Jamey Johnson Biography

Jamey Johnson was born in 1975 in Enterprise, Alabama. Jamey developed a strong love of country music from the time he was a young child, listening to artists such as Alan Jackson, and he began studying guitar when he was barely a teenager. Johnson attempted university studies but dropped out after two years and instead opted to serve in the United States Marines for eight year. During this time, he continued to write songs and play music, and so upon his discharge from the military, he began playing in bars and clubs around Montgomery, Alabama.

A move to Nashville at the turn of the millennium began to bring Johnson the attention he needed to launch a music career. After self-releasing his debut, They Call Me Country, Jamey began working as a studio vocalist, signing on demos for a variety of notable performers, including Trace Adkins, Big & Rich, and Hank Williams, Jr. The connections he made proved invaluable, and by 2005, Jamey had secured his first recording contract and released The Dollar, both as album and a title track. The single rose to the top twenty on the country charts, although Johnson’s career stalled for a bit in the time following. He wrote music for other performers during this time, and a number of his songs for other artists charted well (Including the Adkins recording of “I Got My Name On” and “Ladies Love Country Boys.”) Jamey appeared briefly on the television series Nashville before it’s cancellation, but it was his next endeavor that finally secured his position as a country writer and performer.

Jamey Johnson was finally signed to Mercury Nashville in 2008, shortly after he released That Lonesome Song, an album that garnered him the recognition he deserved. The first single off the album, “In Color,” rose to the top of the charts quickly, peaking at number nine, and “High Cost of Living” and “My Way to You” fared equally well. My Lonesome Song brought Jamey a number of award nominations, including: a Country Music Award nomination for New Artist of the Year; an Academy of Country Music nomination for Top New solo Vocalist; and three Grammy Award nominations for Best country Album, Best Country Song, and Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Jamey Johnson’s career is finally on the rise. He recently released “Playing the Part” and The Guitar Song in 2010, and toured as the opening act for Kid Rock in 2011. He has also collaborated with a number of musicians on a variety of other songs, including “Bad Angel” (with Miranda Lambert), “Some Gave All” (with Billy Ray Cyrus and Craig Morgan), “Yesterday’s Wine” (with Blackberry Smoke and George Jones), and “The Highwaymen” (with Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.) He continues to perform and record, and has plans for additional studio albums in the works.