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Cody Johnson Hopes To Help ‘Save’ Country Music

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Cody Johnson’s star continues to rise in country music, and he also is continuing to make bank with his “Leather” concert tour and album sales. However, that isn’t why he got into country music at all.

Cody told us in a recent interview, “One thing I would like for fans to know about me. I’m going to be as real as I can. I’m not in this for the money or the fame. I’m in this because I want to leave my mark on country music.”

He added, “So when I’m done, someday when I’m gray and old, and I leave this world, somebody can look back and say, ‘Cody Johnson helped save country music and put it back on the path it should be.'”

RELATED: Cody Johnson: How He Proposed To Wife Brandi

Johnson played a show on his “Leather Tour” earlier this month (2/20), and when one fan was in a tight spot and needed some help, Cody stopped the show.

Johnson stopped the music and pointed to the front row, telling security and the crowd, “Can we get some medical attention on the front row, please? This is not a Travis Scott concert. We will stop to help people out.”

Cody was referring to the fatal crowd crush at the Astroworld festival in November of 2021 when ten people were killed at a Travis Scott concert in Houston, Texas.

Johnson told the crowd as soft music played, “You all just sit tight. As soon as we figure this out, we will continue with the show.” He made sure the medics were on the scene, then said, “This is about you. This isn’t about me. So we’re going to stop to take care of this young lady before we do anything else.”

In the video clip posted by a fan who was at the show, you cannot see the woman who needed help, and there is no word about what the problem was, but Cody’s action was swift.

@trinityyywalker

“this is not a travis scott concert” #codyjohnson #fyp #realcountrymusic

♬ original sound - Trinity Walker💐

Four Fantastic Cody Johnson Music Videos

  • "On My Way to You" (2018)

    This is Cody’s first song released under the Warner Brothers record label in Nashville. Although he did not write this song, Johnson says the song reflects on his many hardships and heartbreaks en route to finding the girl he’s meant to be with forever. The lyrics of the song’s chorus include: “All the stars I’ve seen / All the songs I’ve sung / All the beers I’ve drank / All the damage done / I was just passin’ time / Kinda just passin’ through / On my way to you.”

  • "Till You Can't" (2021)

    This music video includes scenes of “fishing excursions, classic-car rebuilding sessions, family dinners” interspersed with footage of Johnson delivering a fiery solo performance of the song. He said of the video, “I love the storyline in the video. You think it’s going in one direction, and then suddenly, you are surprised at the turn of events. When they sent me the rough edit of the video, it was so powerful and brought tears to my eyes. It put into perspective the song that I had been singing for months.”

    The song won the Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year and Video of the Year at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2022.

  • "Dear Rodeo" with Reba McEntire (2020)

    Johnson wrote the song as a very personal tribute to his previous career in bull riding, which struck a chord with Reba McEntire, who grew up on a family ranch competing in barrel racing.

    Reba said, “It was a thrill to sing ‘Dear Rodeo’ with Cody because we’re both from the rodeo world. I grew up in a rodeo family; I’m a third-generation rodeo brat. So the song means a lot to me because I did leave rodeo to be in the country music business. I sure miss it.”

    Cody added, “The story behind ‘Dear Rodeo’ is more a story about life and less about rodeo. I feel like everybody has their own ‘Dear Rodeo’ story, and when I found out that Reba was impacted by this song enough to want to do a duet, it was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my career.”

  • "Human" (2022)

    This music video shows the former bull rider riding horses and also scenes of him playing live in concert. It also shows video clips of Johnson roping cattle in a rodeo arena setting. Cody said that “Human” is his most autobiographical song to date.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group
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