5 Underrated Cody Johnson Deep Cuts

Cody Johnson has gone from rodeo cowboy to headlining country music shows across the country, gaining one of the most passionate, dedicated fanbases in the genre.

His rise to fame is relatively new, considering he’s been creating music for over a decade and a half- mainly performing across his home state of Texas. Since On My Way To You cracked the top 40 on the the country airplay charts in 2018, he’s been on a fast-track to stardom.

Releasing his debut album in 2009, Johnson has been a full time artist for quite a while. His fanbase is vast, with many different groups finding his music at varying times in his career. There are some longtime supporters who have been listening to him since his earliest days as an artist, and many that have been exposed to him within the last five years- when he has really hit his stride on mainstream country radio.

Within this list of underrated deep cuts, I stayed away from many songs that, despite not being radio singles or having too much success at their release, have garnered solid streaming numbers in recent years.

For example, great songs like Ride With Me, Never Go Home Again, and Me and My Kind have gained serious love in recent years without ever hitting the radio, much in part to him performing them during live shows. Me and My Kind has even become his second-most streamed song to date, becoming a massive fan-favorite, but that takes it off the table as a “deep cut”.

Here’s five songs I feel even with Cody Johnson’s rise to stardom, remain underrated in his discography:

Monday Morning Merle

Kicking us off is a deeply emotional song from Johnson’s 2019, Ain’t Nothin’ To It. The song paints a story of someone trying to forget about a girl by listening to his favorite classic artists. He takes this familiar story of heartbreak and twists it in a way that is creative and relatable- using music and it’s connection to emotions to draw your mind off of a difficult situation.

In the song, Johnson obviously pays homage to Merle Haggard, but he also includes Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, and Johnny Cash. His smooth, soulful vocals roll perfectly through the melody as you are drawn into this story of coping with loss in a very beautiful way.

Fenceposts

Also coming off of Ain’t Nothin’ To It, Fenceposts is an extremely heartfelt tune. Now, some may say this isn’t quite as deep of a cut as others on this list given its more recent rise in popularity, but it still has been streamed less than four other songs on the album. I feel it’s an underrated piece, given it’s surrounded by massive fan favorites like On My Way To You and Nothin’ On You.

Telling a story of a man buying a house for his wife and ensuring that he’ll do whatever it takes for it to become her dream home, it’s a true tale of young love and hardship- two themes that are mainstays in Cody Johnson’s discography. If you are unfamiliar with this one, go check it out.

The Only One I Know (Cowboy Life)

In a way, The Only One I Know (Cowboy Life), on 2016’s Gotta Be Me, is Cody Johnson’s love letter to his rodeo cowboy life before becoming a musician. Johnson’s rich vocals perfectly capture the rugged spirit of the cowboy way of life, and he’s able to paint a vivid picture of the challenges and triumphs that come with this lifestyle that he loves so much.

The back half of the song in particular really brings everything together as we hear Johnson belt out the lyrics, making you really feel the passion and weight that this story has on him as a person. It’s one of those tracksvthat just makes perfect sense when looking at who the artist is and what they’re trying to represent. This is an underrated gem that I feel is essential when understanding who Cody Johnson is as a person.

Give A Cowboy A Kiss

Now stepping aside from the deeper, more emotionally demanding songs, we have Give A Cowboy A Kiss off 2014’s Cowboy Like Me. This is simply a fun cowboy tune that is about as country as it gets.

This lively, upbeat track shows off the fun-loving outlaw side of Cody Johnson, further highlighting his versatility as a singer. Go ahead and take a drive, turn this one up loud, and tell me you’re not stomping your feet by the end of it.

What’s Left Of Texas?

The earliest entry in this grouping- What’s Left Of Texas?, from 2011’s A Different Day, is a reflective song about the loss of the simple Texas country lifestyle due to progress and urbanization. He uses the lyrics to make a powerful statement that things are changing too fast, extracting the charm of the place he loves more than anything.

This tune is very reminiscent of Luke Combs’ Back 40 Back, discussing this sense of longing for what they used to have and wanting things to go back to how they were. This is another perfect example of Johnson using his incredible vocals to showcase the passion he has for this idea and for his home state of Texas. Go give this one a listen if you haven’t before, it’s an extremely underrated one from early on in Cody Johnson’s career.

From his early days of playing small Texas gigs to becoming a chart-topping and critically acclaimed country star, Johnson’s journey is a testament to hard work and unwavering dedication to his craft.

Check out Johnson’s newest album, Leather, released this past Friday.