Cody Johnson put on a performance at the Grand Ole Opry like no other. The country singer turned a cowboy ballad into an emotional rendition about family, inviting his two daughters on stage.
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Both 8-year old Clara Mae and 5-year-old Cori appeared on the Grand Ole Opry’s legendary stage alongside their father. The trio performed a tender cover of the western-themed “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” My Rifle, My Pony and Me.” Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson originally performed the song for the 1959 John Wayne western Rio Bravo.
Fans of Johnson praised the rendition. One wrote, “If I was his wife I’d be sobbing this is so precious.” Another commented, “i was there… the entire room went quiet to give these girls their moment, truly amazing.” Still another wrote, “We must protect this man at all cost. Long live cowboys and long live country music.”
Cody Johnson Embraces Cowboy Lifestyle
When it comes to being a cowboy, Johnson has definitely embraced the western lifestyle. Speaking with Cowboys & Indians in 2023, Johnson discussed paying homage to his roots.
He said, “Everyone says we must look forward. Maybe it’s just the cowboy in me, but where we come from is more important than where we’re going. Where we come from is going to depict the road we follow in the future. I think the new generation of singers has forgotten the elders. The elders are who we based who we are on. Being an artist for so long without a financial backbone to lean on, I’m ok with being myself when it doesn’t make money or it’s not cool. I’m ok with leaning on the past.”
Johnson has also tried to teach his daughters the same. He said that his daughters help take care of the livestock on his ranch.
“We lead a pretty simple life. We’re homeschooling our two girls. They feed the cows with me and then do their schoolwork. Brandi does the formal schooling. I show them the practical things,” he explained. “I’ve always wanted to have good, purebred, white, long-eared, flesh-hanging-off-of-’em Brahman cows. We’ve got an excellent Hereford bull and this first round of F-1 calves are show quality.
He continued, “I want my kids to grow up on a ranch where they have to work and see the honesty and integrity of a hard day’s effort, to see the finished product with a show calf that they’ve raised out of our herd.”
[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]
