I get a lot of questions from people. I think that questions are a really interesting way to judge the mood or the interest of people at any given time. Its funny, because I rarely get the a question just once. It seems like the same things are racing through people’s minds at the same time. Recently the biggest question is, “What do you think about Jamey Johnson?” And that question is almost ALWAYS chased with, “You know, he wrote that ‘Honky Tonk Badonka-Donk’ song.”
This is the deal:
The power brokers who puppetmaster pop country may be dumb, but they’re not stupid. They are sitting on a big mountain of cash because they have made some intelligent, business savvy moves. They are constantly pouring over data from marketing tests and demographic polls. They know who they’re listeners are. They know what their listeners want.
Nashville’s major labels and the media outlets they control are a little concerned right now. This underground/outlaw country movement is gaining some steam. When Hank III’s album Damn Right, Rebel Proud hit #2 on the Billboard charts, I declared The Revolution Had Begun.
Nashville noticed that album, make no mistake. They don’t want the country audience going outside of their sphere of influence, or listening to someone they can’t control. But they also understand people want variety, and they themselves are a little worried that lately, just like we’ve been saying for years, country hasn’t been delivering much variety. (If you don’t believe me, read this.)
Enter Jamey Johnson.
I can just see a bunch of suits sitting around a table in some high rise in Nashville saying, “OK, so what do these filthy people who would dare listen to Hank III want to hear?” And someone responds, “Someone who actually writes his own songs, unlike pretty much all of our stars.” And then someone else would say, “And someone ugly I guess, they don’t like all the glitz and pretty faces.” Then someone chimed in “I got it! Jamey Johnson! He’s ugly as homemade soap with that Bin Laden beard, and he writes songs like that Honky Tonk Badonka Donk!”
And boom, another country star is born to be shoved down the masses throats as “variety” or a “Modern Day Outlaw.”
I know that if I tried to evaluate Jamey’s music knowing he wrote “Badonka,” (a song I can’t say I’ve ever heard in it’s entirety) then I can almost guarantee I’d hate everything he does. But I wanted to give him a fighting chance, so I tried to forget this little fact that seems to follow his name wherever he goes, and just tried to evaluate his stuff on its own merit.
I have to say, compared to 90% of the stuff on pop country radio, it is not bad. Is it good? Well I wouldn’t spend any hard earned money on it, but in a war you have to pick your battles. I don’t think Jamey Johnson is the problem. And I think if Nashville thinks Jamey is the solution to the groundswell of REAL country fans, I think they are delusional. But he’s not a pretty face, and he does write his own stuff.
Also Jamey is far from one of these 14-year-old starlets trying to make the transition from a Disney sitcom to country. He was born in Enterprise, Alabama, about as down home as it gets. He served eight years in the Marine Corps. EIGHT YEARS. It’s hard to imagine that in eight years he didn’t pay some dues in life, and unlike a lot of these pop country acts, he can speak from the heart when supporting the military, not do it just because it is something hip to do in country music right now. It’s also interesting to note that one of Jamey’s first gigs was opening for David Allan Coe.
But if you ask me, there are dozens of artists with much more talent that deserve more recognition than Jamey. His songs are decent, but they work from that same tired Nashville formula: Take words and switch them around, like “The cost of high living ain’t nuthin’ like the cost of living high.” (Research pop country songs, and you’ll be blown away how many times they use this trick.)
He was dropped from his first label BNA Records in 2006. Jamey is clearly ambitious, and I think he learned the hard way that if you want to make it big in country music, you have to play their game. And for now, he’s playing.
For a few reasons, and one just being a gut feeling, I’m just not willing at the moment to lump Jamey Johnson in with the other filth of pop country. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not singing his praises either, but I think the man is going to have a clear choice in the next few years: Become a true, REAL country performer who does it for the music, fame and money be damned. Or become pop country’s patsy: an excuse for Nashville to say they offer variety in an all too manufactured, collusive, and non-creative genre.
What do YOU think? And I want to hear from the Jamey Johnson fans as well, because I know you’re out there.
