Jamey Johnson

http://www.jameyjohnson.com/

He could be basking in his songwriting accolades, but Jamey Johnson remains a restlessly creative maverick.

Jamey is the co-writer of the CMA and ACM 2007 Song of the Year “Give It Away,” recorded by George Strait. Trace Adkins, George Jones and Joe Nichols have also recorded his songs. But instead of sitting at home counting his royalty checks, Jamey Johnson recorded more than 40 songs during the past year. Not content with providing hits for others, the singer-songwriter has a powerful drive to sing, record and perform.

Jamey is a study in contrasts. He was raised in a devout household, yet he spent part of his youth drinking beer and playing country songs at night on the Montgomery tombstone of Hank Williams. He has a backwoods upbringing, but is a formally trained musician who knew music theory as early as junior high school. He is deadly serious about his music, yet has an outrageous sense of humor. With his piercing pale-blue eyes and biker beard, he looks like a hell raiser, but he has the heart of a poet.

In 2000, he moved to Nashville to launch a country career. With it, came success and a reputation as a country-music “bad boy.” Rumors and speculation flew, exaggerating his escapades. Following a deep period of isolation and introspection, Jamey entered the recording studio in April 2007 with a renewed sense of purpose and freedom. “Nobody was watching. We didn’t use a lot of the automation gadgetry. We spent so much time on the mix, just making sure you could hear every foot patting the floor, every creak of the chair. After we got done, we knew we had something.” That Lonesome Song, is a collection of extraordinary compositions that is equally noteworthy for its lyrical craftsmanship and its strikingly original sound.