Cody Johnson

Cody Johnson

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Essential Albums

  • Human: The Double Album
    Human: The Double Album
    Human: The Double Album

    Country singer-songwriter Cody Johnson is especially beloved for his live shows, which pair long set lists with a crack band and rowdy energy. For Human The Double Album, Johnson attempted to recreate the feel of those shows, pulling together 18 tracks and sequencing them as he would a live set. The opening title track shows a new-found vulnerability from Johnson, also evident on “God Bless the Boy (Cori’s Song)”, which is dedicated to his young daughter, and “Made a Home”, which he cut for his wife. Other standouts include “Sad Songs and Waltzes”, a Willie Nelson cover on which Nelson himself appears; a cover of Vince Gill’s “Son of a Ramblin’ Man”; and “Cowboy Scale of 1 to 10”, a clever, playful tune reminiscent of Charlie Daniels. Below, Johnson shares insight into several key tracks. “Human” “It's by Tony Lane and Travis Meadows, two of the most incredible songwriters in the world. And the fact that this song hasn't been cut in country music is baffling to me. But it also kind of speaks to the place that country music is in. I think that certain people would rather sing songs with a certain beat or a certain subject matter to get certain notoriety rather than taking the chance of singing a song that is vulnerable. And I also think that ‘Human’ is a song that you have to have lived in order to sing. I did live that, you know, all the late nights playing, all the highways, all the midnights, all the whisky—that's what I did.” “Sad Songs and Waltzes” (feat. Willie Nelson) “I'd been covering that song for quite a long time. We were in San Angelo, Texas, and it was before I could even afford a merch guy—I would play my set, and then I would run out there to the merch booth and sign autographs, and just basically sit there till the club closed, just trying to make any money I could. I got back to the hotel that night, about 3:00 in the morning, like, ‘What am I doing? Am I doing the right thing? I miss my wife. I don't have a normal life.’ I turned on my TV in that little podunk hotel room and it was Austin City Limits on PBS and Willie Nelson was playing. I'm not sure what year it was recorded in, but you could tell he was fresh out of Nashville. He said, ‘I sat down in front of the record man and I played all my songs, and the record man told me, ‘Well, those are good, son, but I hate to tell you sad songs and waltzes ain't selling this year.’ And he said, ‘So I went home and wrote this song.’ And in that moment I felt such encouragement. It gave me a new drive and a new fire, a new set of goals to just be myself and to not compromise and to continue on my path.” “God Bless the Boy (Cori’s Song)” “There's a certain character of man in that song that I want my daughters to find. I take my girls on dates together. I open the door and I pull their chair out, and I ask them where they want to go and I treat them. I tell them, ‘This is how a man is supposed to treat a woman.’ It's not about the kissing and the hugging. It’s about respect. And it's about lifting that woman up. I want to instil that in them; that way hopefully, by God's grace, I can give a good example of the man that they're supposed to find.” “Son of a Ramblin’ Man” “When you think about Vince Gill, you think about the many No. 1 hits, and that one just kind of got lost somewhere. It wasn't ever really one of his focal-point songs. I thought, ‘What a great rowdy yet clean song.’ I think it's funny how he says, ‘Ain't a thing in the world I don't love without a woman. I'm going to try to love them all.’ It's just kind of a cocky, Allman Brothers, ZZ Top-ish sound. So me and my band, we started playing it years ago, and it started to take on its own feel.” “I Don’t Know a Thing About Love” “It’s probably one of my favourite songs on the record, because I've never gotten to let loose like that on a track. I think you get to see a different side of me. You get to hear those soft, intimate moments, and then all of a sudden it's just a scream. I mean, if that song don't make you move back and forth, you need to check your pulse.” “Made a Home” “People think you get married and there it is. It's not. It's hard work. It's give and take and it's push and pull, and it's a lot of talking and it's a lot of listening. And there's a lot of good moments and bad moments. And I think that song really characterises it.” “Cowboy Scale of 1 to 10” “I walk in the door to Trent Willmon’s house, and Trent and David Frazier are sitting there writing. And I said, ‘Well, don't let me bother you guys. I'll go out to the back porch or something.’ They're like, ‘No, we're halfway into this song and we kind of want your take on it. It's called “Cowboy Scale of 1 to 10”.’ And it's this talking, kind of Chris LeDoux, Marty Robbins, Charlie Daniels-type thing. And it's got a little bit of a cocky element to it, but it also has a way of saying, ‘Let's be real, guys. What are you on the scale?’ It's not a ‘you are or you aren't’ kind of thing. It's just where you fall. And I think there's some humour in that.” “By Your Grace” “You start the project with ‘Human’, and I'm still learning to be human. And when you end the project, it's just that while we're all still learning to be human, at least for me, it's because of His grace that I have the things in my life that I have. I'm not a perfect man. I fall short every day, whether it's as a husband or as a leader or as a father. I was in a place in 2020 where my job had been taken away from me. I was at home having to address things about myself, and kind of looking in the mirror and wondering, ‘Where do you go from here? What if this is it?’ I'm asking for the courage to make a change, and that kind of courage you're not going to find within yourself a lot of times. A lot of times you have to look to your higher power and say, ‘I need help. I'm just a man.’ But I have to remind myself that we have hope. By your grace, I have hope.”