Tags: David Allan Coe, Hank III, Jamey Johnson, Marines, Pop Country
March 30th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Well let me tell you my Jamey Johnson story.. my brother had his CD… I’d never heard of him before and didnt know he had cursed the world with his black booty song. So I listened to the new album. Felt that he sounded alot like DAC, that his songs were so so… there was a couple i liked… then I did some research.. yes we here at IBWIP actually do a little research besides watching porn clips. Once I found out he wrote the black booty song I was upset with myself for entertaining the idea of his music. Then I saw him with Shooter on CMT… All I could think while I watched it was.. he keeps looking at Shooter and thinking.. your singing is fucking up my sons asshole. watch the video.. a couple times he has that look cuz Shooter is singing in a different key and not WITH JJ. Anyway, I sent a request for an interview but heard nothing back. That makes only (2) artists that have ever blew off IBWIP. So I summerize with this… the dude has a couple good songs. We will see what he does with the recognition that he is getting. Does he play the patsy or does he say Im in now lets do it the right way.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I need to watch that JJ/Scooter vid, I’ve heard a lot about it. I usually avoid those things because most of the time they just anger my blood.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
This has absolutely nothing to do with Jamey Johnson because I still have no idea who the hell he is. Joey Allcorn is going to be in Spokane May 31st…anyone in?
March 30th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
What if your house sells before?
If he’s playing Spokane, then he’s probably playing somewhere closer to me as well. Money is tight.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Oh you’re no fun!
March 31st, 2009 at 7:46 am
I have asked myself this exact same question. I can’t seem to get over the fact that he wrote Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, or otherwise Exhibit A in The People vs. Pop Country Music. I do like the few of his songs that I have heard on the car radio and apparently he writes them. Plus, Rolling Stone and my brother-in-law like him - and he is a TRUE country badass.
I can’t help but feel like I have seen this dance before, though (Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Trace Adkins). Let’s face it, popular country music belongs to the American housewife. The market forces dictate that artists be pussyfied to sell records and concert tickets.
But, and bear with me on this one, I wouldn’t mind seeing a trend that pushes the popular country music scene closer to the rap model. Basically, rap artists have conceded that in order to be commercially successful they have to have radio hits and songs for the ladies. So they make sure that they have their hits, a few songs for the ladies, but the rest of the album is theirs to do whatever they want artistically. In between label releases they put out mixtapes, that in any other genre are called bootlegs, to appease their core fans and stay true to their roots. The problem in popular country music is that the only shit of substance on most albums are the radio hits, and most of them are just that - shit.
This is getting a little long, but my point is that with an artist like Jamey Johnson who writes his own material. He actually has the opportunity to say, “OK label, I will give you two hits BUT the rest of the album is mine to say what I like.” Maybe this way albums will be more substantive, while radio will, of course, continue to suck.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Wow…glad I’m not a housewife if that’s all I had to look forward to!
March 31st, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Hey Big A, I totally understand what you’re talking about with the rap model, and you’re totally right about the demographic of the suburban housewife ruling pop country. In fact, that is the exact thing that CMT blog I linked to up top talks about. It’s not that housewives shouldn’t get music played that they like, but right now that is all that there is, and this has robbed the genre of variety and its very soul.
Good points.
April 5th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I was not aware that Jamey Johnson wrote that commercial piece of crap. And that song is one big reason that I do not listen to commercial country radio. His other songs are receiving airplay on alternative stations such as WDVX in Knoxville, TN , WNCW in Spindale, NC and WXLV in Schnecksville, PA. These are stations that play my music as well, and I am under no delusions that my songs will ever be played on mainstream country. My favorite Jamey Johnson tune is “Somewhere Between Jennings And Jones”. A good tune.
April 5th, 2009 at 10:49 am
[...] this year they made an exception for Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song. Last week I wrote THIS BLOG wondering if Jamey Johnson was the real deal, or pop country’s patsy. I did not answer that [...]
April 5th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I got to check your music out James. I think Jamey is getting a lot of airplay on virtually all country music stations, including the mainstream ones. I guess my lingering question is “Why?”
April 27th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I come at this topic from a different perspective, because I first listened to Jamey (outside of his first single off “the dollar”) was when i heard his first release of “the lonesome song.” So, it came as a shock to find out he wrote “honky-tonk badonkadonk”, but i did more research and realized he had written quite a few songs for the country elite. I also learned the story of his whole ordeal with BNA records on how they basically tried to mold him into bullshit and he wouldn’t accept it. Subsequently getting dropped from the label and left high and dry because he wouldn’t play the song and dance. In an interview i read JJ talked about the fact that after being dropped, the only way he had to survive was writing songs for Nashville. So yea, i definitely believe he played the song and dance when writing that monstrosity of a song, but at the same time i think it was a big FU to Nashville when he finally released his own record (it was later picked up by Mercury Nashville and re-released) So now a year and a half later down the road JJ is blowing up all over radio,TV etc… he’s Nashville’s new golden goose for the outlaw movement, but i wouldn’t put it past JJ to buck the marketing ploy Nashville is pushing on him now, he’s done it before. I think the man is genuine, and smart. Yea, he played the game, but everyone has to eat.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Jamey Johnson’s music is good, but since i found out he wrote that song, i’ve had my doubts. I recently bought his album “That Lonesome Song”, and I’m impressed, theres not really one bad song on there.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm
fuck jamey johnson, shooter jennings,toby keith and any other pop artist who deems themselves outlaws.
