Recently named the Ambassador of Nashville Hot Chicken*, Grand Ole Opry and Multi-Platinum country star Lorrie Morgan has teamed up with several friends and familiar country faces for a new music video for the song “Nashville Hot Chicken.” The legendary dish has become the iconic culinary delight has been deemed Nashville’s only indigenous food by Tennessean columnist, Brad Schmitt. With that in mind, Guests in the video for the new song include Tracy Lawrence, Adam Warner, Rhonda Vincent, Jesse Keith Whitley, Jeannie Seely, Larry Gatlin, Pam Tillis, Darryl Worley and Vince Gill.
“Anyone who knows me at all is aware that I am a fanatic over spicy hot foods, especially spicy hot fried chicken,” Lorrie says. “I have been eating this kind of chicken since I was at least five years old. I’m sure it wasn’t as spicy as I eat it now, but it was still spicy.”
Lorrie’s father, George Morgan, came upon a place that served hot chicken in the 1950s one night after playing the Grand Ole Opry. His nose led the “Candy Kisses” singer to a cinderblock building on Charlotte Avenue where he discovered some serious soul food. Lorrie’s dad became a regular at Bolton Polk’s establishment, with large, cast-iron skillets where chien breasts playing the Grand Ole Opry. His nose led the singer “(“Candy Kisses”) to a cinderblock building on Charlotte Avenue where he discovered some serious soul food. Lorrie’s dad became a regular at Bolton Polk’s establishment, with its large, cast-iron skillets where chicken breasts and leg quarters sizzled to a golden brown in bubbling lard. The senior Morgan visited often and became one of the biggest promoters of hot chicken; even mentioning it on the Opry and urging fans to “visit the chicken shack on Charlotte.” Nashville Hot Chicken became a staple in the Morgan home. Lorrie not only followed in her father’s footsteps in the Country Music spotlight, but became as fervent a devotee of hot chicken as her dad. She has owned hot chicken restaurants and currently licensed her own recipe to two restaurants in East Tennessee. Although Lorrie enjoys cooking up her own hot chicken, she is also a familiar face and big supporter of restaurants like 400 Degrees and Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack (where her autographed photo may still hang on the wall).
Made with dry cayenne pepper, paprika, white pepper, and other secret ingredients, Nashville Hot Chicken can be seasoned to taste; from mild to “…someone, call 911.” A few Nashville purveyors of Hot Chicken are iconic, with more eateries adopting the popular menu item, traditionally served up on white bread, and topped with dill pickles. If you want to start a debate in Nashville, no need to talk politics. Simply ask folks about their favorite hot chicken restaurant and let the debate begin.
“It was just a fun idea to turn Lorrie’s food passion into a song,” Marty Morgan says. “Hot chicken is so Nashville, and we wrote a song to celebrate its history and legacy and to tip our hat to the many people and restaurants keeping the tradition alive.”
*Morgan was named The Ambassador of Nashville Hot Chicken by the Nashville Hot Chicken Facebook Group, which celebrates the now-legendary delicacy.
JoAnne Green
Fun! I love so many of these restaurants when I visit Nashville.