Cody Johnson Talks Small-Town Texas Roots, Success as an Indie Artist, New Single, Upcoming Major-Label Debut Album & More

Cody Johnson Talks Small-Town Texas Roots, Success as an Indie Artist, New Single, Upcoming Major-Label Debut Album & More

Jim Casey talks with Cody Johnson about:

  • growing up in the small town of Sebastopol, Texas
  • learning the drums from his father at a young age
  • the advantage of having a background in drums
  • being surrounded by gospel music from his family members
  • early musical influences, from Elvis to Billy Joe Shaver
  • gaining respect from his Texas/Red Dirt contemporaries like Wade Bowen, Cory Morrow and Cody Canada
  • releasing six independent albums
  • signing a major-label record contract with Warner Brothers Nashville in June
  • having success with his major-label debut single, “On My Way to You”
  • releasing his upcoming major-label debut album, Ain’t Nothin’ to It, on Jan. 18, 2019
  • making music that translates to his live show
  • working with producer Trent Willmon
  • covering Charlie Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Boy” on the new album

Show Participants:

  • Cody Johnson
  • Jim Casey, NCD editor in chief

Blogs

MONDAY, JULY 7, 2025

Miranda Lambert is stepping up once again to help her home state of Texas.  She’s mobilizing her nonprofit, MuttNation Foundation, after deadly flash floods tore through South and Central Texas. In a video posted online, Miranda said, “I can’t even come up with any words for all the loss that everybody’s suffering.” She shared that…

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2025

New in Theaters:  “Jurassic World: Rebirth” Travis Kelce became a whole new level of famous when he started dating Taylor Swift . . . and he wasn’t ready for it.  In a recent podcast interview, he said, quote, “That’s probably the only thing I didn’t really grasp until you’re in it.” It’s gotten so bad,…