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I agree with your points and like that this is a topic being thrown around. As a fan also, as much as I wish my favorite bands like Hank III, Nashville Pussy, The .357 String Band, Bob Wayne, Joe Buck, Rachel Brooke and so many others success on the level that their art is self-sustaining. I gotta say that I never want to see Hank III play stadium gigs. The intense energy and the camaraderie of fans would be separated. There has to be a happy medium.
Keep up the great blogging!
July 4th, 2009 at 1:11 am
[...] And of course Chet Flippo paraded around pop country’s lame excuse for variety, Jamey Johnson, AS I PREDICTED THEY WOULD IN THIS ARTICLE. [...]
July 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Here is a quote from an interview with Cody Canada from Cross Canadian Ragweed that I thought was just the shit.
UW: So you’re not a big “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” fan? *laughs*
*laughs* I am probably the biggest enemy of that song. You know, there was one night in Nashville, and there was this guy, and he bought everybody a round. He held up his glass and said, “Here’s to ‘Honky Tonk Badonkadonk’!” And I said, “Why in the f*** are you toasting that s*** song? That is the worst song ever.” He laughed and said, “I wrote it.” *laughs* Yeah I didn’t apologize.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
It is amazing to me that all you Hank III guys don’t remember that hank copyed wayne hancocks songs and style. I know I know you guys are going to come after me but before you do just let me say this. I have seen Hank III about 2 dozen times in concert so I am a big fan. Also Jamey Johnson made that album with NO RECORD Company, I first got it on itunes the day it went up and he is not a sell out. I have seen him in concert and he leases his own busses and equipment his self. He also plays real country songs. most concerts go on for atleast 3 hours and I was in Winchester Ky. where he played for almost 4 hours. as for Cross Canadian Ragweed they do cover songs and I dare say If he insulted Jamey Johnson the way he says he did he would have got the shit kicked out of him. Like him or don’t like him he is a bad ass. P.S. I think if you talked to Hank III he would agree that J.J. is the real deal.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
[...] REAL country has yet to go mainstream, but the debate weather the pop influences have taken over mainstream country has. We all know the cliche about the clearly racist guy renouncing his guilt by saying “Hey, I have a black friend.” Well this is the exact way that pop country is using Jamey Johnson. I see it in blogs, articles, comments on message boards and videos: Jamey Johnson, Jamey Johnson, JAMEY JOHNSON, AH! And the irony is I predicted THIS VERY THING in this article. [...]
October 25th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I think he is very talented as a songwriter. I love his voice
(makes me quiver with that alone) and no, he is NOT as ugly as homemade soap… opinions are like anuses, we all have one. I find him HOT HOT HOT ! I really love his sound.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I can’t stand to listen to mainstream country radio in denver. As far as JJ writing the Adkins hit, I view it this way: Country radio is gonna play that junk anyway, so if JJ writes hits like that for others ( he also wrote Strait’s Give it a Way) it affords him to make his own albums as he sees fit. Sure the record company is gonna beg for another In Color.
I also don’t recall In Color getting very much airplay here, but as I said, not a big listener of the 2 country stations here.
Im new here, Interesting blog!
November 11th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I think Jamey Johnson is a true country music budding superstar. He seems very balanced and has a lowkey personality. His voice is pure country and that is what will take him to the top of country music. Congratulations Jamey for winning CMA country song of the year tonight. I look forward to seeing you perform in person someday.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Jamey is the real deal!!!! Finally some great country music acts come out west without the bullshit pop culture. Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser , what can I say. Get a chnce to see them together, do so. You will not be disappointed. Thanks to CMT for sending them out west. Keep the older tradition alive and rolling. Best of luck on the rest of your careers.
December 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
I’ve seen Jamey twice this year and will go see him anytime he is around. There is no doubt he is the real deal. He not only writes and sings real country but also sings traditional gold which makes it even better. Do you think dumb bimbo bitches like Carrie Underwood would have the slightest idea who Vern Gosdin, Ray Price, Faron Young is to mention a few. Hell no she wouldn’t. Today’s country music is pop and therefor it is crap and I will leave it to the Democrats who produce it to listen to it. It is anti-American and so are they. Good luck with it because you will never get my money for that garbage.
