Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an 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 and songwriter. Signed to

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...

in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single " The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album '' The Dollar''. He was dropped from BNA in 2006 and signed to

Mercury Nashville Records Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Na ...

in March 2008, releasing his second album, the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

-certified ''

That Lonesome Song ''That Lonesome Song'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Jamey Johnson. Initially released to digital retailers in 2007 without the promotion of a record label, the album was physically released on August 5, 2008 (see ...

''. This album produced two singles, the top 10 hit " In Color" and "High Cost of Living". Johnson has since released two more albums, '' The Guitar Song'' in 2010 and '' Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran'' in 2012. In 2014, he released a five-song Christmas EP titled ''The Christmas Song''. In addition to most of his own material, Johnson has co-written singles for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

and

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

, George Strait, James Otto,

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog-U ...

and

Jessie James Decker Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yell ...

Early life

Johnson was born on July 14, 1975, in Enterprise, Alabama, and raised in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. From an early age, he was influenced by country acts such as

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

, the latter of whom was the first act that he saw in concert. After graduating from Jefferson Davis High School, Johnson attended

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...

, the same university from which Alabama lead singer

Randy Owen Randy Yeuell Owen (born December 13, 1949) is an American country music artist. He is best known for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band that saw tremendous mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alabama became ...

graduated. During his time at Jacksonville State University, he was a member of the Marching Southerners. Johnson quit college after two years and served in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

for four years. While in the Marines, he began playing country music in various bars in the Montgomery area; one of his first gigs was opening for

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

. By 2000, Johnson had moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, to pursue a career in country music. One of his first connections was with Greg Perkins, a fiddler who had played for

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

, and other artists. Perkins invited Johnson to sing as a duet partner with

Gretchen Wilson Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on the '' Billboard'' country charts. The so ...

on a demo tape. Songs for which Johnson sang demos include "Songs About Me" (cut by

) and "That's How They Do It in Dixie" (cut by

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

with

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

, Gretchen Wilson, and Van Zant). Johnson had also made connections with producer and songwriter

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Active since the late 1970s, he is known primarily for his work with Willie Nelson and as Kenny Chesney's record producer, for w ...

, who helped him land a songwriting contract. Among Johnson's first cuts as a songwriter was " Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which Adkins released from his 2005 album '' Songs About Me''. That song he co-wrote along with hit songwriter Dallas Davidson and fellow country singer-songwriter

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart a ...

, who later worked with Johnson again co-writing "My Cowboy" for

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

singer

Jessie James Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yello ...

for her self-titled debut album.

Career

Career beginnings and ''That Lonesome Song'' (2005–2009)

By 2005, Johnson had been signed to a recording contract with

. His first single, entitled " The Dollar", was released that year, followed by his

-produced debut album (also entitled '' The Dollar'') in March 2006. "The Dollar" went on to peak at No. 14 on the '' Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts. The album's second single, "Rebelicious", failed to enter the charts and Johnson was dropped from BNA. After the loss of his record deal, Johnson divorced his wife and took on a reclusive lifestyle, residing in a friend's house while working on his songwriting. He wrote several songs for other artists. In 2006, George Strait reached No. 1 on the Country chart with " Give It Away", a song which Johnson co-wrote with Bill Anderson and Cannon. This song became Strait's 51st No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' country charts, setting a new record for most No. 1s on that chart. In 2007, Trace Adkins charted with two more songs that Johnson co-wrote: " Ladies Love Country Boys" and "I Got My Game On", the former being Adkins' first No. 1 in 10 years. Also in 2007,

reached Top 20 with " Another Side of You", another song co-written by Johnson. This song was the first single on Nichols's album '' Real Things'', which also contained "She's All Lady", a song that Johnson originally recorded on ''The Dollar''. Johnson was part of the

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

television series ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

'', which was cancelled after two episodes in September 2007. JameyJohnson

Johnson released an album in 2008, ''

'', which was only made available online. The album drew the attention of

, who signed him to a record deal in 2008. His first single for the label, " In Color", was released in March 2008. This song, which Johnson co-wrote with

Lee Thomas Miller Lee Thomas Miller (born in Nicholasville, Kentucky) is an American country music songwriter and occasional record producer. His credits include 7 number one country hits: "The Impossible" (Joe Nichols), "The World", "I'm Still a Guy" and "Perfect ...

and James Otto, entered the Top 40 in June 2008, and ''That Lonesome Song'' was released on CD in August of that year. "In Color" peaked at No. 9 on the Country chart in January 2009 and was followed a month later by "High Cost of Living", which managed to crack the Top 40, but only reaching No. 34. By April 2009, ''That Lonesome Song'' was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. A fifth single, "My Way to You", was issued in July 2009. The song was released to radio on July 13, 2009, and debuted at No. 56 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. The song peaked at No. 52 in September 2009. Johnson was nominated for the 2009 CMA Awards New Artist of the Year, and has been nominated for the 2010 Academy of Country Music Top New Solo Vocalist.

