Cody Johnson has scored major success in his music career over the past few years, but there was a time when the musician wasn’t always as financially secure as he is now. Johnson recounted the story during his upcoming CMT special CMT Presents: A Cody Johnson Christmas, standing on stage with a guitar mid-performance as he spoke to the audience, which included his wife, Brandi.
Finding Hope In Hard Times: A Heart-Wrenching Story
“One year, right after Brandi and I had gotten married, we were very broke, like broke broke. Like Ramen noodles was a luxury kind of broke,” Johnson said. “And we went to my mom and dad’s house and I took $20 — I didn’t know this at the time, but it was our last $20 for the rest of the month.”
The “The Painter” singer shared that he put the bill in a Christmas card and was wondering why his wife “looked at me all funny” and on the way home asked him, “You realize that was our last $20 until you get paid again on the first of the month?”
“And I didn’t realize that,” Johnson continued. “So here we are, I’ve got three quarters of a tank of gas and that’s it, that’s all we had to our name. And we drove home and Merle Haggard’s ‘If We Make It Through December’ comes on the radio. And Merle always had a way of making people cry, and in the truck, we both cried wondering how we were going to actually make it through December to the next year.”
Johnson recalled that when he got home, his wife went into the house and was unpacking leftovers that his mom had sent home with them. “And for some reason I checked the mail,” he continued. “I walked out to the end of the driveway and I checked the mail, and my first two songwriter checks from ASCAP came in, and they were $2500 apiece.”
Brought To Tears By Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December”
“I walked in the house, and we cried again,” he said as the camera panned to an emotional Brandi. “And then we pushed the couch up close to the TV, and we heated up leftovers, and we watched It’s a Wonderful Life, and then we cried again.”
“So that’s why I’m playing you this song tonight,” Johnson said, thanking Haggard for writing the tune before going into “If We Make It Through December.”
CMT Presents: A Cody Johnson Christmas premieres Wednesday, December 13th at 9 p.m. ET on CMT. Johnson will be joined by Brandi, daughters Clara and Cori, mom Sheila and dad Carl, plus special guests Kevin Fowler and Roger Creager as The Johnsons invite viewers to celebrate a Texas cowboy Christmas with a night of sharing music, family traditions and memories.
What Is Cody Johnson Performing On CMT Presents: A CoJo Christmas?
The special will include a number of performances from Johnson and his family members singing holiday songs including “Away in a Manger,” “Christmas All Year Long,” “Felix Navidad,” “Hat Made of Mistletoe,” “If We Make It Through December,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Pretty Paper,” “Santa Claus is Back In Town,” and “White Christmas.”
Johnson is also busy on the non-holiday front, having released his album Leather in November. Leather is Johnson’s eighth studio album and third major-label album, and the Texas native will bring Leather on the road with the first leg of The Leather Tour, set to begin on January 19 in Sacramento. The trek will take Johnson through San Diego, Wichita, Jacksonville and more before concluding in Ft. Loramie, Ohio on July 11.