December 28th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I have seen and met jamey and heard every song he has to offer and some u can’t even get!when it comes to writing ur own music and singing it he is a true country star!!Unlike all of the artists calling themselves country these days.Not gonna mention any names but they no who they are!!Real country stars like george jones,webb pierce,faron young,kitty wells,ernust tubb ect. would be and are pretty pissed off about what most radio and tv shows are calling country these days!!Jamey has just begun his journey in country music and i feel we havn’t seen anything from this great star yet!!Song of the year winner and it’s about time!!!Real country fans want the steel guitar and a man singing about real issues that hit home with us everyday!!!He is doin a great job and i can’t wait till his next album is out!!
January 12th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Listen Jamey ain’t perfect, but neither were the original outlaws, Yes, he’s written some songs that are not true to the roots, songs that help him make a living, I happen to be a big fan of the lonesome song, not in color, jennings and jones, the last cowboy, these are real songs, these are real country, For all of the Haters please show up to one of the small bars he plays in,(because he doesn’t play amphitheaters and coliseums, because he says he never wants anyone paying more than $30 for one of his tickets) he may play 45 minutes of his music, and then he plays 2-3 hours straight of the old classics and non classics “whatever the hell he wants to play” No wardrobe change, no pushing t-shirts, hell he barely takes time to introduce the band, the man just stands there and plays his quitar and entertains all night long. No he’s not pefect, but I think he’s doing his best to stay true while allowing a lot of people to hear his stories
January 13th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
You people need to atleast timeline your research of Jamey Johnson. I am a huge supporter of what he’s doing and this is why:
The Jamey Johnson that first came to Nashville is not the Jamey that is there now.
He tried to play by the rules, he genuinely did. Most likely, he wanted to be the outlaw patsy of country pop. You gotta do what you gotta do to make money and get the option to be original in Nashville, and if that means giving them what they want for a couple years, to buy you a lifetime of creative control, so be it.
So he wrote several songs: Honkytonk Badonka Donk, Give It Away (george strait), and more.
But then, he released an album : The Dollar.
It has pop-country written all over it. The label “shelved all his songs” and gave him a list to play. So you have “the Dollar”, “ray Ray’s juke joint”, “Rebelicious” and a bunch of other, no totally mainstream, but still crap.
Then, after playing fair, as most artists know you have to do, his label dropped him.
Enter depression and cocaine. “High Cost of Living” is a true story from front to back, written to set the record straight. He messed up, lost his wife, lost his freedom, and got busted and sent to prison.
You’ll not that the clean-cut Jamey Johnson who first came to nashville is not an “Osama bearded ugly face” and the music has changed.
He’s always been inspired more by Waylon than by anyone, hence the Shooter CMT Crossroads. Shooter and Jamey are really good friends, so whatever “looks” were there, I don’t know what to tell you.
So Jamey gets to work, writesan album, then can’t get a label to pick it up. So he releases it HIMSELF. Solo. No label. Completely indie. And “In Color”, the one song on the album that has pop-country interest almost wins a GRAMMY.
So, only after this, does a label re-approach Jamey. He says yeah, but on his terms. His creative control. And he uses that control to insist that his first label released single is the one that will tell the world what he did and set the record straight. “High Cost of Living” becomes the first song on Nashville Radio to mention both cocaine and whores UNEDITED.
Now, for whatever reason, Pop-country fans LOVE IT. Jamey gets sh*t for airplay, but what he does get is simply based on critical acclaim and nothing else.
He was a patsy. Nashville sold him out. Now he’s back and so far, he’s done it his way, and noone elses.
You’ll notice that atleast 2 songs from his new album are Waylon Jennings covers, both from the same Waylon album.
The guy doesn’t talk. He’ll play 8 songs before saying a word to the crowd. Interviews fall short, because he answers questions with simple yes or no answers, barely another word.
Watch the video of Keith Urban inviting Jamey onstage to sing In Color, compare that with your Shooter video, and see in which one Jamey looks more uncomfortable.
I don’t argue that he wants to make money. Who doesn’t. But he’s gonna do it his way, either way.
And, so far (the future, obviously, remains to be seen), he’s kicking it’s ass.
Rather than say he’s all pop, or all outlaw, I’d be fair enough to call him the next George Jones or George Strait.
Give him a fair chance.
We all did things we regret.
Badonka Donk or not.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
PS, corss canadian ragweed has made a career out of covering more mainstrem songs than Jamey has to date. Think about CCRag’s covers… Just because you’re red-dirt doesn’t mean you have permissing to play all of Willie’s mainstream stuff.
