Memorandum
- From
- Caroline Mercer via FOX News
- Date
- Filed
- Culture·3 min to read
- Re
Cody Johnson turned down a record deal that required him to ditch his cowboy hat
ReCody Johnson turned down a record deal that required him to ditch his cowboy hat
Country singer Cody Johnson says Nashville executives wanted him to trade his cowboy hat for a baseball cap before offering a deal, and he walked away. He spent about a decade building his career independently before labels returned.
Country singer Cody Johnson says Nashville wanted him to give up his cowboy hat before it would give him a shot at stardom, and he turned the deal down. The Texas-born artist told CBS Mornings that a record label suggested he swap his signature western look for a baseball cap, a request he saw as a demand to become someone else before he could succeed in the music business.
"They wanted a baseball cap, which I have nothing against, but it was the approach," Johnson said. He described the pitch as, in effect, "you're great, but once we change you, you'll make it," and said it angered him. "I tipped my hat and said, 'Thank you for your time.'"
Walking away was a gamble. Johnson spent the following decade building a career on his own terms, playing bars and honky-tonks before becoming one of country music's biggest names. He said he was not sure he could reach that level at all. "Truthfully, in my core, I didn't feel I was capable of attaining a goal that big, you know, to be a huge country music star, to own a cattle ranch," he said.
Long before arena crowds and industry recognition, Johnson was a small-town Texas kid who wanted to be a rodeo star. He traded bull riding for music after years of injuries and setbacks, and he sold CDs in rodeo parking lots while trying to build a following. The years of independent work were hard. He described the strain of being on the road for a month, away from his wife and child, while struggling to pay his bills. "I think that I just had decided at that point that no matter what, no matter how hard, no matter how high the mountain, I will not back down. I will not quit," he said.
After about ten years as an independent artist, record labels came back with another offer. Johnson said this time there was no requirement to change his image. "I just get to be myself and be authentic," he said. He has since built a national following, sold out arenas and earned a place among the genre's leading performers while keeping the cowboy image he had refused to give up. He and his wife, Brandi, have been married for more than a decade and have three children, two daughters and a son.
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