Windsor country singer debuts amid trade war with 'Jack Daniel's Ain't A Friend of Mine'
An emerging Windsor country artist has received an unexpected boost, thanks to his debut single "Jack Daniel's Ain't a Friend of Mine."
Parker Ouellette wrote the single about a year ago, long before the United States launched a trade war with Canada by introducing sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
But the song was released in early March just as government liquor stores across Canada began pulling American brands off the shelves – including Jack Daniel's.
"I'm never going to say no to a bigger audience," Ouellette said of the fortuitous timing.
"But there's a lot of worry going on right now, and it's not unwarranted. … But I would be grateful for the opportunity to provide relief to people through this absolute joke of a song."
Jack Daniel's' maker Brown-Forman has expressed its displeasure with provincial decisions to remove Jack from store shelves.
CEO Lawson Whiting said on Wednesday that it was "worse than a tariff," according to Reuters, and a "disproportionate response" to levies imposed by the Trump administration.
But Ouellette said he needs some time apart from the famous whiskey brand.
"I'm going to go start hanging with my other buddies, J.P. Wiser's, and I'm going to … put my Crown on," he said, referring to Canadian whiskey brands.
Ouellette grew up listening to country music, and he's been writing songs for about four years, he said.
"Jack Daniel's Ain't a Friend of Mine" is the first single from his debut album.
"It's my contribution to the great pantheon of drinking songs," Ouellette said, citing Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" and the Irish Rovers' "Wasn't That A Party" as genre-defining examples.
It's a song about going out on a Friday night and regretting it in the morning, he added.
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