''Ain't Nothin' to It'' is a 2019 studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Cody Johnson Cody Daniel Johnson (born May 21, 1987) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He self-released six albums, including ''Gotta Be Me'', which debuted at number two on ''Billboard''s Country Albums chart, before releasing his first major- ...

. Released on Warner Music Nashville, the album is Johnson's major label debut and his seventh overall album following six self-released projects.

Content

Johnson signed to Warner Music Nashville in June 2018. The album is his first release for the label, after six independent albums. As with all of his previous albums, the title track was co-written by David Lee. "On My Way to You" is the lead single. Included are two cover songs: " Long Haired Country Boy", originally by

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The De ...

, and "

Husbands and Wives ''Husbands and Wives'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debute ...

", which has been recorded by Roger Miller,

David Frizzell David Frizzell (born September 26, 1941) is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country musician, Lefty Frizzell. His career started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the 1980s. Biography Frizzell wa ...

and Shelly West, and

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

Trent Willmon Trent Willmon (born March 6, 1973) is an American country music artist, songwriter, and Record producer, producer. Active since 1998 as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Willmon was signed to Columbia Records in 2004. He released two albums ...

is the album's producer.

Critical reception

Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

stated that "Its blend of classic hardwood honky tonk with a modern sensibility feels assured, the songs are designed to withstand the road, and Johnson feels casually confident in his delivery."

Commercial performance

''Ain't Nothin' to It'' debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Top Country Albums chart with 23,000 copies sold (35,000 in

album-equivalent units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...

). The album has sold 63,500 copies in the United States as of March 2020.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *Jody Bartula – electric guitar (track 5); background vocals, fiddle (5, 14, 15) *Jim "Moose" Brown – keyboards (tracks 1, 4, 7–10, 12, 13), organ (1, 2, 4, 6–13),

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

(1, 4, 7–10, 12, 13), piano (unspecified tracks) *

J.T. Corenflos Jerry Troy "J. T." Corenflos (November 6, 1963 – October 24, 2020), was an American session musician and country guitarist, who played on an estimated 75 Number One hit records as well as hundreds of other recordings and hits. He received 14 n ...

– electric guitar (tracks 1, 4, 7–10, 12, 13) * Jenee Fleenor – fiddle (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9–12 *Wes Hightower – background vocals (tracks 1, 4, 8, 10) *

– lead vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 5, 14, 15) *Doug Kahan –

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

(track 3), bass guitar (10) *

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

– background vocals, fiddle (track 3) *Jake Mears – electric guitar (track 5); background vocals, Dobro (14, 15) * Carl Miner – acoustic guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–13), banjo (1, 3), mandolin (3), classical guitar (11),

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

(12) *James Mitchell – electric guitar (tracks 2, 6, 11) *Morgan Myles – background vocals (track 6) *Billy Nobel – keyboards (tracks 2, 6, 11);

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

, piano (unspecified tracks) *Justin Ostrander – electric guitar (tracks 2, 6, 7, 9, 13) *Brian Pruitt – drums (tracks 1–4, 6–), percussion (1, 2, 4, 7–13) *Joey Pruski – bass guitar (track 5) *Scotty Sanders - steel guitar, lap steel guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–13); Dobro (3) *

Adam Shoenfeld Adam Shoenfeld (born April 29, 1974) is a professional guitarist, songwriter and producer based in Nashville, TN. Primarily focused on modern country music, his guitar playing has been featured on over 200 albums, and is closely associated with Bi ...

– electric guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–13) *

Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass guitar. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the po ...

– bass guitar (tracks 1–4, 6–9, 11–13) *Miles Stone – drums (track 5) *Russell Terrell – background vocals (tracks 2, 11–13) *

– background vocals (tracks 2, 5, 7, 9), electric guitar (9) Technical *Jack Clarke – mixing (all tracks),

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

(tracks 1–13) *Lyndon Hughes – engineering (tracks 14, 15) *Andrew Mendelson – mastering *Todd Tidwell – engineering assistance (tracks 1–13) *Trent Willmon –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Visuals *Mike Moore – art direction, design *Cameron Powell – photography *Shane Tarleton – creative direction

Content

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References