Cody Johnson is able to buy himself, his wife Brandi, and their three children almost anything they want now, thanks to his successful career. But Johnson’s favorite Christmas happened years ago, when he couldn’t afford to buy anything, yet remembers it being one of his favorite holidays.
“My wife and I got married in early December,” Johnson shares. “And by the time I blinked my eyes, Christmas was there, and there we were, newlyweds with hardly any money, living in a one-bedroom apartment. We were just so happy back then. We didn’t have anything, and somehow we had it all. I remember that very first Christmas of us being married. We were broke as a joke, and somehow we were just like that old Alan Jackson song, just ‘Livin’ On Love.’ There was something pure and happy about that.”
Cody Johnson Loves Singing Christmas Songs
Johnson has a Top 20 single rigt now with “The Fall.” But Johnson admits his favorite kind of songs to sing are the ones he only sings around the holidays.
“So, for me, Christmas music is the only time that I get to croon,” Johnson says. “Like, this is just me as the singer. So, it’s the only time I get to do my Frank Sinatra impersonation, which is really cool because in my live show there’s not really … I won’t say there’s not room for it, but I’ve just never done it. But getting to sing things like ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ or ‘White Christmas’ – it’s the only time in my career that I get to actually just sit back and sing. And I feel like I’ve got like, the martini and the cigar.”
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Cody Johnson’s Favorite Christmas Songs
Johnson admits he has too many favorite Christmas songs to list. But among his favorites are the holiday classics, including one that most people find annoying.
“You remember being a kid, and hearing ‘Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,’ or ‘Jingle Bells,’ or ‘Frosty The Snowman,'” the reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year recalls. “We all know that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. But who doesn’t love singing ‘Frosty the Snowman?’ Sitting there, drinking hot chocolate, I always feel like it takes me back to being a kid. And now, being a dad watching my kids, I’m like, Christmas music is its own thing. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, it’s mundane, and they play it too much. And, it starts in October and doesn’t stop till January.’
“But it’s like its own genre,” he adds. “It’s really cool, and everybody gets to do it. I don’t care whether you’re a rap artist, rock artist, country, jazz, everybody does Christmas music, which I think is pretty special.”
The Story Behind Cody Johnson’s ‘The Fall’
“The Fall” is on Johnson’s s Leather Deluxe Edition album. Written by Bobby Pinson, Jeremy Stover and Ray Fulcher, Johnson knew as soon as he heard it that he wanted to share it with the world.
“I was in the mode of cutting an album, and saying, ‘This is what I want people to hear,’” Johnson says. “I want people to know that the ride is worth the fall, the hardships, the things that you can look that, yeah, it feels like hell when you’re going through the hardships. When you look back at them, without those hardships, you wouldn’t have the successes that you have, and you wouldn’t appreciate them as much.”
Photo Credit: CMA