Jamey Johnson

Singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson is just as comfortable mopping up the tears on the barroom floor with an old Hank Williams-style ballad as he is tearing the roof off with a honky tonk juggernaut. The Alabama native and ex-Marine rose to the top of the Nashville food chain through blood, sweat, and tears. Raised in a devout and deeply musical family helped the new traditionalist find his voice, but it wasn't until he moved to Music City that the world began to take notice. After laying low for nearly a year, he began appearing at songwriter nights, where he met other writers. As his peers began securing publishing deals, they would ask Johnson to sing on their demos. In 2002, mutual friend and songwriter Randy Hardison turned producer/songwriter Buddy Cannon on to Johnson -- the two became close friends and allies after Hardison's death later in the year. Johnson's next convert was publisher Gary Overton, who signed the budding songwriter to EMI. In April of 2005, Johnson signed a record contract with BNA and released his debut, The Dollar, in January of 2006. After a tour supporting the album, he was dropped from the label. He and his wife separated, then divorced, sending Johnson into seclusion for a year before he re-emerged, renewed and ready to begin work on a new album. Two major labels showed interest, but it was the Universal imprint Mercury that signed the artist and released his album That Lonesome Song in August of 2008