"Johnny & June" is the solo debut song co-written and recorded 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

Heidi Newfield Heidi Kay Newfield (born October 4, 1970) is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit ...

, the former lead singer of the group

Trick Pony Trick Pony was an American country music group, formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Keith Burns (lead guitar, vocals), and Ira Dean (bass guitar, vocals). They recorded three studio albums: '' Trick Pony'', ...

. It was released in March 2008 as the first single from her debut album ''

What Am I Waiting For ''What Am I Waiting For'' is the only solo studio album from American country music singer Heidi Newfield, formerly the lead vocalist in the group Trick Pony. It was released on August 5, 2008, on Curb Records and produced by Tony Brown. The a ...

'', which was released in August 2008 on Curb Records. The song reached a peak of #11 on the Hot Country Songs charts in late September 2008, becoming Newfield's only solo Top 20 Country hit to date.

Content

"Johnny & June" is a ballad that was written by Heidi Newfield alongside Deanna Bryant and Stephony Smith. The song features a female narrator who describes the kind of relationship that she wishes to have with her lover — specifically, one comparable to the relationship between singer Johnny Cash and his wife,

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...

Critical reception

In his review of the album, Matt C. of Engine 145, noted that the song "sounds good against the rest of the album" but also said that it "is diminished by its association with the recent explosion of lesser name-checking songs."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by Eric Welch, was released in August 2008. The video begins with Newfield wearing a white dress, as she performs on stage inside an empty auditorium. She is then shown sitting on the hood of a black Cadillac. During the chorus, she is surrounded by flames while dressed in black, a reference to Cash's "

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

Personnel

The following musicians perform on this track. *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

– steel guitar *Kenny Greenberg –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

*Wes Hightower –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Greg Morrow – drums *Steve Nathan –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

*Stephony Smith – background vocals *Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar *

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Mad ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Reese Wynans Reese Wynans (born November 28, 1947) is an American keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a m ...

–

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 ...

*Jonathan Yudkin –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

Chart performance

"Johnny & June" debuted at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart for the chart week of April 19, 2008. The song spent 27 weeks on the country charts, eventually peaking at number 11 on September 27, 2008."Johnny & June" charts: September 27, 2008
/ref> The song also crossed over to pop charts, peaking at number 58 on the Hot 100 chart. The song has sold 862,000 copies in the US as of May 2016.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnny and June (song) 2008 debut singles 2008 songs Heidi Newfield songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Heidi Newfield Curb Records singles Songs written by Stephony Smith Songs written by Deanna Bryant Songs about musicians Cultural depictions of Johnny Cash