  • Gotta Be Me (Bonus Track Version)
    Gotta Be Me (Bonus Track Version)
    Gotta Be Me (Bonus Track Version)

    No one would accuse Cody Johnson of trying to modernise his chosen genre or embrace the contemporary beats of bro country; the Texan singer has always traded in tradition, even while dabbling in rock guitar on 2014’s Cowboy Like Me. But his 2016 LP, Gotta Be Me, doubles down on the sound, hewing closer to the earthier country of his early days. By the time he got to cutting Gotta Be Me, Johnson and his longtime collaborator, producer Trent Willmon, were working together together smoothly. It’s no surprise that the record was Johnson’s final independently released album before signing with a major label—the record’s confident and capable tracks make one wonder why they didn’t come knocking sooner. Even the more modern-sounding single “With You I Am”—a song about the self-esteem boost that comes from being loved—recalls classic ‘90s country as much as it does any of its contemporaries, and the arena-sized choruses of “Wild as You'' are heavy with fiddle and banjo. Elsewhere, the more raucous fare sounds decidedly earthy, like the roadhouse-ready “Grass Stains” or “Chain Drinkin’”, with its blazing guitars. Johnson draws on his experiences as a professional rodeo bull rider for the impassioned “The Only One I Know (Cowboy Life)”, where his narrator admits that the path is hard and lonesome, but he can’t see an alternative. The spare, gospel-tinged bonus track, “I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand)”—a grateful ode to God’s grace—is one of the most moving in Johnson’s catalogue. Gotta Be Me achieved smashing commercial and chart success for an independent country record, hitting No. 2 on the U.S. Country Billboard chart and nabbing Gold certification for “With You I Am” and “Wild as You”. The momentum would push Johnson into the major-label big leagues, as his follow-up, 2019’s Ain’t Nothin’ to It, became his first for Warner Music Nashville.

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About Cody Johnson

It’s difficult to imagine many songwriters whose lives have been more suited to the mythologies of country music than Cody Johnson. Born in Texas, in 1987, Johnson started picking on the guitar before he was a teenager, but competitive bull riding soon became his main focus. When he left the rodeo circuit, he took up a job as a prison supervisor and music became his side hustle. Johnson’s meat-and-potatoes brand of country—a traditionally Texas sound he’s run with since the beginning—has endured since his 2006 debut, and stands in stark contrast to the poppier fare burning up Nashville radio. A DIY spirit and dogged work ethic—Johnson released his early records on his own label—paved the path to his music career, and his fourth album, 2011’s A Different Day, allowed him to quit his day job. His major label debut, 2019’s Ain’t Nothin’ to It, turned him into an overnight sensation—after nearly 15 years. On his well-polished tour de force, Johnson offers up a sentimental wisdom exchange on the title track, dreamy romantic odes (“Nothin’ on You”) and even sends a love letter to his bull-riding days (“Dear Rodeo”). He released its follow-up, Human: The Double Album, in 2021.

HOMETOWN
Sebastopol, TX, United States
BORN
21 May 1987
GENRE
Country

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