Chattanooga native musician Lon Eldridge has been named the winner of EPB’s Jingle Jam competition.
EPB's Sophie Moore said more than 4,000 votes were cast with Eldridge receiving 1,086 votes.
“It was so good to wake up and have that good news waiting when I opened my Instagram,” Eldridge said.
He said he learned about the contest when a representative of EPB reached out to him and other local musicians asking them to join the challenge of creating a jingle about the EPB Energy Pros.
“And I said, absolutely, that sounds great,” he said.
Eldridge competed against local talents Amber Fults, Magic Birds, Rick Rushing III, Rachel McIntyre Smith, Randy Steele, Adam Stone & Joel Forlines and Swayyvo. Monday morning Eldridge acknowledged the other musicians while also thanking the public for their votes on a post on his Facebook Page.
Eldridge said it was much easier to come up with the melody.
“Writing music has always been easier for me than writing lyrics,” he said. “The lyrics were definitely the challenging part. I already had an idea of what I wanted to do musically based off a song that I already had written about Chattanooga, so I just tweaked some things wrote new lyrics and that's kind of how it evolved.”
His jingle has a Western swing flavor, he said, like Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.
The talented entertainer was 13 when he picked up his first guitar. “My dad played guitar,” he said. “My first experience with guitar was, picking on his that was under the bed, and he showed me my first chords. Then I just started soaking it up like a sponge.”
The self-taught musician also plays the lap steel guitar, bass guitar, and the ukulele. “Then there's those other instruments that I say I play at like banjo, mandolin, and piano.”
He describes his style of music as vintage Americana. “There are elements of ragtime and Western swing, primitive blues and urban blues, but also like Hawaiian music with the lap steel guitar like my latest instrumental album Lipstick on Mai Tai.”
The whimsical musician is also known for his handlebar mustache. “Well, I think I've probably had the mustache consistently for at least the last 10 or 15 years,” he said. “I don't think my own mother would recognize me without it at this point.”
He also has a vast collection of victrolas to go along with his collection of old records. “As a hobby, I collect 78 RPM records, which are made of shellac, not vinyl,” he said. “It's very brittle, so if you drop one, it'll shatter. I collect and restore those old crank -up machines that you play those on.”
Moore said voters were eligible to win weekly prizes.
“We appreciate everybody that voted,” she said. “The first week, it was a $750 prize package, which included a gift card to Elder’s Ace Hardware, an air purifier, some home energy things to help lower your bill and save on costs. The prize awards kept going up from there. The big prize included a portable Bluetooth speaker, $2,000 gift card to Elder’s Ace Hardware, Solo Stove, Ecobee Smart Thermostat, Ring Doorbell, and Ninja Air Fryer. All these great things to keep your house running, efficiently, lower your bill, save on costs, and, that extra gift card cash to make that investment however you want.”
EPB is preparing to unveil their annual Holidays Windows Display on Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. at their main office, 10 West M. L. King Blvd. Windows will remain open to the community through New Year’s Day.
Eldridge will be performing at Elsie’s Daughter from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 26.
He will be at the Holiday Market at Happy Valley Farms Friday Nov. 28, from 6-8 p.m. and at Gate 11 Distillery Friday, Dec. 5 from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Visit his website at www.loneldridge.com
To hear his jingle and the others visit epb.com/jingle-jam-contest/#listen
To learn more about EPB and their Energy Pros visit epb.com