Jamey Johnson Reveals Why He Stepped Back From Recording Solo Albums For Over A Decade

Jamey Johnson went more than a decade without releasing a new solo album. After dropping The Guitar Song in 2010, the country traditionalist stepped away from the studio for 14 years. That break finally came to an end in November 2024, when Johnson made his long-awaited return with Midnight Gasoline. Now, he’s opening up about the reason behind the lengthy gap in his release schedule.

During that time, Johnson kept busy touring and working on other musical projects, but he admits his absence from the studio came down to the reality that making records just wasn’t paying off like it used to.

“The end result was making records didn’t make me any money. It didn’t move the needle for me financially. When it got down to fight or flight and I was stuck in fight mode, I was just like, man, that’s the last thing I need to be messing with right now. It was just [like] leave that alone,” he told Reid and Dan, hosts of the God’s Country podcast.

If Jamey Johnson had a song he wanted to put out into the world, instead of releasing it on a record, he would either showcase it during his live shows or sent it to other major acts like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard or George Strait to cut for their catalogs. Taking the pressure of recording off his shoulders allowed the Grand Ole Opry member to get back in touch with his genuine love for songwriting.

“I sent songs to people and got some songs cut. But I just enjoyed my time. It was just taking some time and getting to be a true songwriter…I don’t write because it’s Thursday at 10:00 AM. I write because I can’t sit here thinking about this and not write this down. I’ve got to stop what I’m doing and go write. That’s why I want to write something,” he explained.

“It should be out of an abundance of passion. And sometimes you can aid that alone with Thursday at 10 with your schedule. You can’t predict when you’re going to be creative, but you can try Thursday at 10,” Johnson continued. “And that’s where I am with that too. If I don’t get things on the calendar, they don’t come to pass. They just are things that I’m always thinking about.”

Another method that Johnson has developed as a way to not forget his song ideas is to lean on the memories of other songwriters as a “memory backup.”

“One of ’em lately has been ERNEST and that poor guy gets messages from me at three, four in the morning. It’s a matter of time before there’s a song born from that,” Johnson hinted.

Jamey Johnson’s first and only song release for his own catalog in 2025 was a collaboration with Ronnie Dunn called “Never Gonna Be.” The legendary artist revealed that Dunn first sent this tune to him back in 2010 and it sat untouched until this year, but it was always still fresh on Johnson’s mind.

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The twangy mid-tempo track highlights the grind of trying to make it in country music and the ever-changing scene of Music City. Johnson revealed that he served as the inspiration for the opening verse: “New kid in town, he’s a stoner/ Singing through a homegrown grin/ Up on stage, he’s a loner/ Got a small band of outlaw friends/ You can tell by his songs he’s done some living/ Oh he’s danced with a heartache or two/ Late night beer joint women/ He’s out to walk in ole Hank’s shoes.”

“He said, ‘I just wrote this song about you,’” Johnson explained. “I think to hear him tell the story now, I think in his mind at the time, they were watching Nashville change from what it used to be into something else, which is what Nashville’s always doing, by the way. Ronnie, his perspective of all that was the legacy of country music and big stars as bands and never going to be.”

Even though Jamey Johnson took a step back from the studio, he never let his connection with fans waiver. He will continue to bring his timeless storytelling to his loyal listeners across the country on his upcoming tour dates.

This weekend, he will make his way to The Nashville Symphony for his Symphony in The South performance, taking place October 17-18. He also has a slew of upcoming dates with Riley Green in November.