Cody Johnson is a God lovin’, beer drinkin’, hard workin’ cowboy from Texas, according to his biography. But what they forgot to mention is humble, appreciative, and simple. With the debut of his new album ‘Gotta Be Me,’ Johnson describes his life and who he is as a person. The most important thing to Johnson as an artist is remaining true to himself and staying humble, both of which are reflected in his work. With his album set to be released on August 5th, Cody Johnson is getting more spotlight now than he has ever had before. With this new found attention however, Johnson wants his fans to know that he is still in touch himself and where he came from despite the success. NECM had the pleasure of interviewing Cody Johnson for the first time to discuss his new album and his work.
Johnson hopes his new album doesn’t stand apart too much from his older albums because the purpose of his music is to convey himself through it. “The whole point of this album is to make a statement and the need for me to be myself and to be myself more so than the need to be successful. If this all goes away tomorrow, I’m okay with it. I’ve been blessed and I’m extremely happy. That’s what I need to show people, that I’m not out to get famous, I’m not out to get rich, I’m getting to play my own brand of country music and provide for my family.”
This album will help his fans get a better understanding of who Cody Johnson is, not only in subject matter but in the styles as well. Not every song on the album will have content that portrays Johnson, but it will show off his style of music instead. He grew up with different styles of music, including gospel, which is why there is a gospel song featured on the record.
In his song ‘I Can’t Even Walk (Without Holding Your Hand)’ he features his parents Sheila and Carl Johnson. He chose to feature them because they are the number one source of his musical upbringing. They taught him how to sing and how to play piano and guitar. For every occasion they had family sing alongs to country songs or gospel songs. “With this album’s projected success I wanted to use this to give God the glory, to give my parents the glory, and really just tip my hat to the things that matter to me most in life.” Another noted song during the interview was the single ‘With You I Am’. For this song, Johnson decided to use concert footage for the music video. He took that route because “that’s my bread and butter. At the end of the day, the live show is what it’s about. It not about music videos for me. The live show is what attracted to me Garth Brooks, George Strait. You want to go out to these shows and feel what they’re feeling. You want to look that person in the eye from all the way across the stage and hope that they’re real and what you feel when you hear the music is real. I want to attract people. I would rather sell more tickets than records.” The song ‘With You I Am’ represents the thing(s) in our lives that make us feel like a better person. For Johnson, it is his wife. She helps him want to be a better person, husband, and father everyday just by loving him and he is forever grateful for her.
To leave his mark on the country music industry, Johnson plans on being himself. “To maintain my humility in this, I want you to know that this is not a cocky statement. I just want to be myself. I feel like there is always this pressure to change something or be whatever you have to be or do whatever you have to do to make it.” Cody makes it abundantly clear that it isn’t about the amount of records he has sold or how many number one hits he has. The only thing he is concerned with is staying true to who he is, where he came from, and doing what he loves most. “Man I love what I do so much, I’ve already made it. If I don’t go any further, I’ve already made it. I want someday when I’m dead and gone for somebody to listen to one of my songs and go ‘Man. that’s still a good country song’ or ‘Man that song had a great benefit to the country music industry.’
Cody plans to tour in support of the new album. He’s playing shows inside and outside the state of Texas. He says there are a lot of untouched markets that he hasn’t hit yet and is excited to see. He is hoping for a couple New England stops as well! Johnson’s favorite part of performing live is feeling the energy from the crowd and seeing the crowd be moved. “For 90 minutes, we all become one. The fans are just as much a part of the show as the band. And for those 90 minutes a night we become one, we become a family. And it’s cool to see that harmony happen.”
His favorite lyrics from the album comes from the title track’s chorus: ‘You can wine me up and dine me, you can polish up and shine me but the real thing is gonna shine through. It ain’t always pretty but the cowboy in me couldn’t change if it wanted to.’ ‘Gotta Be Me’ is an album that rings dear to Cody Johnson’s heart. He poured a lot honesty and a lot of himself into it. To close the interview with NECM he said, “This is who I am. It’s right there for people to read and to listen to.”
Fans can follow Cody on social media for any updates on future events and touring. The album ‘Gotta Be Me’ comes out August 5th, so be sure to grab a copy of the hard-workin’ humble cowboy that is Cody Johnson.
You can purchase ‘Gotta Be Me’ on iTunes here.