Cody Johnson’s ‘Husbands and Wives’ Cover Gives Brooks & Dunn a Run for Their Money [WATCH]
Cody Johnson's version of Brooks & Dunn's "Husbands and Wives" gives the country duo a run for their money. The rising star matches Ronnie Dunn's vocal intensity in his cover of the song, which he performed for Taste of Country's RISERS series.
Readers can press play above to watch Johnson's "Husbands and Wives" performance. The singer-songwriter also covers the song -- originally a hit for songwriter Roger Miller in the mid-1960s and later covered by Brooks & Dunn in the late '90s -- on his newest album, Ain't Nothin' to It. David Frizzell and Shelly West also covered the song, and landed a Top 20 country hit with it, but Brooks & Dunn's version is the only one to have hit No. 1.
Johnson tells Taste of Country that his decision to cover "Husbands and Wives" came after he and his wife had a fight just before Johnson had to hit the road. "I was just kind of sad that weekend," he says of his time on the road. "I got up for my acoustic break, and I had this song in my head all day long because of that fight, and I played it, and my band is like, 'What the heck?!'"
Johnson was content to make it a one-off moment, but when he and his band hit the studio to record a gospel song, his guitarist talked him into laying down "Husbands and Wives" too. The version of the song that appears on Ain't Nothin' to It was recorded in one take and live in the round.
Ain't Nothin' to It is Johnson's first major-label album, released through his new partnership with Warner Music Nashville. Following its mid-January release, the project debuted at No. 1.
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