George Strait is “The King Of Country Music”. But did you know, one of George Strait’s biggest songs was written by Jamey Johnson? Jamey Johnson had some minor success in the Country Music world as an artist in the early to mid-2000. His biggest work came as a songwriter.
Jamey’s biggest song as a solo artist came in 2008. The song was “In Color”. It’s a song he co-wrote with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller. The song was a top-10 hit for Jamey. It would be his highest-charting song ever.
“In Color” spent a total of 40 weeks on the country charts, and became the first Top 10 hit of Johnson’s career, peaking at number 9 on the week of January 10, 2009. The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on June 9, 2010, and it has sold 1,340,000 copies in the United States as of February 2016.
Before We Get To The George Strait Song, A Little About Jamey
- Born on July 14, 1975, in Enterprise, Alabama, and raised in Montgomery, Alabama.
- Influenced by country acts such as Alabama and Alan Jackson
- Alan Jackson was Jamey’s first concert
- After high school Jamey attended Jacksonville State University, the same university from which Alabama lead singer Randy Owen graduated.
- Johnson quit college after two years and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for four years.
- Jamey moved to Nashville in 2000, to pursue a career in country music.
He signed his first record deal in 2005 and released “The Dollar,” which peaked at 14 on the charts. He lost his record deal, and he also lost his first wife. Then he decided to start writing songs for another artist.
His Biggest Written Song To Date
Jamey wrote “Give It Away” for George Strait, which went on to be George Strait’s 41st Number one song. And it is the song that broke the record for most number-one songs which was previously held by country music legend, Conway Twitty.
“Give It Away” would go on win the 2007 award for “Song Of The Year” at both the ACM and CMA Awards. “Give It Away” received a nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards also.
So, while Jamey may have not made the big time as a solo country artist, he’s done ok. And he’s done even better when it comes to writing big country hits. Let’s take a look at the songs that Jamey wrote for other country stars.
