Jamey Johnson (seated)

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Jamey Johnson has the appearance and the style of a classic country music outsider. He writes story songs. He sounds like a old-fashioned honky-tonker and looks like a fella who might whallop you upside the head in a bar fight. And he can't help but get a little rankled over the criticism he sometimes gets from co-authoring the Trace Adkins hit "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk."

"People can have their own interpretation of an artist's credibility, but the simple fact of the matter is I simply couldn't give a (expletive) about what somebody thinks about my credibility," says Johnson. "I don't write songs for them. I write songs for me. And I don't owe them an explanation for why I write anything - particularly 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk' or any damn thing else I decide to write in my career. If you don't want to listen to it you don't have to. Even Hank Williams, who wrote songs that'll freeze your blood, wrote a song that starts 'Hey good lookin', what you got cookin'?' But I don't hear anybody questioning Hank Williams' integrity or relevance as a songwriter."

In a call from Monroe, La., where he will perform later that night, Johnson says the song gave him a favorite memory of his daughter, who is now six.

"When I wrote 'Badonkadonk,' she was in diapers, about a year old. I remember watching that baby dance, wearing nothing but a diaper, watching that 'Badonkadonk' video on TV. If it didn't do nothing but make my baby dance it was worth writing that song."

Chances are, though, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" will not be the song Johnson is remembered for. His 2009 hit "In Color" won Song of the Year at both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Song.

Born in 1975 in Montgomery, Ala., Johnson was well aware of the musical history around him. Montgomery is, after all, where Hank Williams got his start and was later buried.

"If you grew up in Montgomery, the best you could ever be was second best," says Johnson. "You're not gonna grow up to be better than Hank Williams. You're not gonna be loved by more people."

And Williams' grave could be a good place to hang out for a young aspiring country singer.

"There ain't a whole lot to do around Montgomery if you ain't old enough to drink," says Johnson. "But we could always score a bottle of whiskey and go up there and break out some Hank songs or some good old country songs. That's one of my favorite places to go."

On March 25, Johnson will return to Montgomery to receive the Rising Star Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

He says he is extremely proud of the honor, and he has written a song specifically for the Blind Boys of Alabama, who are being inducted in the performing artist/group category. Johnson hopes the group will record his song.

He's also nominated for the 2010 ACM's Top New Solo Vocalist award. He laughs that after a decade in Nashville, he's still looked on as a newcomer.

"Yeah, it's like Rookie of the Year," says Johnson with a chuckle. "But I'd rather them call me new than old. I'll take it, but (expletive), I'm closer to the finish rope than the starting line!"

He says he enjoys the awards for reasons other than winning.

"The CMAs and the ACMs are good for getting the (music artist) teams together, comparing notes and having a drink. When everybody is shaking hands and hugging necks, it really don't matter who is getting the trophies. A trophy looks good on your shelf later, but if you're doing it for a trophy, you're going to be disappointed."

© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel
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