Jamey Johnson Gets Gold Plaque, Critical Praise

Jamey Johnson’s The Guitar Song has been certified gold by the RIAA and is making numerous best albums of 2010 lists. The 25-song double disc set came in at No. 5 on lists in Rolling Stone and SPIN. Hear Johnson talk about the songs here.

The UMG Nashville project received two Grammy nominations, including Best Country Album and Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “Macon,” with Johnson garnering a third nod for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Bad Angel” with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert.

“My dream already came true,” Johnson says of the accolades. “All I ever wanted was just to get to ride around and sing country music. It’s cool when things like that happen along the way. Because those are the things I never thought I could achieve. Whether or not it’s gold or platinum or hell, diamond for that matter, it wouldn’t surprise me anymore. I’ll just keep doing what I do. I wake up every day and go play some more country music and have another drink.”

Johnson was one of many Nashville performers at the recent Kennedy Center Honors, where he performed a tribute to honoree Merle Haggard. He also met honoree Oprah Winfrey, who joked he should visit her father Vernon’s Nashville barber shop for an eight-dollar haircut.

In early 2011, Johnson will join Kid Rock on his nationwide Born Free tour, opening Jan. 15 in front of a crowd of 60,000 at Detroit’s Ford Field.