But i bet he did meet Jamey and insult the song.
And I bet Jamey bought him a beer and said, “yeah it sucks. But can you buy us all a round?”
February 12th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
you all are jerks. this man is what country music needs. the old style. and a little new
February 24th, 2010 at 10:16 am
It seems that a lot of you are lost in a false Nashville propagated fog. I will admit that I like a couple of Jamey’s songs. I don’t like Badonka Donk, never have and never will. And, to those who say “well, he had to do it to eat”, all I can say is, NO he didn’t. Nobody HAS to do anything. There are thousands of artists out there right now that can blow all of Nashville’s “stars” out of the water. They don’t write sell out songs in order to eat. They WORK. But then they spend their non-work time writing and playing true country songs. If you need to eat….get a fuckin’ job, but don’t sell out, or write sell out songs. And, to say that now he’s doing it his way by putting a couple of sell out songs on an album and then the rest is what HE wants to do, is the equivalent of somebody saying they’re HALF gay. There’s no such thing. If you suck a dick….you’re gay. If you put even ONE sell out song on an album, you’re a sell out.
I’m with Triggerman on this one. I’m not quite sure WHAT to make of Jamey Johnson. Time will definitely tell.
I’ll say this though. Waylon and/or Johnny and/or any of the others WOULD NOT put a sell out pop song on one of their albums just for the sake of selling the album to a bunch of pussy ass pop fucks. The record label would be lucky if they didn’t get their ass kicked for even mentioning such a thing.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:45 am
i thought this thing was about trying to save REAL country music, from what i hear, the person who wrote that wouldnt know real country music even if it jumped up and bit him, its them pretty ones you might wanna question, the greatest have always been uugly
George Jones, Willie Nelson,Johnny Cash, Waylon jennings
all ugly! but REAL!
March 18th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Jamey Johnson Never recorded Honkytonk badonkadonk, it was NEVER on a Jamey Johnson record, He Wrote the song, Trace Adkins recorded it, get your facts straight, Have You ever listened to a jamey johnson record? and Johnny cash recorded an album with american recordings label, known for rap and hard rock, you calling him a sell-out?!
March 18th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Jamey Johnson is the closest thing to real Country music in a long time. I dont know why everyone is so down on him. He can sing, he writes his own songs (which are great…listen to the album)and he is doing it the way he wants to!!! Yeah he wrote Honky Tonk Badonkadonk but he also wrote Give It Away for George Strait and he did that so he could have the money to do an album that was what he wanted to do. As a country music singer/songwriter I have the upmost respect for him and I hope that he helps open the door back up to a more traditional country sound rather than the bullshit on the radio today. There should be not pop country. COUNTRY SHOULD BE COUNTRY AND POP SHOULD BE POP!!!!
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
How about we just call him a musician. I don’t understand the need to put a label on any artist. It’s almost like there has to be some certain type of bad-ass indicator for an artist to be called “country”. Music is always evolving and the artists will evolve with it. Jamey, in his own right, is a phenomenal songwriter and an excellent entertainer and that’s all anyone should be concerned about, so if he’s not your type of artist, then don’t listen to him. There’s no need at all to beat a man (or woman) down simply because you think his songs are too pop to be country or too country to be pop or whatever. Personally, I think the man is pretty damn good at what he does. I love Vern Gosdin, Eddie Arnold, George Strait, Merle, Waylon, D.O.C, Hank Sr, Jr, and III. At the same time though, I will crank up some Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Kid Rock, Big and Rich, James Otto, Jamey Johnson, Luke Bryan, and Justin Moore. It’s all about who moves you, who sings a song that you can relate to. I believe that music should be it’s own genre and let the people decide what they want to listen to.
May 21st, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I would keep your judgements of Jamey on hold… some new stuff is coming out in July. Buckle up. It will shake up things. And it won’t be positive for pop country.
*** Less all you forget, Waylon, Willie, Cash, all started out playing by the rules of the industry.(they were all patsys in the begining) Just as Jamey did when he arrived. Then they changed and brought their style out. Jamey appears to be doing the same thing. The “industry way” wasn’t working for him (he was never going to be a teen star), but he can’t be ignored by the industry due to his talent.
*** Also, you ever think that maybe Jamey was so taken back by what the “industry experts” thought was good, that he sat back and said, “watch me write the worst country song of all time, ‘Badonkadonk’, and these fools will push it to #1.”
Jamey is just toying with them right now with his talent.
The new album is coming!