Jessie James Decker is a country music star known for her lovely songs, strong stage presence and a distinctly likable persona. She is a world-renowned artist known for her music with albums and EPs such as Jessie James, Comin Home, Gold, Southern Girl City Lights, Blackbird Sessions, On This Holiday, The Woman I’ve Become and Decker the Halls. She has over six million combined social media followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Decker even starred in her own E! reality show with her husband Eric, Eric & Jessie: Game On, which ran for three seasons. Decker is a patriotic American country music star who has deep familial roots and loyalty to the military.
Decker grew up around military service and enjoyed the experiences. She was born in Italy close to a U.S. military base where her father was stationed. Her mother, Karen Johnson, married her stepfather, Steve Parker, in the early 2000s who also served in the USAF, which led their family to move around to places such as Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia. She began to sing when she was 2 and won her first music contest at age 9, belting out I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart. Through her teen years, she made weekly trips to Nashville to constantly improve her songwriting abilities. She made her big push into singing stardom at age 17 by signing with Mercury Records, which at that point, she was well on her way to a bright future.
Decker is partnering with Rocket and the USO for their Homefront Heroes activation, honoring the 500,000 military spouses who hold down the home front while their loved ones serve our country. She and her mother, Karen, sat down with We Are The Mighty to discuss their passions for military veterans.
WATM: Tell us about being a military spouse and having a husband in the USAF.
Karen: It was a privilege to support my husband and to serve alongside him because he is doing the most important job of protecting our country and keeping America free, no matter where we live. We try to put roots down no matter where we move; that’s one of the things. Putting roots down is just so incredibly important, especially when you’re moving around so much as a military family.
WATM: What was it like growing up in a military family?
Jessie: It’s just all I knew. I get asked that all the time. I think when you are born into it, it’s just a way of life. I remember always getting ready for a new adventure. Going to a new city, a new school, a new place and embracing where we were and our surroundings. It was even better when we would move to towns where no one was really military and they didn’t quite understand that the military is its own community. It’s all I knew, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
WATM: What do your experiences mean to you today?
Karen: I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the military spouses out there. They are the unsung heroes and Steve is retired now with 37 1/2 years of service, including his Air Force Academy time. It was a privilege and a lot of hard work. All of those spouses out there who continue to support their husbands while they are deployed or who are serving and moving around so much, I just want to thank them for their service, too.
Jessie: I have so many memories of Memorial Day weekend being out on the boat with my family in Florida. My dad’s making hot dogs on the boat with the American Flag waving in the wind and having The Eagles on the radio. We just had an incredible time together as a family in Destin, FL.
Karen: We still do that today. The flag is flying on the boat, and we are waiting for Jessie and family to come down to make the hot dogs. Being around a military community, it feels so good. We can hear the national anthem played from our home. It’s just wonderful to continue to have that love of country.
