Naomi Cooke Johnson Signs Solo Deal With BMG/BBR Music Group

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Naomi Cooke Johnson. Photo: P Tracy

Naomi Cooke Johnson, former lead vocalist of Runaway June, has signed with BMG/BBR Music Group. The upbeat “Girls of Summer” is the first taste of new music from Cooke Johnson as a solo artist, and is set for release June 23. 

Raised in rural Virginia, Cooke Johnson was given her first guitar at age seven. By 15, she was helping support her family by waiting tables in a Florida restaurant until the seas of Alaska came calling, and she took a job as a deckhand on a salmon fishing boat.

She later moved to Nashville and began playing late night gigs at the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge as a staff musician. Leaning on influences like Bonnie Raitt and Shania Twain, Cooke Johnson began crafting songs about her life’s struggles and determination to overcome them. During her time as part of Runaway June, she helped craft many of the group’s hits, including the Gold-certified top 5 hit “Buy My Own Drinks.”

“Naomi’s evolution as an artist inspired us to write this next chapter together. Her spirited approach to songwriting, unbridled creativity and dogged persistence of her singular vision offers something unique to the world of music,” says BMG/ BBR Music Group GM Peter Strickland. 

“I could not be more excited to be back with BMG/BBR Music Group,” says Cooke Johnson. “The teams in Nashville and around the world are unparalleled. They have fully embraced my vision, identity and the music I am creating…this time as Naomi Cooke Johnson.”

Cooke Johnson has also signed with artist management team Fusion Music/Red Light Management and inked a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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