Riding with Bey: How Beyoncé got Willie Jones to saddle up in the ‘fourth quarter’ for ‘Cowboy Carter’
“Texas Hold ’Em” singer made a last-minute pitch to country upstart Willie Jones to appear on her new “Cowboy Carter” opus — with the album deadline fast approaching to make her March 29 release date — it was either go big or stay home.“It was literally in the fourth quarter,” Jones, 29, told The Post of recording his “Just for Fun” duet with Beyoncé in the final stages of “Cowboy Carter.” “It was literally … end of February, February 20-something.”Jones got the call that would change his life from Alex Vickery, who produced his vocals on “Just for Fun” — which, despite its title, is a decidedly moody meditation.“She’s like, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And she’s like, ‘You know Beyoncé is working on a country album … [and] she loves your voice.’ I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ She was like, ‘Can you come out here tomorrow?’ I was like, ‘Send the car.’ ”And now the Shreveport, Louisiana native is galloping into history as one of the Black country artists spotlighted by Beyoncé Knowles Carter on “Cowboy Carter” — the undisputed event record of 2024 — which just scored the biggest sales week of the year in its chart-topping debut on the Billboard 200. Released to rave reviews (including mine), the LP also made Queen B the first Black woman to reign over the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, while simultaneously holding the top three spots on the Hot Country Songs chart led by her No.