Cody Johnson’s journey from Texas bull rider to country music star highlights his resilience and passion. Raised in a cowboy tradition, Johnson traded rodeo life for music at 19, quickly captivating fans with his authentic lyrics and powerful voice. He independently released six albums, building a loyal following before his 2019 major-label debut, ‘Ain't Nothin' to It,' propelled him to national fame. His double album ‘Human' featured the award-winning hit “’Til You Can’t,” but there might just be a bigger, better song lurking on new album ‘Leather Deluxe!”
Johnson released ‘Leather Deluxe' yesterday (November 1st) – with a further 13 songs added onto the original release, ‘Leather' now resembles previous album, ‘Human' in being a double. You can read out review of it right here.
Stand-out track of the new releases is easy ‘The Fall,' which is a song we think could go on to win more awards and accolades than Johnson's signature song, ‘Til You Can't.' ‘The Fall' is a haunting, plaintive, darker ballad that echoes Garth Brooks' ‘The Dance' in both sound and tone. In it, Johnson sings about being ‘good with god but I dropped the ball.' The song touches on personal failures and ways that we all have struggled to live up to the expectations of our friends, families, churches and even society. Listen to it below:
In the chorus, Johnson concludes, in the same way that Brooks did in ‘The Dance,' that he wouldn't change what he had done or who he had been because ‘the ride was worth the fall' and that ‘the tears were worth the miles.' It's an uplifting chorus replete with haunting pedal steel, lush fiddles and dark, acoustic guitars that gives Johnson the chance to stretch his vocals a little as he sings about pain, permission and forgiveness.
Country music is made for songs like ‘The Fall' that hold a mirror up to our own behaviours and experiences. Think of songs like ‘Humble and Kind' as precedents for this powerful song written by Jeremy Stover, Bobby Pinson and Ray Fulcher. We think it could dominate awards season in 2025 and has the emotional heft and commercial chops to outsell ‘Til You Can't' with a fair wind and some industry support and backing.
