Jamey Johnson Goes From ‘Lonesome’ to Loved:

Jamey Johnson has been one of country music's hottest singers in 2009 and Huntsvillians will get a chance to see why Wednesday night.

Last week, Johnson - who is performing with Randy Houser at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall - picked up his second Country Music Association Song of the Year Award for "In Color," co-written with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller. He won the CMA's Song of the Year in 2007 for George Strait's "Give It Away" with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.

"I never thought y'all would even let me come to stuff like this," the scruffy-bearded Johnson said during the show. "Thank you for listening to my music and letting me do what I do."

He also was nominated for CMA's New Artist and Music Video of the Year.

The big win comes on the heels of his nominations for five Academy of Country Music Awards in February, winning Song of the Year for "In Color." In 2008, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards for the album "Lonesome Song," which became Johnson's first gold record (selling over 500,000 copies).

Prior to this year's big win, Johnson had been primarily known for the hits he'd written for others. Besides Strait's song, he also co-wrote Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" and "Ladies Love Country Boys."

"It takes all kinds to make life and make country music," Johnson said. "Ask my little sister, who's going through a divorce now. There are people who never want to hear another song like 'Badonkadonk.' And there are people who know that's exactly what they want to hear."

Johnson grew up in Montgomery and got his voice training in church. He got inspiration from Hank Williams Sr., often playing at his grave site in Montgomery after drinking a few beers. He had to follow the straight and narrow path when he spent eight years in the Marines, but the biker beard and rebel attitude were back when he got a Nashville deal in 2005.

"Think about my life: I got right out of high school, then it was eight years in the Marine Corps," Johnson said. "I never got to go through that college experience where most kids get to go buck wild. Then I opened a construction company, got married and had a daughter.

"I've had responsibility galore on me for years, so when I got that record deal, that was my party. Me and my friends would go take over a bar. We were just as wild as hell and having the time of our lives."

Things backfired for the party boy. He got a divorce and lost his label, but after he hit rock bottom, he quit drinking and started writing again. The result was "Lonesome Song."

"The thing that really carried me through all of that was the writing success," Johnson said. "Trace Adkins and George Strait kept money in my bank account and kept my name out there."

http://www.al.com/music/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1258625773269030.xml&coll=1

SINGER/SONGWRITER JAMEY JOHNSON WINS BIG AT THE 43^rd ANNUAL CMA AWARDS AND ON BILLBOARD’S TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS CHART

Nashville, TN…..Sales of Jamey Johnson’s critically acclaimed, That Lonesome Song, jumped 286% after winning CMA Song of the Year for “In Color” and performing “Between Jennings & Jones” with Kid Rock. This makes Johnson the CMA performer with the biggest album sales percentage increase of the week on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Johnson’s performance impacted his overall album sales and significantly increased digital sales of “Between Jennings & Jones” and the award-winning “In Color.”

“Playing live is where it’s at for me,” says Johnson. “Even though ‘Jennings and Jones’ wasn’t a single, it’s really cool that people responded to our CMA performance by going out and laying their hard earned money down. I’ve swung a hammer for seven bucks an hour so I appreciate every single person who supports country music.”

Johnson is also celebrating the fact that his name is among legendary songwriters who have collected two or more CMA Song of the Year awards. The list includes Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman, Don Schlitz, Paul Overstreet and Max D. Barnes. “Winning CMA Song of the Year for ‘Give It Away’ was an incredible moment for me and Bill and Buddy,” says Johnson of the 2006 win. “Then hearing my name called three years later for “In Color” with two more of my friends, James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller, was very humbling. When someone showed me the list of songwriters who have won two CMA Song of the Year awards, I was floored that my name was next to those legends.”

Johnson is currently in the recording studio working on a new album and headlining the CMT tour with Randy Houser through the end of the year.

CMA Nominees Johnson, Houser play Saenger Thursday:

Last week, Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser appeared at the Country Music Association Awards. Tomorrow they appear at the Mobile Saenger Theatre.

