It's a long way from Hope Hull to the "Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon. That's the journey taken by 25-year-old Ella Langley, an Alabama singer and songwriter.
The national TV performance on Monday night was only the last of her three major events in the past week, and the week isn't over yet.
First, a song by Langley and Riley Green hit number one on the MusicRow Radio Chart. "You Look Like You Love Me" has 111 million Spotify hits. It is not her first hit, but it is her first chart-topper, and it will likely not be her last.
Then, Langley fell on stage Friday while performing at the famous John T. Floore's Country Store in Texas. She managed to reach out and took down her guitar player, Ben Flanders, with her. Amazingly, neither was hurt. Flanders was playing a guitar interlude with Langley rocking out beside him. She slipped, started falling backward and grabbed Flanders. Both went down on the stage. Flanders kept on playing, and they finished the song.
Naturally, a fan captured the action on cell phone, and the video went viral:
Finally, Langley was featured on NBC's "Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon on Monday. She and Riley Green performed "You Look Like You Love Me."
Fortunately, Fallon did not ask her to repeat the falling episode from Friday. It was a part of the act that was not planned and will not be repeated.
Langley was born in Hope Hull, a small but growing community just southwest of Montgomery off Interstate 65 and U.S. Highway 31. It is unincorporated and is mostly a bedroom community with families working in the nearby Hyundai manufacturing plant or commuting to Montgomery for state jobs.
She got started playing gigs in the greater Montgomery area. In 2019, she decided to step her career up a notch and moved to Nashville, signing with Sony Music and Capitol Records. The rest is history.
Her growing list of hits includes:
Country Boy’s Dream Girl
Hungover
Nicotine
That’s Why We Fight
Strangers
Jim' Zig' Zeigler writes about Alabama's people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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