Johnson also says another country music A-lister was pitched his hit song “Dirt Cheap.”
Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson attend the 2022 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on October 12, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Catherine Powell/GI for CMT
“Dirt Cheap” hitmaker Cody Johnson has collaborated with artists like Jelly Roll (they recorded “Whiskey Bent” on Johnson’s album Leather album) and Terri Clark (the two performed “I Just Wanna Be Mad” on Clark’s Take Two album). But he has his sights set on a duet with the reigning CMA and ACM entertainer of the year winner.
During a recent interview with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton, Johnson said he’s long aimed at doing a collaboration with Lainey Wilson.
“I’m going duck hunting with her boyfriend Duck [Devlin “Duck” Hodges]. I guess that’s how he got his name, because he’s really into hunting,” he said. “I heard Loretta Lynn’s ‘Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man.’ I called Lainey and said we should record that song together, and she agreed. But we haven’t done it yet.”
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It’s safe to say Wilson has been busy of late, having just released her new album, Whirlwind. Johnson, whose song “Dirt Cheap” is in the top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, also revealed that another country music A-lister, Luke Combs, had been pitched “Dirt Cheap”– but Johnson got to it first.
Johnson said of Combs, “He didn’t click on it. So here’s to you Luke! He didn’t listen to it until I after released it. He thought the title looked familiar. I talked about it afterwards — had some choice words to say about ‘Dirt Cheap.’ I said, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’”
Recently Johnson headlined a rodeo in Brazil, at Cowboy Festival Barretos. “They called me, and we sold the thing out,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.” The festival has been around since the 1950s and has previously featured headliners including Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Shakira, Mariah Carey and Shania Twain.
