Jesse James Dupree (born Jesse Dupree; September 22, 1962) is an American musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter in the rock band

Jackyl Jackyl is an American rock band formed in 1991. Their sound has been described as hair metal and southern rock. Their self-titled debut album has sold more than a million copies in the United States with hit singles like "Down on Me" and "Wh ...

, founded in 1991. As a solo performer, he released albums in 2000 and 2008 under the names of Jesse James Dupree and Jesse James Dupree & Dixie Inc., respectively.

Career

Jackyl

Jesse James Dupree is the lead singer and guitarist of the American

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

band

from

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under i ...

. Formed in 1991, the band signed a recording contract with

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. In 1992, a self-titled debut album was released and went platinum; the band still tours on the festival circuit, in music venues, and on

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

's reality television series '' Full Throttle Saloon''. Dupree's most famous routine involves using a

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...

as a musical instrument during the song "The Lumberjack" and "The Star Spangled Banner". His collection of customized instruments include an electric guitar with a chainsaw attached and a large customized chainsaw powered by a ''

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

Hemi Hemi may refer to: People Surname * Jack Hemi (1914–1996), New Zealand freezing worker, rugby union and league player, shearer * Ronald Hemi (1933–2000), New Zealand rugby union player Given name * Hemi Bawa, Indian painter and sculptor * ...

'' engine.

Jesse James Dupree

The 2000 release of Dupree's debut solo project ''

Foot Fetish Foot fetishism, also known as foot partialism or podophilia, is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts. Characteristics For a foot fetishist, points ...

'' issued on

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music and V2 Benelux; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007, sold to PIAS in 2013 and partially acquired by Universal in 2022 (as part of larger PIAS 49% ...

with guitarist John Hayes and bassist Roman Glick (formerly of

Brother Cane Brother Cane is an American rock band that released three albums in the 1990s. Formed in Alabama in 1990 by singer and guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Glenn Maxey, the line-up was completed by guitarist Roman Glick and drummer Scott Colli ...

) brought with it the hard rock/Southern Rock combination expected from Dupree. The single ''"Mainline"'', hit #34 on the U.S.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart.

Jesse James Dupree & Dixie Inc.

2008 brought the release of ''Rev It Up and Go-Go'', an album by Jesse James Dupree & Dixie Inc. Three music videos were released in promotion of the new CD: "Money Lovin' & Speed", "The Party" and "Bite". In September 2001, Dupree performed and recorded a cover of

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

's "

Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the first of three albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and is the last albu ...

" for the ECW Music CD ''Anarchy Rocks Extreme Music Volume 2'' released on

Television

;''Full Throttle Saloon'' After performing with Jackyl at '' Full Throttle Saloon'' in

Sturgis, South Dakota Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 7,020 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Meade County and is named after Samuel D. Sturgis, a Union Army, Union general dur ...

, Dupree formed a partnership with Full Throttle Saloon owner, Michael Ballard, and the duo created a reality show, covering the operations of the largest

biker bar A biker bar is a bar that is frequented by bikers (motorcycle riders). Some are owned or managed by people who are friendly toward bikers.

in the United States. In addition to being business partners, Dupree and Ballard appear on the show (as themselves), along with several other characters each season. Dupree is the entertainment director and executive producer of the series; he also performs live with his band Jackyl, and performs his own stunts on each episode. Full Throttle Saloon aired its first season on

in 2009, and is in production for future seasons. The saloon was destroyed by fire in September 2015.

Business interests

Dupree started Mighty Loud Entertainment, a record label and artist management company. Through Mighty Loud, Dupree is the General Manager of

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 20 ...

's label Ironworks and also runs an imprint label as part of the Universal Music system. Mighty Loud Entertainment manages artists such as

Nigel Dupree Band Nigel Dupree Band is an American southern rock band from Kennesaw, Georgia, started by Nigel Thomas Dupree, the son of Jackyl lead vocalist Jesse James Dupree. Having performed at events such as Full Throttle Saloon, Rocklahoma Rocklahoma ...

, Wayland, and Babi Mac. In 2010, Dupree created and launched "Jesse James Spirits", a line of alcoholic beverages that includes the "Jesse James America's Outlaw" brands of beer and

bourbon whiskey Bourbon whiskey (; also simply bourbon) is a Aging (food), barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the Kingdom of France, French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncerta ...

. Flavored bourbons (honey flavored and spiced) were introduced to the product line soon afterward.

Personal life

In 1989, Jesse had a son named Nigel Thomas Dupree who was the lead vocalist for the

, and was the drummer for Wayland and is now the drummer for Tuk Smith and the Restless Hearts. He also has a daughter named Thea. Jesse is married to Penny Dupree.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2000) *''Breathing Fire'' (2023)

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Jesse James American rock guitarists American male guitarists Living people Participants in American reality television series Bourbon whiskey 1962 births 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians