Night Ranger’s ‘Sister Christian’ (video), and ‘Last Question Song’ (video), and The Beatles' 'With a Little Help from My Friends' with the cast (video) at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2015.
- The Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ with Louden Swain (video), and ‘A Whole New World’ from Disney's Aladdin (video) at Salute to Supernatural Seattle 2015.
- Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy Love’ with Jason Manns (video), and The Band’s ‘The Weight’ with Timothy Omundson and Jason Manns (video) at Asylum 14 2015.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at Jus In Bello Italy 2015. (video)
- Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show’s ‘Wagon Wheel’ (video), and Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ (video) with Jason Manns, Richard Speight Jr., and Rob Benedict at Jailbreak.
- Foreigner’s ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ during NerdHQ at Comic-Con 2015. (video)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ with Louden Swain and Mark Sheppard at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2015. (video)
- 'Blame It On the Musk (Do the Molecule)' with Louden Swain and Richard Speight Jr. at Salute to Supernatural Toronto 2015. (video)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ with Louden Swain and Mark Sheppard (video), and The Beatles' 'With a Little Help from My Friends' with the convention guests (video) at Salute to Supernatural Chicago 2015.
- Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Denver 2015. (video)
- Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Pasadena 2015. (video)
2016:
- The Allman Brothers’ ‘Whipping Post’ (video), singing backup to Jared's rapping (video), and Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer' (video) at Salute to Supernatural Jacksonville 2016.
- The Allman Brothers’ ‘Whipping Post’ at Salute to Supernatural Nashville 2016. (video)
- Whitesnake's 'Here I Go Again' with Louden Swain (video), and playing ukulele (video) at Salute to Supernatural Seattle 2016
- Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ (video), and playing guitar for Misha (video) at Jus In Bello Italy 2016
- Jailbreak concert with Quattro Formaggio. (part 1, part 2)
- American folk song ‘Fare Thee Well’ with Louden Swain (video), The Allman Brothers’ ‘Whipping Post’ with Louden Swain (video) and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ with Louden Swain, Kim Rhodes, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins (video) at Salute to Supernatural Phoenix 2016.
- Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Pittsburgh 2016. (video)
- ‘Last Question Song’ at Salute to Supernatural Minneapolis 2016. (video)
- American folk song ‘Fare Thee Well’ (video), Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ (video), and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ (video) with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2016.
- The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' (video) at Salute to Supernatural Atlanta 2016.
2017:
- NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Brother' (video), and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' (video) at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2017.
- David Allan Coe's 'Tennessee Whiskey', The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post', and Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show’s ‘Wagon Wheel’ with Jason Manns and Louden Swain (video) at Salute to Supernatural Nashville 2017.
- Tom Petty's Free Fallin' with Jared and Louden Swain (video), Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ with Louden Swain (video), and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain (video) at All Hell Breaks Loose 8 Melbourne 2017.
- Katy Perry's 'Firework' (video), Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Simple Man' with Rob Benedict and Jason Manns (video), NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Brother' with Rob Benedict and Jason Manns (video), Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show's 'Wagon Wheel' with Gil McKinney, Briana Buckmaster, Sasha Roiz, Rob Benedict, and Jason Manns (video), and The Band's 'The Weight' with Gil McKinney, Briana Buckmaster, Sasha Roiz, Rob Benedict, and Jason Manns (video) at the Orion club concert after Jus In Bello Italy 2017.
- The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2017. (video)
- 'The Last Question Song' with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Pittsburgh 2017. (video)
- The Band's 'The Weight' with Jason Manns, Jake Abel, and Louden Swain (video), NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Brother' with Jason Manns and Louden Swain (video), and American folk song ‘Fare Thee Well’ with Jason Manns and Louden Swain (video) at Salute to Supernatural Secaucus 2017
- Playing piano and singing 'The Last Question Song' with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Toronto 2017 (video)
- Louden Swain's 'Fair', NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Brother' with Louden Swain (video), and Tom Petty's 'Free Falling' with Louden Swain, Jason Manns, and Jared Padalecki (video) at Salute to Supernatural Honolulu 2017
2018:
- The Allman's Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain (video), and Bon Jovi's 'Dead or Alive' with Corey Taylor (lead vocalist of heavy metal band Slipknot) and Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2018 (video)
- Interview with Corey Taylor about the performance by Fangasm.
