Jamey Johnson Says He Listens To Contemporary Country Music & Is Proud Of Morgan Wallen: “Beaming With Joy For Him”

Even Jamey Johnson is tuning into contemporary country music.

The great Jamey Johnson stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about his time in the Marines, listening to contemporary country music and how he enjoys artists like Morgan Wallen, working from the Cash cabin to create his new album Midnight Gasoline, how he wrote “What A View,” meeting his now-wife and proposing the second day he knew her, and much more.

We also talked to him a bit about being a mentor for many different artists in the industry, including Megan Moroney, Riley Green, Ella Langley, and Oliver Anthony, just to name a few. The 50-year-old singer-songwriter isn’t sure if he’s ready to call it full-blown mentorship, but he’s fine assuming a “Full House” role, as he explains:

“I don’t know if it’s mentorship, but I accept it in whatever role that it is. I kind of feel like I’m the younger generation’s version of Uncle Jesse… I feel like I’ve been there and done that in a town full of people that are coming up to do it. If I can help with some inspiration, or just some thoughts, that’s what I’m here for.”

Uncle Jamey.

Not only is he helping the younger generation of country music artists… Johnson is one of their biggest fans. He later stated that he loves the music that’s coming out of the genre right now, and revealed that he doesn’t shy away from flipping on the contemporary country station every now and again:

“I love the music they are putting out, too. A lot of these kids are just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant songwriters. I hear it all the time. If I’m out riding around town, I might put it on one of the contemporary country radio stations and listen for a while.

Some of the songs they are putting out are great… and they’re writing some crap too. Not trying to blow them up too big.”

Wouldn’t have pegged Jamey Johnson as a contemporary country fan, but he did walk that back a bit by saying that some of the writing is, and I quote, “crap.”

That being said, Jamey Johnson is an exceptional writer himself, which gives him the credibility to point out other gifted writers in the industry. When he took a moment to think about some of songwriters that he’s a huge fan of at the current time, he rattled off a list of Ernest, Post Malone, Hardy, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, and Ella Langley.

A real who’s who.

Johnson cherishes the fact that he gets to meet a lot of the artists before they ascend to great heights, and shared that there’s one country music superstar that he still hasn’t met, and would love to meet. Even though they’ve never connected, the “Lead Me Home” singer is awfully proud of what he’s seen out of the young artist thus far:

“It’s nice for me to get to meet them before they take off and become the biggest thing in the world. I wish I had gotten to meet Morgan Wallen. Never got to meet him. But I’m proud of him. Just beaming with joy for him.”

Pretty cool that “Uncle Jamey” can look at Morgan Wallen and just feel joy for him, even though they’ve never met. If that doesn’t tell you how cool of a figure Johnson is in the country music community, and how much he truly cares about the future of the genre, I don’t know what does.

To hear more from Jamey Johnson, make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.

We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.

Cheers, y’all.

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