Ep. 230 - CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON ("The Day I Die")

Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

With an ACM Top New Female Vocalist win and nearly 20 Canadian Country Music Awards, the chart-topping Carolyn Dawn Johnson chats about everything from her songwriting successes to her artist career to her co-writing with Chris Stapleton.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott dive deep on their opinions about the recently-announced Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class of 2024.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Carolyn Dawn Johnson.
ABOUT CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON
Canadian-born singer, songwriter, producer, and musician Carolyn Dawn Johnson moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s and started getting her songs recorded by artists such as Patty Loveless, Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, and Jo Dee Messina. Her breakthrough came in 1999 with Chely Wright’s recording of "Single White Female," which hit #1 on the country charts. Wright’s follow-up recording of Johnson’s "Downtime" also became a Top 5 hit. Carolyn was named Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year by Music Row magazine in 2000 and landed a record deal of her own with the Arista Nashville label. Her self-produced debut, Room with a View, hit the Top 10 in the US and earned Gold status in Canada. The singles "Complicated“ and "I Don’t Want You to Go“ were both Top 10 hits in the US. She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist award and swept the Canadian Country Music Awards. The follow-up album, Dress Rehearsal, also debuted in the Top 10. To date, Carolyn has earned nearly 20 Canadian Country Music Awards for songwriting, performing, and producing. As an artist she has toured with Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Merle Haggard. As a backup vocalist and musician she’s toured with Ashley McBryde, Miranda Lambert, and Martina McBride. After a hiatus as an artist she has recently begun recording new music while continuing to enjoy success as a writer, including Chris Stapleton’s "The Day I Die,“ a song Carolyn and Chris wrote together that appeared on his 2023 album Higher.