18. Jill Johnson took country music to Sweden, and now people finally get it | DREAM GUEST | A Hilarous Podcast with Comedian Al Pitcher

Before country music was trendy enough to be on everyone’s playlists – there was Jill Johnson holding the fort. This week’s brilliant dream guest, the Swedish country and pop singer-songwriter Jill, is nothing short of a pioneer with her career spanning over 30 years.

Desperate to become part of Jill’s hit TV-show Jills veranda, Al sends out an open job application as the shows own “Swedish comic masseur”. As Al and Jill entertain the idea of putting together a band, they also try to tackle the week’s audience question “If marriage is truly worth the trouble?”. Finally, the Al Pitcher team together with Jill Johnson sings the audience off to a merry christmas with their 5-second-sing-along. Find Jill Johnson here: https://www.instagram.com/jilljohnsonmusic/ https://www.jilljohnson.se https://open.spotify.com/artist/2aaGbpl5Y2ykZsNFZM6ofw?si=SCjViD6dQz65ckUtLZip6Q Perhaps Sweden’s most celebrated international comic Al Pitcher, continues to make us ponder and laugh at all things funny and Swedish with his third season of Dream Guest Podcast. Recorded from his studios in Skärholmen, Stockholm, Al’s ambition is to spread his love of Sweden abroad, while bringing in stars and topics of a global scale. The season premiers the day before the American presidential elections on November 4th, 2024. Between a giant ficus tree and a neon sign, Al invites an impressive line-up of guests to sit down with him for a laugh. The celebrated satirist and program host, John Oliver, kicks off the season by sharing with the audience his pre-election jitters. This season, joining Al in discussing topics that range from childhood pranks to identity crises, are comedians Russell Howard and Evelyn Mok, as well as musicians Jill Johnson, Chris Kläfford, and James Bay. Co-hosts: Soma Manuchar / https://www.youtube.com/@UCAfzYIR4n4ko30xip8PUK-g / https://www.instagram.com/homeofsoma Simon Larsson / https://www.instagram.com/simonwithdrums Buy tickets to Al's new tour "Tid för skratt" here: https://www.alpitcher.com Find out more about Al here: official webpage: https://www.alpitcher.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alpitcher TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alpitcher Management/sponsorship inquiries: Anna Gauffin / anna@annamgmt.se This podcast is produced by SOSI Studios - soma@sosistudios.com

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:56) An icon in this country
(00:01:46) What instruments can you play
(00:04:38) Country is cool again
(00:04:49) Jill knew what she wanted to do when she was 4
(00:04:55) Al wanted to be a horsing commentator
(00:05:06) Dalahäst
(00:06:02) Did Soma know what she wanted to be?
(00:10:49) Jill doesn't wear hats until recently
(00:12:06) It only took a minute for my country to love country
(00:12:29) Pickle balls and pickle back
(00:13:48) Making jokes about silly Swedish traditions
(00:14:29) Al wants to go to Nashville as a Swedish masseur
(00:15:12) Skåne audiences like outside the box
(00:16:05) Country music didn’t work at all in middle of Sweden
(00:16:22) Al's research on country
(00:19:36) Country band name generator
(00:21:09) Do you do merch Jill?
(00:22:06) Question: Is marriage worth the trouble
(00:25:01) What does AI say
(00:26:24) AI in music
(00:27:42) Night rider tour bus
(00:29:41) Jill would sleep in the car when she was little
(00:30:27) Christmas Tour with Jill
(00:34:27) Outro