After landing two releases in the Top 10 of Billboard’s country
albums chart on his own CoJo label and selling 74,000 tickets for a
single show, to earn recognition as the only unsigned artist in
history to sell out NRG Stadium at RodeoHouston, one of Texas’
most-sought-after talents finally agreed to sign with a major label.
Warner Music Nashville won a Music Row sweepstakes and enticed Johnson
– who’d turned down several majors before – to join the team and
take a shot at turning a concert success story into one with
multimedia, national hit-making cred. Johnson’s passionate, rowdy
concerts have already drawn comparisons to Garth Brooks, and the music
from his previous albums – inspired by ‘90s country foundations,
but built for the 21st century – has made him a familiar presence on
Texas and Oklahoma red-dirt radio. Johnson’s introductory Warner
project, Ain’t Nothin’ to It, ups the ante. After writing the bulk
of his previous material, he put out word in Nashville that he was
open to songs from other sources, and the results were astonishing.
A-list writers – including Chris Stapleton, Radney Foster and
Brothers Osborne guitarist John Osborne – came to the table with
songs that suited Johnson’s life and disposition. Music fans who are
just now coming to the table will get a quick understanding of
Johnson, from the rowdy troublemaker in the swampy “Doubt Me Now”
to the devoted family man in the title track to the self-penned
ex-bull rider in “Dear Rodeo” to the devoted Christian in “His
Name Is Jesus.”
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08/08/2020 Last update