Jamey Johnson is widely regarded as one of Nashville’s most gifted singer/songwriters and storytellers.
Johnson will release Midnight Gasoline, his first album in 14 years, on November 8.
He co-wrote eight of the 12 songs on the album with fellow artists, including ERNEST, Chris Stapleton, Ira Dean, and Randy Houser. Johnson’s dear friend and prolific songwriter Dallas Davidson also has several co-writes on the project. Johnson said they each have their own writing style and bring different moods and skill sets to the creative process.
“Everybody impacts the songs differently,” Johnson said of his co-writers.
He said it’s hard not to write a funny song with Dean, but that humor isn’t what immediately comes to mind when he thinks about writing songs with Stapleton.
“We’re kicking over some really cool ideas, but we’re not looking for the comedy value,” Johnson said. “Well, I can’t even say that sometimes.”
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Jamey Johnson Doesn’t Call Chris Stapleton for Funny Songs
Johnson called Stapleton a “really quick study” and compared his songwriting skill to someone who does the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink.
“He won’t spend time mulling over the details of a line,” Johnson said. “He pretty much just puts the pieces together, and bam, there’s your bridge.”
Johnson isn’t saying Stapleton isn’t thoughtful about his word choices – just that the best words come to him at lightning speed.
“You got the right word; you’re not spending another 10 minutes on it looking for the right word when you already have it,” Johnson said. “It’s a waste of time. And Chris doesn’t see the point in wasting that time. If you already have the right word, let’s move on.”
He added: “I got to be on my A game when I go in to write with him. I got to have the coffee early.”
Johnson said writing songs with Rob Hatch is like a “shotgun blast of ideas.”
Jamey Johnson: “Dallas Ain’t a Grammarian … but Word Choices are Critical.”
“Don’t like that one? That’s fine,” Johnson quipped as if Hatch was talking. “I got 15 more right behind it. So with him, you get kind of the Cheesecake Factory menu.”
Davidson, he said, is after the best flavor he can muster.
“Word choices are a little more important in some regards,” Johnson said. “Dallas ain’t a grammarian. He ain’t that guy. But word choices are critical.”
Houser is different, too. Johnson said that when he, Houser, and Davidson get together to write, Houser is figuratively three blocks down the road while he and Davidson are still considering word choices.
“He don’t get them kind of word hangups,” Johnson laughed.
He called Jerrod Niemann, who doesn’t have a song on the album, a traditionalist who likes good shock value and said Lee Brice is a creator.
“He likes new things,” Johnson said of Brice. “If you’re going to have an old concept, at least have a new way to bring it about. He’s always on the cutting edge. He’s always looking for the next biggest sound or the biggest phrase.”
Johnson’s eyes sparkle when talking about his songwriting friends, but he cut himself off.
“I probably dripped on at the mouth long enough about these guys,” he said.
(Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for SESAC)
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