Throwback To Cody Johnson’s 2006 Song “The Fiddle’s Gone,” An Early Middle Finger To Country Music Radio

Cody Johnson country music

If you watched the CMA Awards this year, then you know that Cody Johnson was a nominee for New Artist of the Year.

Don’t get me wrong, ol’ CoJo has been killing the mainstream country scene over the past couple of years and is new to country music radio, especially after his successful 2021 Human The Double Album.

However, the OG Cody Johnson fans know that the man was a Texas country legend for a decade before he signed to his major label, Warner.

Every now and then, I like to take a trip down memory lane and go back to the songs that got me acclimated to certain artists, and for Johnson, “The Fiddle’s Gone” is one of the first songs I ever remember hearing from the guy.

Off of his debut album, Black & White Label, from way back in 2006, Johnson was just a bright-eyed youngster who had given up bull riding to try and make a name for himself in the Texas country music scene.

On this specific record, it’s obvious that he has a chip on his shoulder judging by the songwriting itself, and there are several songs on it that I believe could be hits today.

With that being said, “The Fiddle’s Gone” is one of ’em.

The song is a big middle finger to the direction country music radio was headed during that time period, and little did he know that it was about to get a whole lot worse.

The lyrics speak for itself:

“‘Cause the fiddle’s gone and the steel guitar is fadin’ out with timeI wanna hear a song that makes me believe a country boy can still surviveI wanna play my guitar and ol’ Waylon smilin’ from somewhere up aboveWhatever happened to the music we all loved?Yeah, whatever happened to the music we all loved?”

COME ON NOW.

I think it’s pretty cool going back to this song, because Cody Johnson has been one of the road pavers for bringing true, authentic country music back to country music radio. Although he’s signed to a major label, he has the free range to produce the music he wants, and although we aren’t all the way there yet, country music radio is headed in the right direction when you compare it to four or five years ago.

Little did that kid from Sebastopol, Texas know that he would be one of the biggest names in country music over a decade later.

Check it out:

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