Now that’s a birthday gift.
Believe it or not, actor and WWE legend, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is a huge fan of country music. He’s talked about his passion for the genre on multiple occasions, notably being a big fan of traditional country. He’s praised artists like Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks and Jamey Johnson, and he even once honored the late, great Loretta Lynn alongside Kelly Clarkson with a karaoke version of “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind).”
The actor is starring as Maui in the new live-action Moana movie (he of course provided the voice for the animated film) which also features a song he sings called “Your Dad” on the Moana: Voices Across the Ocean album to accompany the Disney film.
And while most people know Johnson as an actor now, he can sing too, though he admits he “sings from the heart,” joking that it’s often in “keys that don’t exist”:
“I always like to say I sing from the heart — and I sing in keys that don’t exist. So it’s a good combo.”
He’s got a vast array of influences when it comes to his taste in music, from Sam Cooke to Elvis, and he named a ton of country legends too, saying he loves George Jones, Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck. In fact, it was the one and only Willie Nelson who gave him his very first guitar.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Johnson explained that he loved all of that kind of music from an early age:
“At a very early age, my deep influences were Sam Cooke, Elvis, George Jones, Merle Haggard, even Johnny Paycheck. Guys like that who just were on top of their genres, and also Willie Nelson, who, as a matter of fact, gave me my first guitar.”
The guitar that Willie gave him is a rare Martin, very similar to Willie’s iconic guitar Trigger, because Willie knew how much Johnson loved them. Johnson says he played like “dog s***” compared to Willie, but still… what an incredible gift.
From years of being on the road for thousands of shows, and some pretty rowdy times too, Willie and Trigger are an unmatched duo, Trigger is synonymous with Willie’s indelible legacy. It’s really cool to think he went out of his way to get a similar one for Johnson. I mean, that kind of thing belongs in a museum especially considering it came from Willie himself:
“You know the Trigger guitar he has? The historic one? I guess Martin only made 100 of those, and as a birthday gift, ’cause I was such a huge fan, he gave me one of those. I mean, I play like dog s— compared to him, but it’s still a cool gift. Anyway, that’s my musical start.”
Johnson also revealed that he is looking to get more into music, and thinks the “old-school soul genre, with some country flavor,” would be his ideal mix:
“Maybe something in just the old-school soul genre, with some country flavor. I love old-school soul.”
And when the topic of a duets album came up, Johnson loved the idea, saying he “especially” loves the way it’s done in Nashville, and he’s going to follow that formula, so to speak, with this new project:
“Oh, that would be a cool idea. I have such reverence and respect for all music, but especially in Nashville. Because of how I came up there, and you see all these artists coming up. So I wanna approach this project, whatever it’s gonna be, with that level of respect.”
I’m sure there are plenty of artists who would want in on it, and Johnson says it would be a way to honor how deep his “country roots go”:
“Like you said, if it’s an all duets, but just where, hey, here’s my heart and my love, and here’s how deep my country roots go. It’s like, oh, I’d be honored to sing with you guys, you know?”
We’ll see if anything comes of that, but it’s definitely intriguing, and obviously Johnson has great taste and so we’ll see… stay tuned.
“Your Dad”