- 'Happy Birthday' to a fan with Jared and the convention attendees at Salute to Supernatural Montreal 2018. (video)
- Eric Church's 'Like a Wrecking Ball' and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' at Salute to Supernatural Nashville 2018. (video)
- Eric Church's 'Like a Wrecking Ball' (video) and The Steeldrivers' 'Midnight Train to Memphis' (video) with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Birmingham, UK 2018
- Kiss' 'Rock and Roll All Nite' (video) at Jus In Bello Italy 2018
- The Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road', NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Brother', The Band's 'Up On Cripple Creek', Pure Prairie League's 'Amie', The Band's 'The Weight', and Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show’s 'Wagon Wheel' with Quattro Formaggio at the post-Jus In Bello Italy 2018 concert. (video)
- 'The Last Question' song with Louden Swain (video) and 'Happy Birthday' to a fan with Jared, Louden Swain, and Alex Calvert (video) at Salute to Supernatural Denver 2018
- 'The Last Question' song with Louden Swain, and 'Happy Birthday' to Richard Speight Jr. at Salute to Supernatural Charlotte 2018 (video)
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.', and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2018 (video)
2019:
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.', and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain, Richard Speight Jr., and Jason Manns at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2019 (video)
- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's 'Shallow' with Briana Buckmaster (video), The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' (video), The Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road' (video), Bob Dylan's 'Wagon Wheel' (video), Soggy Bottom Boys' 'Man of Constant Sorrow' (video), The Band's 'The Weight' (video) with Louden Swain, Richard Speight Jr., and Jason Manns. The Beatles' 'Come Together' and The Doobie Brothers' 'Long Train Running' with all the guests (video) at the post-Jus In Bello Italy 2019 concert.
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.' with Louden Swain and Jason Manns at All Hell Breaks Loose 10 Melbourne 2019 (video)
- Bryan Adams' 'Heaven' and The Steeldrivers' 'Midnight Train to Memphis' with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Dallas 2019 (video)
- Bryan Adams' Heaven (video), Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.' with Louden Swain (video), and The Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' with the rest of the con guests (video) at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver 2019.
- Player's 'Baby Come Back' (video) at Salute to Supernatural Secaucus 2019.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Simple Man' with Louden Swain (video), Ed Sheeran's 'Blow' with Lisa Berry and Louden Swain (video) at Salute to Supernatural Toronto 2019.
2020:
- 'The Last Question' song with Louden Swain at Salute to Supernatural Las Vegas 2020 (video)
2021:
- Peaches & Herb's 'Reunited' (video) at Creation's Virtual Fan Experience March 2021
- Walker Hayes' 'Fancy Like' (video), and again (video) at Salute to Supernatural Denver 2021.
2022:
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.' (video) with Louden Swain, and Lenny Kravitz' 'Let Love Rule' (video) with Louden Swain and the rest of the con guests at Salute to Supernatural New Jersey 2022.
- Willie Nelson's 'On the Road Again' (video) at Salute to Supernatural Washington DC 2022
- Lionel Richie's 'Hello' (video), 'Something's Coming' from West Side Story (video), and Morgan Wallen's 'Cover Me Up' (video) at Jus In Bello Italy August 2022
- Bad Company's 'Feel Like Makin' Love' with Steve Carlson and Louden Swain (video), Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' and The Beatles' 'Helter Skelter' with Louden Swain, Steve Carlson, and the rest of the con guests (video), and Bob Seger's 'Real Mean Bottle' with Steve Carlson and Louden Swain (video) at Salute to Supernatural Kansas City 2022
2023:
- Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' 'S.O.B.' at Creation Dallas 2023 (video)
- Radio Company's 'Every Light', Steve Carlson and Jensen's 'Angeles', a random guitar riff for Misha to improvise to, an improvised song for Misha (video) at Jus In Bello Italy Feb 2023
- The Band's 'The Weight' with Louden Swain, Gil McKinney, and Jason Manns (video), and Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Simple Man' with Louden Swain (video) at Creation Atlanta 2023
- Marty Robbins’ ‘El Paso’ (video), Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' (video) at Creation New Orleans 2023
- Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' (video), The Eagles' 'Hotel California' with Jason Manns and Rob Benedict in the greenroom (video) at Jus In Bello Italy 2023
- The Black Crowes' 'She Talks to Angels', Josh Turner's 'Your Man', The Band's 'The Weight', The Eagles' 'Take It Easy', and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' (video) at the post-Jus In Bello Italy 2023 concert
- Limahl's 'Never Ending Story' (video) and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' with Louden Swain (video) at Salute to Supernatural San Francisco 2023
- The Marshall Tucker Band's 'Can't You See' and The Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post' (video) with Louden Swain at Creation Washington DC 2023
- The Marshall Tucker Band's 'Can't You See' (video) and Foo Fighter's 'My Hero' (video) with Louden Swain at Creation Honolulu 2023
2024:
- The Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road', The Red Clay Strays' 'Wondering Why', Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show’s ‘Wagon Wheel’, The Beatles' 'Come Together', The Band's 'The Weight', and Pure Prairie League's 'Amie' with Quattro Formaggio (video) at the post-Jus In Bello Italy 2024 concert
- Cher's 'If I Could Turn Back Time' (video) and 'The Last Question' song with Louden Swain (video) and Misha (video) at Creation San Francisco 2024
With other artists
With Jason Manns
In addition to their convention performances, Jensen has also recorded with Jason Manns.
