Cody Johnson just revealed the secret way he picks songs to record. It's true, the "Dear Rodeo" singer often likes to be a writer on the songs he puts out, but he's never opposed to giving outside songwriters a chance. He discussed this on On The Record TV.
Videos by Wide Open Country
"When I first started picking songs and listening to demos and outside songs," he began, "I would learn the song on my acoustic and I'd go like in front of my friends or my wife or my parents or anybody else and say, 'Hey, check out this song I wrote the other day.'"
The reason he does this is so he can figure out whether a song actually sounds like him. "If you believed I wrote it, then I've picked the right one," Johnson shared.
Even though Cody Johnson has always been vocal about cutting songs from songwriters, he admits that there are a couple of writers he tends to be partial to. Some of these include Bobby Pinson, Dan Couch, and Ryan Larkins.
However, the key, according to Johnson, is not to necessarily write songs with someone in mind. "Most of the time, ironically enough, when they try to write a song for me, it's generally the first one I throw out the window," he admitted. "It doesn't contain the authenticity it needs to have in order for it to be me."
Cody Johnson: From Bull Rider to Country Music Star
Before Cody Johnson built a name for himself as a one-of-a-kind storyteller and vocalist, he was a kid who had dreams of being a professional bull rider. However, after a series of injuries and realizing that he wasn't "good enough" to pursue bull riding professionally, Johnson chose to work with his father. It was while working as a prison supervisor for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that Johnson realized he actually did want to do music full-time.
Even though he admits that quitting the rodeo felt like a "divorce" at the time, he would eventually write a song about this feeling that would end up giving him his big break. This song was "Dear Rodeo", which he released in 2019 with his major debut album. The song was such a hit that it earned Johnson the opportunity to play at the NFR. The NFR is like the Super Bowl for bull riders, for those who don't know.
It was then that he realized he had made it in ways he'd never deemed possible. "I looked over at those yellow bucking chutes and I thought, that little boy who just wanted to come flying out on a big bull and win the whole deal, here I am with a much greater calling." He told Cowboy Channel, "It was a pretty surreal moment."
Watch the music video for "Dear Rodeo" here.
Photo By: CMA
