Cody Johnson Heralded As A Champion For Songwriters At Double No. 1 Party

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Pictured (L-R, back row): BMI’s MaryAnn Keen, CAM Creative’s Carole Ann Mobley, Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston, Big Machine Music Publishing’s Tim Hunze, Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart and BMG’s Amy Scott; (L-R, front row): Ryan Larkins, Benjy Davis, Cody Johnson and Kat Higgins. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Cody Johnson commemorated his two latest chart-toppers at BMI on Thursday (Oct. 10) with a heartfelt celebration. The party honored Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins, the co-writers of “The Painter,” and Josh Phillips, the sole writer of “Dirt Cheap.”

The tunes marked Johnson’s second and third No. 1 hits following 2022’s “‘Til You Can’t.” All three of the artist’s chart-toppers have been outside songs.

Not only that, all three have been given awards due to their craftsmanship. “‘Til You Can’t,” written by Matt Rogers and Ben Stennis, was named Best Country Song at the 2023 Grammy Awards and also won the 2022 CMA Award for Single of the Year.

Pictured (L-R, back row): Warner Chappell’s Bethany Mako, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart, Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy and BMI’s MaryAnn Keen. (L-R, front row): Josh Phillips and Cody Johnson. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

So far, “The Painter” has been named Song of the Year at the 2024 Nashville Songwriter Awards and “Dirt Cheap” was Song of the Year at the MusicRow Awards. Both are nominated for Song of the Year at the upcoming CMA Awards.

Johnson’s newfound reputation as a friend to songwriters was highlighted by everyone who spoke, as was his propensity for selecting quality material for his albums.

After a welcome from BMI’s Clay Bradley, MaryAnn Keen took over as emcee. She orchestrated for “The Painter” to be celebrated first, bringing up Big Machine Music’s Tim Hunze, BMG’s Amy Hendon Scott, CAM Creative’s Carole-Ann Mobley and Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston.

To speak about “Dirt Cheap,” Keen invited Warner Chappell’s Bethany Mako to the podium. A special message from Phillip’s other publisher, Brantley Gilbert, was played on the screen.

Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart shared a special presentation announcing a donation to Different Day Foundation, an organization that empowers and supports women survivors as they overcome and heal from the systems of prostitution and exploitation.

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow’s LB Cantrell, Ryan Larkins, Benjy Davis, Cody Johnson, Kat Higgins and MusicRow’s John Nix Arledge. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy shared words about Johnson’s commitment to cutting the best songs, no matter who wrote them.

“Best song wins. He doesn’t look at people’s names or track records. He hears the song and then finds out who wrote it, because he cares about what the song means,” she said. “Cody Johnson is the guy who cuts double albums of outside songs in Nashville.”

When it came time to hear from the writers, they all thanked their villages of support, their peers, Johnson and his team.

“The life this song took on has been incredible,” Davis said of “The Painter.” “It’s been awesome to be a part of it.”

“Cody, I feel like you’re a co-writer on this because of how much you gave,” Higgins said. “You took it further than we could have imagined.”

“Thank you Lord for the gift of this song,” Larkins said. He and his wife Chauntay, who inspired “The Painter,” were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary.

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow’s John Nix Arledge, Josh Phillips, Cody Johnson and MusicRow’s LB Cantrell. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

“This song has been a blessing. Thank you, Cody, for being as passionate about it as you are,” Phillips said of “Dirt Cheap.” “Thank you to my wife for telling me to send this song to Cody one night.”

When Johnson spoke, he shared his perspective on songwriting.

“All I ever wanted to be was a songwriter… All my heroes were songwriters,” he said. “When you become an artist and it starts to take off, it becomes a struggle [to write the best songs].

“I had the realization through Cris and Scott [Gunter] to start looking at outside songs,” he said. “When I started to see the impact it had on people who had written the songs I was cutting, it gave me a sense of humility and honor that I had never felt before–like I was getting to carry a flag into battle.

“I’m proud to be the guy carrying the flag for the songwriters, because it’s what I’ve always wanted to be,” Johnson said, bringing the room to a thunderous applause.

LB Cantrell
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