Jamey Johnson has himself a record deal.
The 10-time Grammy nominee announced today that he has officially inked a record deal with Warner Music Nashville, through his independent Big Gassed Records label.
Of course, Johnson is an accomplished songwriter and incredible artist, who has written for artists like George Strait, Willie Nelson, Trace Adkins, Joe Nichols and more, and is probably best known in the mainstream for his Top 10 2009 hit “In Color.”
Earlier in his career, Johnson was signed to MCA Nashville, but he hasn’t put out a solo studio album for over 14 years. Needless to say, his longtime fans have been waiting patiently for a long time now, and it sounds like he definitely has a project coming (though nothing official has been announced yet, I’m just reading between the lines).
Johnson says the main reason he signed with this major record label is because of WMN co-chair and co-president, and his longtime friend, Cris Lacy:
“The reason I signed with Warner Music Nashville is Cris Lacy. She is one of my longest-term friends I’ve had in the music business. We started our careers around the same time. She has been a friend to me and has only ever tried to help.
She cares about me being able to put out music. She cares that I’m able to participate in my own career. Our conversations are unlike any other conversations I have had with any other label person.”
Lacy says she wants to help Johnson advance his career “on his terms”:
“For 14 years, those of us in the industry, and fans outside of it, have been begging Jamey Johnson to release another solo studio album. From day one, we heard the voice of a man driven by conviction, not commerciality.
We saw in him our heroes like Johnny, Waylon and Merle. Warner Music Nashville has the great honor of reintroducing this incomparable artist to a worldwide audience…on his terms…proof that great things are worth waiting for!”
I know fans can be hesitant when they see more traditional artists like Johnson sign with huge Nashville labels like MCA, but it sounds like this is more to help with distribution and marketing and less about changing his music, since his personal label is also involved.
Johnson is a seasoned, veteran artist who knows how the music industry works, and he’s never changed his sound or style for anyone before, so don’t expect that to start now.
If anything, this will bring Johnson to an entirely new demographic of country fans, which is currently one of the most popular genres in music all-around.
Additionally, Jamey will put out another new song this Friday called “Someday When I’m Old,” which follows other recent releases in a cover he did of “Trudy” with Randy Houser, “What A View,” “21 Guns,” and “Sober.”
It was actually written back in 2004 by Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo and Troy Verges, and he hasn’t stopped thinking about it since he heard the first demo:
“It was the last demo I sang before I started working with BNA Records. Aimee called me back then and she wanted to be able to say she hired me to sing my last demo. When I heard the song, I thought, ‘Wow! That is a great song!’
That one seems to be exactly where I am right now, thinking about what is to come 20 years down the line, 30 years down the line, if I even make it that long.”
Stay tuned… it sounds like there’s a lot more for Jamey on the way.
“21 Guns”
“What A View”
