The first half of Cody Johnson’s album, Leather, has arrived.
LISTEN NOW: Cody Johnson takes us into the making of his new album, ‘Leather’
As the follow-up to his ambitious RIAA Gold-certified, Human: The Double Album, expectations are high, but Johnson more than delivers with his genuine Country vocals and a sheer desire to make good music. “I think in the past, we’ve had a timeline agenda or an agenda to make sure that we had singles out to radio, we had to make sure that we had content for fans,” he expressed. “This [album] was literally just, i felt like goin’ and recording an album.”
That’s no exaggeration as COJO continued on to share the exact moment he felt inspired to make the album while on his bus with tour opener and good friend, Ian Munsick.
“This album was really, simply inspired,” he said. “Ian Munsick was on tour with us… and we were sitting around on the bus and we were swapping songs. He played me this song called ‘Leather’... When he played me this song, I said, ‘What is that? What are you doing with that song?’ and he said ‘I’m not really sure,’ so I said, ‘Well, let me cut it. I’ll make it the title track of my new album.’ And he said, ‘I didn’t know you were cuttin’ a new album,’ and I said, ‘I didn’t either, until right now.I want to name the album Leather’ And from then, it just snowballed.”
Just like that, the momentum turned into 24 tracks Johnson is calling the best of his career. The first 12 of those make up Leather, while the other 12 will be released as, Leather (Deluxe Edition), arriving at a later date.
Things are already off to a booming start for the project with the popular lead single, “The Painter,” collecting 6.2 million streams in its first week. There’s bound to be plenty more high stats as the album includes a collection of songs that all highlight Johnson’s beloved authentic Texas vocals and loyalty to the traditional Country sound. They include “Dirt Cheap,” “That’s Texas,” and “Watching My Old Flame.” In addition to the new solo songs, fans can also indulge in two big-time collabs.
Joining COJO on track 7, “Whiskey Bent,” is stand-out artist Jelly Roll, who has catapulted into the Country genre with songs like, “Need A Favor,” “Son of A Sinner,” and “Save Me (feat. Lainey Wilson).” Also joining Johnson for a high-profile guest appearance is legendary Country duo, Brooks & Dunn for track 10 titled, “Long Live Country Music.” Working alongside artists new and old made for some of COJO’s most treasured memories making this album, reminding the Cowboy just how blessed he is.
“We had a day where Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks came in the morning and we sang, ‘Long Live Country Music.’ It’s one of those moments where – I’m not easily intimidated, I’m not starstruck – but you have to pinch yourself a little bit and go, ‘Holy cow, I’m sitting here in a studio, recording a song that stands up for Country music with Brooks & Dunn. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
That same day, Johnson recorded “Whiskey Bent” with Jelly Roll and another future release with Randy Houser making it a day he’ll never forget.
“It was a fun day of just jacking around,” he said. “One of those days where you go, ‘I can’t believe I get paid to do this for a living.’” The fun he had is apparent in the final product which left the 36-year-old with not only a lot of good memories, but his proudest work to date.
“I’m the most proud of the fact that I just got to go in and have fun, grow as a musician, grow as a singer and grow as a co-producer,” he shared.
Leather is available now.
Leather Track Listing:
1. “Work Boots” (Jason Afable, Brett Beavers, Canaan Smith)
2. "Double Down” (Jeff Hyde, Adam James, Clint Daniels)
3. “Watching My Old Flame” (Kat Higgins, Wynn Varble, Clint Daniels)
4. “That’s Texas” (Andy Sheridan, Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin)
5. ”Dirt Cheap” (Josh Phillips)
6. “Jesus Loves You” (Mark Holman, Chase McGill, Michael Hardy)
7. “Whiskey Bent” (feat.Jelly Roll) (Adam James, Mikey Reaves, Rocky Block)
8. “Leather” (Ian Munsick, Rivers Rutherford, Jeremy Spillman)
9. “People In The Back” (Devin Dawson, Austin Taylor Smith, Mark Trussell)
10. “Long Live Country Music” (feat.Brooks & Dunn) (Phil O’Donnell, Wade Kirby, Trent Willmon)
11. “The Painter” (Kat Higgins, Benjy Davis, Ryan Larkins)
12. “Make Me A Mop”(Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Alan Shamblin)