Jamey Johnson may be new to most country fans. But for artists such as Trace Adkins, George Strait and Joe Nichols, the Alabama native is a household name.
Johnson, in fact, is a co-writer on Give It Away, country superstar Strait’s 41st record-setting No. 1 single, as well the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year and the Academy of Country Music’s top song for ‘07.
A resident of Nashville since Jan. 1, 2000, Johnson also penned several of Adkins’ hits, including 2005’s Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, a No. 2 single, and 2007’s Ladies Love Country Boys, a former No. 1, not to mention Nichols’ Top-20 single, Another Side of You.
From Writing Hit-Country Songs to Recording Country Radio Favorites
With his country music career as an in-demand songwriter secure, Johnson, in 2007, set about the task of creating the 14-track That Lonesome Song, which is his third studio album and his first CD for Mercury Nashville.
“Writing is not enough for me,” Johnson has said. “I did not come here (to Nashville) to just be a writer. I live to play. … I’m not here to take a stab at it. I am going to do it.”
The bearded musician and former Marine—who lists Alan Jackson and supergroup Alabama among his influences—released his first studio CD, They Call Me Country, in 2002. But his first major-label break came in 2005 after signing with BNA Records. There, he released the 11-song The Dollar in January 2006. The album hit No. 20 on the U.S. country charts and notched a No. 14 single with its title track. However, Johnson was dropped by BNA in mid-2006.
Hard Times Inspire Singer-Songwriter to Create New Music
Recalling that time, the blue-eyed artist has said, ““Think about my life: I got right out of high school. Then it was eight years in the Marine Corps. I never got to go through that college experience where most kids get to go buck wild. Then I opened a construction company. Got married. Had a daughter. I’ve had responsibility galore on me for years, so when I got that record deal, that was my party.”
A self-proclaimed one-time “bad boy,” thanks to his rowdy partying following the limited but chart-worthy success of The Dollar, Johnson—after being dropped by BNA and enduring a divorce—spent time reflecting on his experiences.
“I turned into a recluse for about a year. I wouldn’t talk to anybody. I wouldn’t go out to clubs,” he has said. “I didn’t want to be at any party. I quit drinking for more than a year … (and) in that respect, losing my (BNA) deal was a good thing, because I finally had time to come home and get my life back in order. … It takes an awful lot of thinking to get through something like a divorce.”
Debut Single 'In Color' Climbs Country Music Charts, Spawns Hit Music Video
Once Johnson emerged from his self-imposed isolation, he was ready to record what has become his career’s true breakthrough record. In addition to co-producing the CD, Johnson wrote or co-wrote 11 of its songs, including its debut single, the top-10 In Color, which is a poignant depiction of a man reflecting on his life through a series of black-and-white photographs.
Johnson inked In Color with Nashville songsmith Lee Thomas Miller and songwriter/country singer James Otto. In addition to its still-rising Billboard chart activity and its top-10 music video success on the GAC network, In Color has garnered Johnson two Grammy nods—one for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and another for Best Country Song.
The record, too, with its collection of well-crafted story songs, has spawned yet a third 2009 Grammy Awards nomination for Johnson in its Country Album of the Year category.
“The album never stops,” Johnson remarked. “The whole album is one lonesome song, and that’s why it’s called That Lonesome Song. Every song is lonesome in its own way, even the funny ones. It’s been a work of love. …”
Released via digital retailers in 2007, then re-released in August 2008 after Mercury Nashville added Johnson to its ranks, That Lonesome Song is a project that caught the attention of at least three Nashville record labels, but only one felt the project was perfect “as is,” with no need to re-record material.
“From now on, I want it to be my decision whether or not I sing something or I don’t,” observed Johnson, who grew up singing gospel music with his father. … “Luke Lewis at Mercury Records was the first person who understood. He said, ‘Man, I’ve just got one thing to say—don’t mess with that sound. … (And) ever since then, it’s been a great relationship.”
Meanwhile, if not for the success of others, Johnson said he couldn’t have found his own musical way with That Lonesome Song.
“The thing that really carried me through all of that was the writing success,” the songster has said, referring to surviving his divorce and regrouping his life. “Trace Adkins and George Strait kept money in my bank account and kept my name out there. They pretty much carried me on their shoulders through that period, and didn’t even realize they were doing that. They just liked my songs.”
- The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 8, 2009, at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The program will be broadcast on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. (Eastern/Pacific).
Sources
That Lonesome Song, official artist biography, courtesy of UMG. Accessed Dec. 22, 2008.
Jamey Johnson, Wikipedia entry. Accessed Jan. 5, 200
Lisa L. Rollins - Texas native Lisa L. Rollins, Ph.D., is an award-winning feature writer, interviewer and journalism educator.
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