- Jason talks about singing with Jensen by zap2it.
- Jason performed at Salute to Supernatural L.A. 2008, where he released a single of him and Jensen singing Van Morrison's 'Crazy Love', which you can listen to on YouTube.
- In 2014, Jason recorded an album Christmas with Friends on which Jensen sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'.(audio)
- On Christmas Eve that year, Jensen joined Jason for a streaming Stageit concert, filmed at Jensen's home in LA.(video).
- In 2016, Jason released another album in his "...with Friends" series called Covers with Friends. Jensen sang The Bands' 'The Weight' with Gil McKinney, Richard Speight Jr., and Rob Benedict (audio). And also covered Lynryd Skynyrd's 'Simple Man' (audio).
- In 2018, Jason released a third album in his "...with Friends" series called Recovering with Friends. Jensen sang Steve Miller Band's 'The Joker' with Jason (audio), The Band's 'Up On Cripple Creek' with Mark Pellegrino, Rob Benedict, Richard Speight Jr. and Jason Manns (audio), and James Gang's 'Funk 49' with Jason (audio).
With Steve Carlson
- Jensen sang harmonies on "Come around more Alabama" (Spot in the Corner), as well as backing vocals on "Hummingbird Billy", "Rocking Chair" and "Wasted Jamie" (Rollin' On). Jason Manns supported Jensen's backing vocals on "Rollin' On".
- Jensen helped co-write two songs on Steve's April 2008 record, "Stripped Down", namely "Where my River flows" and "Love you or leave you".
- Kane - the band fronted by Christian Kane and Steve Carlson - have played an number of gigs at Dante's in Portland, Oregon, where Chris's series Leverage films. On June 28, 2009 Jensen and Danneel joined Leverage co-stars Tim Hutton and Aldis Hodge to celebrate Chris' birthday. Jensen joined the band on stage for a few songs including "Happy Birthday".
- Steve did an online Stageit concert on 31 Aug 2011 and said the guitar he was playing belonged to Jensen.
- Danneel posted a photo on twitter of Steve and Jensen playing together.
- Steve did an online StageIt concert with Jonah Dolan on 27 November 2011 and near the end Jensen joined them by playing the guitar.
- Jensen sang lead vocal and played guitar while Steve played mandolin on the song "Angeles" on Steve Carlson's album "Sharing the Covers" released in September 2012. Hear a sample of Jensen singing "Angeles". The album is available from iTunes or Amazon. Jensen talked about it at his Meet&Greet at the Dallas 2012 con. This interview with Steve is about recording and singing with Jensen. This report with Steve talks about the album and explains why "Angeles" is only available for purchase as part of the album - because credit for that single song would have been reported as belonging to Steve and neither of them thought that was fair. The song was recorded in Vancouver, in the Supernatural ADR (sound recording) van. There is a free YouTube video for the song which was edited by Steve and part of which was recorded by Jared on his iPhone. Jensen says that Steve talked him into doing the video because Steve said 'why don’t we just shoot something, because you know that if we don’t, they’re (the fans) gonna take the song and just compile their own music video on YouTube'. source. It's one of several videos on Steve's YouTube channel.
- Steve's latest album Different Town comes out Nov 5th, 2012. The album notes say Steve wrote the title song with Jensen in Italy.
- Steve Carlson and Jensen doing a concert at Family Business Beer Company in 2018.
Radio Company
Based in Austin, Texas, Radio Company was formed in 2018 as a collaboration between Jensen Ackles and Steve Carlson.
- Their first album, Volume 1 was released on November 8, 2019. A song from the album, "Sounds of Someday" was used in 15.04 Atomic Monsters which Jensen also directed. The album reached 151 on the US Billboard 200, and at number 18 on the US Top Rock Albums chart.
- Their second album, Volume 2 was released on May 7, 2021. A music video for "City Grown Willow" - shot by Steve and Jensen - was released on April 2, 2021
- Their first live concert was held at the Analog in Nashville, Tennessee on December 19, 2022. Watch the full concert here.
- Their third album, Keep On Ramblin' was released on February 24, 2023.
- A live album of their Analog concert, Radio Company - Live from Nashville was released on June 14, 2023.
- They performed at FBBC's members-only party on May 4, 2024. The songs performed were Radio Company's 'Quarter To' and 'Truly Forgotten' as well as Billy Currington's 'Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer' and Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Gimme Three Steps' with Jonathan Tyler.
- They performed two concerts at the Sagebrush in Austin, TX on August 19 & 20, 2024. These concerts were livestreamed on StageIt.
Other
- Jensen singing The Highwomen's 'Crowded Table' with his daughter J.J. (posted to his Instagram on 17 March, 2020)
- Jensen singing Kansas' 'Carry On Wayward Son' (posted to Danneel's Instagram story)
- Supercut of Jensen singing.