Jamey Johnson
Award-winning singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson has served as country music’s north star for nearly two decades, inspiring a generation of artists with his unforgettable albums that have built a bridge connecting traditional country with the music of today.
The 10-time GRAMMY nominee has been called “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” by The Washington Post. As rock legend Don Henley says, Johnson is “the nearest thing” we have to late country icon George Jones. His music has garnered international acclaim and is embraced by fans of classic and contemporary country, as well as Americana and mainstream rock.
The Grand Ole Opry member is also widely regarded as one of the greatest country songwriters of his generation. He is one of only two people in the history of country music (along with Kris Kristofferson) to win two Song of the Year awards in the same year--for “Give It Away” and “In Color”--from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. A consummate storyteller, his songs have been recorded by George Strait, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, James Otto, Joe Nichols and others. He is “a first-rate preservationist of classic country songwriting...,” says The New York Times.
The Alabama native’s recent prime-time television performances have been widely recognized as the best of the shows, from singing “Georgia on My Mind” in the 2023 CBS special Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration and “Angels Among Us” for the 2024 CMT Giants: Alabama to performing “Beer for My Horses” in August with Lainey Wilson for the top-rated NBC special Toby Keith: American Icon and debuting his powerful song, “21 Guns,” during PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert earlier this year.
His new Warner Music Nashville album, Midnight Gasoline, is his first new solo studio album in 14 years, making it among the most-anticipated releases of the last decade. It’s his sixth album as well as first project with Warner Music Nashville in conjunction with his label, Big Gassed Records.
It is also the first of his Cash Cabin Series, a collection of albums recorded at the famed studio, which was once owned by Johnny and June Carter Cash and is now owned by their son, musician/producer John Carter Cash. Johnson spent three weeks recording about 30 songs at the Hendersonville, TN, studio, sleeping in his bus parked outside so that he could remain totally immersed in the creative energy.
“There is a spirit in the place,” he says. “It feels like home to me. It feels important, like a place I need to be. It’s so warm and welcoming and brings out everything good.”
Midnight Gasoline contains songs written in the last few years, such as “What a View,” and “21 Guns,” as well as songs from the 2000s – 2010s, including “What You Answer To” and “Bad Guy.” “In that regard, I really am picking up where I left off, grabbing those few songs that were probably ready to put out back then. It’s good to get those out there,” says the Alabama native. Midnight Gasoline, known as Cash One, is a musical continuation of his last two solo studio albums, That Lonesome Song, which was certified platinum for 2 million in sales, and the gold-certified 2010 album, The Guitar Song, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Album Chart. Rolling Stone and Spin named The Guitar Song to their all-genre Top 5 Best Albums of the Year. (He also released a 2012 duets project, the Grammy-nominated Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.) His award-winning song “In Color” received a 5X-Platinum Award for reaching 5 million in sales/ streams, “High Cost of Living” received a Platinum Award for 1 million in sales/streams, and the songs “That Lonesome Song” and “Between Jennings and Jones” received Gold Awards for sales/streams of 500,000.