Cody Johnson revealed that his dream duet partner is George Strait, admitting that if he got the opportunity to collaborate with the “King Of Country Music” it would be the pinnacle of his career.
While chatting with Music Mayhem and other media outlets, Johnson opened up about his dream collaboration.
“I was lucky enough to do a collab with Willie Nelson on my last record, so cross that off the bucket list, but you know, a lot of my heroes are already gone,” the chart-topping artist shared, prior to explaining how a majority of his dream duet partners unfortunately passed away before he got the chance to team up with them. “If I had one person in the world, anyone that I can do a duet with, it would be Merle Haggard, and you know, he’s gone… It sucks for an old soul like myself, as far as country music, to know that someone as wonderful as him is not here anymore, because I’d love to do a song with him,” Johnson revealed. “I’d really like to do something with Loretta Lynn, but I can’t do that either.”
Dream Collaboration: George Strait
Fortunately, there is one living artist that the two-time CMA Award-winner would love to collaborate with someday, and that is his fellow Texas native, George Strait.
Covering some of Strait’s smash hits in the past like “You Look So Good In Love” and “Troubadour,” Johnson is a longtime fan of the Country Music Hall of Famer. In fact, in a forthcoming project titled The Cowboy Sessions, the “‘Til You Can’t” singer plans to cover a George Strait song once again, as well as tunes from stars like Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Chris Ledoux and more.
Johnson shared in an exclusive interview with iHeartRadio’s Spencer Graves, “I’m doing a concept album called The Cowboy Sessions, and it’s nothing but old cowboy songs like Marty Robbins and Willie Nelson, so the entire record is just covers. I’m covering Chris Ledoux, I’m covering George Strait. I’m covering Tom Russell and all this stuff.”
Admits A Collaboration With Strait Would Be The Pinnacle Of His Career
While country music fans cannot get enough of Johnson’s covers, a collaboration with George Strait himself would be the icing on the cake.
“George Strait is one of those guys that he doesn’t really do collabs. Like, he does what he wants when he wants, because he’s freaking George Strait,” the talented singer/songwriter explained, however, that does not stop him from reaching for the stars.
“If I could ever get to do a cowboy song with George Strait, though, that might cap it off for me,” the 36-year-old concluded with an ear-to-ear smile.
Recently Released New Album, Leather
While COJO Nation awaits a future duet from Johnson and Strait, fans can listen to his recently released eighth studio album, Leather. The 12-track project unveiled collaborations with both Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn, and the deluxe edition of the project will include a highly-anticipated collaboration with Carrie Underwood.
Johnson recently detailed exactly how the album came to be, admitting that he didn’t decide to create Leather until his friend and “Long Live Cowgirls” collaborator, Ian Munsick, got involved. “He had just started being on tour with us,” the country crooner prefaced, before diving into the details. “We were just getting to know each other, picking songs and this and that. He plays me this song called ‘Leather,’ and I said, ‘Buddy, what the hell was that?’ He’s like, ‘I wrote it. I wrote it about my brothers. They’re cowboys,’ and I said, ‘what are you going to do with it?’ He’s like, ‘Well, I’m not really a cowboy, you know?’ I was like, ‘Give it to me.’ I said, ‘I’ll cut it,’” and the rest is history.
“I said, ‘Not only will I cut it, I’ll name my album after it,’ and he said, ‘I didn’t know you were cutting a record,’ and I said, ‘Well, I didn’t either ’til right now,’ and so that’s literally what sparked Leather,” Johnson concluded.
RELATED: Cody Johnson Talks The Making Of His New Album ‘Leather,’ The Song That Made Him Cry And More
Follows Human: The Double Album
Leather serves as the follow up to Johnson’s 2021 album, Human: The Double Album, which includes the chart-topping hit “‘Til You Can’t,” as well as “Human,” “Stronger,” and “Buy Your Grace,” among others.
Fans can listen to Cody Johnson’s new album, Leather, on all streaming platforms now.