Houser had a stint at the microphone, during which he directed the cameras to the place in the crowd where the kid who stole the show in his “Boots On” video was sitting. Johnson did a duet with Kid Rock on “Between Jennings and Jones.” (And yes, true to its title, Johnson’s new-old-school approach did kind of split the difference between Waylon and George.)

Johnson had two CMA nominations and Houser had two; both men were nominees for best new artist of the year. Johnson won the song of the year award for “In Color,” his second time to win the category.

This week finds them back on the ground, burning up the road on the CMT Tour. It’s a roadshow whose previous stars include Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Jason Aldean and Trace Adkins — in other words, an impressive array of top-tier talent.

Johnson and Houser seem poised to meet that standard.

Johnson’s charting singles include “The Dollar,” “High Cost of Living” and the Top 10 ballad “In Color.” Before Houser scored with “Anything Goes” and “Boots On,” he wrote “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” for Adkins.

Houser said he and headliner Johnson both bring a no-nonsense approach to this tour.

“I’m pretty sure most people are going to come to see Jamey, and then they’re going to get to know me by accident,” he said.

“We’re just kinda bringing our band of country music,” he said. “it’s something we’ve done together for a long time and we’ve been wanting to tour together for a long time.”

Houser said listeners can expect a show long on songs and short on frills.

“Don’t expect a big light show and all that stuff,” he said. “We’re songwriters, and we come to play music. And we’re not running around on stage and having choreographed moves and all that. It’s not like a typical country show where you see all that crap. We’re songwriters and we’re coming to play songs. That’s what we do.”

“I think that people will find it refreshing, that it’s not the same old thing,” he said.

For his part, Houser said, they can expect to get a better sense of who he is than they might have gotten from his first album.

“I’m doing a lot of new stuff, actually. I’m getting ready to make a new album, so I’ve been playing lots of new stuff,” he said. “It’s constantly changing because I’m trying out new songs I’ve written and just kinda seeing what the reactions are.”

One other tip: These guys have played a lot of clubs together, and they’re not going to act like strangers on Thursday.

“They can expect us to play together for a while at the end,” Houser said.

The bottom line: he just wants folks to have a good time.

“The crowd makes or breaks the show,” he said. “I hope they get drunk and hope they get home.”

Kieth Urban on songs that changed his life:

"The High Cost of Living" by Jamey Johnson
"These songs used to thrive in Music Row's fields...now eroded by gatekeepers and truth surpressors. Who knew Jamey was a superb farmer!"

Between a Rock and a Hard (Country) Place

By Alison Bonaguro
November 13th, 2009

I already blogged a little bit about loving the collaborations on Wednesday (Nov. 11) night's CMA Awards, especially when Jamey Johnson and Kid Rock sang Johnson's "Between Jennings and Jones." They sounded good together. Not good like a duo would. But good like two guys with their own sounds coming together. While Johnson has that outlaw moan to his voice, Rock's is more of a gritty Southern rock thing. The twist at the end of that song -- how it's not just his sound but also the spelling of his last name that would put his records literally between Waylon Jennings and George Jones -- gets me every time. Since hearing the CMA performance, I keep thinking that someday, maybe 10 or 20 years from now, some new artist who was inspired by both their styles of country will sing about being right there between Johnson and Rock.

Just checking in and wanted to update you on what's been going on lately. I've been runnin' and gunnin' since we released the record in August. It's been cool cause I've gotten to meet tons of fans out on the road. In Sept I took the guys to New York City. We did the Imus in the Morning Show and then played a set with the amazing Lee Ann Womack. It was my first time in the city and I loved it. We got a car and headed down to the World Trade Center Site which was mind blowing then we headed to Little Italy for a great dinner. I couldn't get over how many people were in Times Square. Very cool.
 
After NY we headed to Boston to play Farm Aid. What an honor that was. I got to hang on the bus with Willie Nelson for a while after our set and I had him sign "old Maple". What an awesome day.
 
We are all over the map these days...I hope to see some of y'all at a show soon. Thanks for all of your great emails and all the support you've shown me.  Oh and thanks for the phone messages too, keep them coming at my number (615)823-5592.
 
God Bless, JJ