NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Jamey Johnson and Ronnie Dunn recorded “Never Gonna Be,” which will be released on Friday, Sept. 12, the lyrics had special meaning to Johnson because Dunn co-wrote the song about him.
The recording is a poignant full-circle moment because Dunn and co-writer Terry McBride wrote the song about Johnson 15 years ago, just as the Alabama native’s career was taking off.
“It makes me think of my early days in Nashville, bringing my guitar downtown to play,” Johnson says. “Once I was playing Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and came back out and my 1986 Dodge had been towed. It reminds me of those days when everybody out there was working hard and trying to get noticed and write a better song and perform a version of it live.”
The song is not only a snapshot in time of Johnson’s early solo career, but a powerful description of the steady stream of countless aspiring artists that have been coming to Nashville for decades, “riding on high hopes, living on dreams,” as the song says, hoping to make it in a town full of “them that are and has beens, and never gonna be.”
Pre-save “Never Gonna Be” HERE.
What did it mean to Johnson to have Dunn write a song about him? He says, “It was awesome! I never ever really knew what to do with it because I don’t think I knew he was pitching it to me to record. I don’t know what I thought at the time.
“I thought he nailed the concept as far as everybody coming to Nashville and it chews them up and spits them out. I guess I never did know which of those categories I fell into. Now I think I do: I’m a ‘never gonna be,’ and I’m OK with that,” he says with a laugh.
Johnson and Dunn first crossed paths in 2005-06, when Johnson opened shows for Brooks and Dunn. In 2010, Dunn and McBride wrote the song in Saskatchewan, Canada, during a break in Brooks & Dunn’s tour there.
“It was back when Jamey was just coming on strong, maybe just before he’d had ‘In Color,’” Dunn says of Johnson’s award-winning hit. “We were just looking at the new wave of outlaws coming into town.
“It’s like, ‘Oh boy! This is going to be fun!’ We just took off, thinking, ‘What would it be like?’ Listening to him in interviews, you’d get insights into people and what was going on with him. Man, we were excited!
“I came from a conservative place in West Texas, where you couldn’t have your hair over your ears in school. I thought, ‘Oh man, we’re gonna get to meet hippies finally!”
The lyrics include:
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.
Johnson patiently saved “Never Gonna Be” for more than a decade, waiting for exactly the right moment to record it. “It was fun getting to hear the first notes that were played by the band and know we are finally doing this,” Johnson says. “It’s good that we got to cut it and I’m excited to put it out.”
When Johnson began working with producer Buddy Cannon earlier this year on a future album, this was one of the first songs he sent Cannon.
“Evidently Buddy sent it to Ronnie and Ronnie said he didn’t remember it, so I copied the email Ronnie sent me in 2010. Buddy sent back an email, ‘He remembers it now.’ Once he heard the one I was talking about, he remembered everything about it.”
While the song is about Johnson, he says that it is also a tribute to Cannon, his mentor, co-writer and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Cannon, Bill Anderson and Johnson wrote “Give It Away,” the 2006 George Strait hit that won both the CMA and ACM Award for Song of the Year.
Cannon has been an integral part of the country music industry since the 1970s, when he played bass for Bob Luman and Mel Tillis. He has written hits such as “Dream of Me,” “Set ‘Em Up Joe” and “I’ve Come to Expect It from You.” He has produced artists including Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Shania Twain and many more.
“It was cool that all of this happened through Buddy,” says Johnson, who met Cannon in 2001. “He is more than just a bridge between writers and artists and other producers and labels. He is a mentor to everybody I know. Buddy has probably the longest-lasting relationships in town with all of the artists. He seems to meet everybody early on in their careers and knows them all the way through.
“Everybody that I know who does anything in the country music business has got a great story to tell about Buddy Cannon,” Johnson says. “He is one of the few people you will meet that nobody has anything bad to say about him. He is such a good honest person, which is astounding in our business!”
About Jamey Johnson:
Ten-time GRAMMY nominee Jamey Johnson has been called “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” by The Washington Post. His music has garnered international acclaim and is embraced by fans of classic and contemporary country, as well as Americana and mainstream rock. He released his latest album, Midnight Gasoline, a collaboration between his label, Big Gassed Records, and Warner Music Nashville, in November.
The Grand Ole Opry member is also widely regarded as one of the greatest country songwriters of his generation. He is one of only two people in the history of country music (along with Kris Kristofferson) to win two Song of the Year awards in the same year –for “Give It Away” and “In Color” –from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
A consummate storyteller, his songs have been recorded by George Strait, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, James Otto, Joe Nichols and others. He is “a first-rate preservationist of classic country songwriting,” says The New York Times.
His recent prime-time television performances have been widely recognized as the best of the shows, from singing “Georgia on My Mind” in the CBS special Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration” and “Angels Among Us” for the CMT Giants: Alabama to performing “Beer for My Horses” with Lainey Wilson for the top-rated NBC special Toby Keith: American Icon. He debuted his powerful song, “21 Guns,” during PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert last year.
The Recording Industry Association of America recently honored him for sales/streams of 9 million, including the 5X platinum-certified single “In Color,” the 2X platinum-certified album That Lonesome Song, the platinum-certified single “High Cost of Living,” the gold-certified song “Between Jennings and Jones” and the gold-certified single “That Lonesome Song.”
About Ronnie Dunn:
Ronnie Dunn, one half of the legendary duo Brooks & Dunn, is one of the most celebrated voices in country music history. A longtime Oklahoma resident who spent formative years in Tulsa, Dunn was shaped by the local music scene and a strong work ethic, cultivating a distinctive voice that continues to define his work. After relocating to Nashville, he met Kix Brooks, and together they formed the most-awarded duo in country music, with 28 Academy of Country Music Awards, 20 Country Music Association Awards, 2 GRAMMYs, 24 No. 1 hits and over 30 million records sold. Their impact remains strong more than three decades in –Brooks & Dunn won CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 2024 and are currently nominated again for the 2025 award. This year, Dunn will also be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, adding to a list of honors that includes inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His critically praised solo career –marked by albums like Ronnie Dunn, Peace, Love and Country Music, Tattooed Heart, RE-DUNN and 100 Proof Neon –reflects his deep love for classic country. Beyond music, he is an accomplished photographer of western imagery and the founder of the Lensmen Project.
