Jamey Johnson took an unlikely path to country music success. While serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, the singer-songwriter found encouragement from his fellow soldiers that would serve him well following his military days.\
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“It’s probably where my musical sense took a bend toward country music,” Johnson says, speaking by phone from Texas. “I’d always played guitar and enjoyed country music. But as far as playing for people, I had only done that for friends and family at home. One night, I just started singing some song and one of the corporals said, ‘Man, you can really sing.’ After that, they had me bringing a guitar with me everywhere I went. We’d go to the Mojave Desert to do some desert training and I’d take an old maple guitar with me. It was a lot of fun and I’m still in touch with a lot of those guys today.”\
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Born in Enterprise, Ala. and raised in Montgomery, Ala., Johnson took his songs to Nashville following his military discharge. As a writer, he has found his songs recorded by George Jones, Trace Adkins and Joe Nichols. But Johnson’s most high-profile writing moment occured when George Strait’s “Give It Away” – co-written by Johnson – received the 2007 ACM award for “Song of the Year.” As a songwriter, Johnson prefers the collaborative process of co-writing.\
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“I enjoy co-writing. I write by myself sometimes, but if I can get somebody else’s input, it’s probably a little bit better. Co-writers are a lot like friends, but they always bring a different take on the situation. They can sometimes remind you of things you might have forgotten about and it helps to get those things added in there,” he says.\
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But while Johnson’s talent for writing is well-documented, his recording performing abilities serve him equally as well. In August, Johnson released That Lonesome Song on Mercury Nashville Records. Currently, the single “In Color” is finding success on the country music charts. But Johnson readily admits that he doesn’t follow the charts or keep up with the Internet, iTunes and other modern music outlets. Though the music business is currently encountering changes in recording and distribution methods, Johnson is pragmatic in his career approach.\
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“It’s like Las Vegas – you don’t get to go there and tell them the rules and tell them what cards you’d like to be dealt. Either you’re going to sit down and play or you’re not. I didn’t get to be a country singer back in the 1980s, but I get to be one in 2008. – you deal with what’s out there. Internet is a factor, but I don’t play around with technology. I can take a guitar and step into an old country bar and sing for people and have as much fun as I’ve ever had. It’s a joy to stand on that stage and, from the first note of the show, the audience is singing along with us – you can see it on their faces. That’s my passion. I don’t keep up with record sales or charts, but I do keep up with those faces in the audience,” Johnson says.\
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Johnson’s passion for music is palpable and he relishes his roles as both writer and artist.\
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“As an artist, I go out there looking for the people. As a writer, I tend to draw into myself as deep as I can go. It’s a strange blend of an introvert and extrovert, but I think it takes both to be a country music singer. You want to write the most personal thngs about yourself in hopes of relating that to people. I think God makes you go through painful things so that you understand what it’s like to be a human. I’m trying to relate to folks that feel like no one understands them. God gave me the gift of writing music and the opportunity to reach somebody’s ear and, hopefully, their heart. If I can do that, I feel like my mission is accomplished.”\
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