''The Guitar Song'' (2010–2012)

In 2010, Johnson released a follow up to his 2008 album, ''

''. The album titled '' The Guitar Song'' was released on September 14, 2010. Upon its release, ''The Guitar Song'' was met with overwhelming praise and universal acclaim from music critics. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

, selling 63,000 copies its first week of release. Johnson released three singles from the album, including "Playing the Part", in summer 2010. The music video for the single was released in October, and was directed by

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

, who also stars in the video as a dancing gorilla. Johnson was the supporting act on Kid Rock's 2011 Born Free Tour, accompanying Rock on a duet or two during most concerts. He was also a main stage act on Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown from May to July 2011.

''Living for a Song'' and new label (2012–present)

In addition to producing other acts and writing new material, Johnson released his fourth studio album titled '' Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran'' on October 6, 2012. The album is a tribute to songwriter

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

. The album garnered Johnson a nomination at the 55th Grammy Awards for Best Country album. The album paired him with acts such as Ray Price,

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 ...

, Emmylou Harris,

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

, George Strait,

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

, and

. Longtime collaborator and producer

oversaw the project. The album was released on vinyl September 25, 2012, and other formats on October 16, 2012. Following a dispute with his label, Johnson founded his own label, Big Gassed Records. His first release on the label was a Christmas-themed EP, ''

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio fir ...

'', including several covers and one new original song, which was released in November 2014. It was announced that more new music would follow in 2015. In January 2015, Johnson released a new song, "Alabama Pines" as a free download. This was followed by the release of another single, "You Can", in February. In a 2017 interview, Johnson stated that he had been having more difficulty with songwriting after an incident about seven years prior when he received a concussion due to slipping on ice and hitting his head. In 2019, Johnson played alongside

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced so ...

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a ...

, Lukas Nelson, and

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

on ''The Last Waltz Tour'', a live celebration of The Band's 1976 farewell show at the

Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

, also known as ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

''. On March 19, 2022, Bill Anderson invited him to become a member of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

, which he accepted; Johnson had performed regularly on the show for the previous seventeen years. He was inducted on May 14, 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

*^A"The Dollar" did not enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but peaked on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart at number one.

Music videos

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

Johnson received three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations at the 51st Grammy Awards: Best Country Album for ''That Lonesome Song'', and Best Country Song and Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "In Color". "In Color" won the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

's 2009 award for Song of the Year and the same award during the 2009

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

. Going into 2010, Johnson received two more

nominations for the 52nd Grammy Awards: Best Country Song and Best Male Country Vocal Performance, both for his 2009 single "High Cost of Living". , - , rowspan="2", 2007 ,

, Song of the Year – ''Give It Away'' , , - , Country Music Association , Song of the Year – "Give It Away" , , - , rowspan="10", 2009 , rowspan="3", 51st Grammy Awards , Best Country Album – ''That Lonesome Song'' , , - , Best Country Song – "In Color" , , - , Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "In Color" , , - , rowspan="3",

, Song of the Year – "In Color" , , - , Top New Male Artist , , - , Top Album of the Year – ''That Lonesome Song'' , , - , rowspan="4", Country Music Association , Song of the Year – "In Color" , , - , Single of the Year – "In Color" , , - , New Artist of the Year , , - , Album of the Year – ''That Lonesome Song'' , , - , rowspan="4", 2010 , rowspan="2", 52nd Grammy Awards , Best Country Song – "High Cost of Living" , , - , Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "High Cost of Living" , , - , Academy of Country Music , Top New Solo Vocalist , , - , Country Music Association Awards , Musical Event – "Bad Angel" (with

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...

and

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

) , , - , rowspan=3, 2011 , rowspan=3, 53rd Grammy Awards , Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "Macon" , , - , Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – "Bad Angel" (with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert) , , - , Best Country Album – ''The Guitar Song'' , , - , 2013 , 55th Grammy Awards , Best Country Album – ''Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran'' ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jamey 1975 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Enterprise, Alabama BNA Records artists Grand Ole Opry members Living people Mercury Records artists Musicians from Montgomery, Alabama Outlaw country singers United States Marine Corps reservists United States Marines 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Country musicians from Alabama Singer-songwriters from Alabama Thirty Tigers artists