Shooter Jennings and Jamey Johnson unite for CMT Crossroads

Known for their outlaw ways and their tremendous songwriting, rocker Shooter Jennings and Grammy nominee Jamey Johnson come together for another episode of CMT CROSSROADS. CMT CROSSROADS: SHOOTER JENNINGS AND JAMEY JOHNSON tapes before an invitation only audience in Nashville later this month and premieres Monday, March 23 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT.

“I'm a country artist with a rock influence and Shooter is a rock artist with a country influence. Plus, we’ve been good friends for years. This will be an entertaining show to watch, I can promise you that,” says Jamey Johnson.

His father put rock into country and Shooter Jennings injected that same hybrid heritage into modern rock. Born the son of outlaw country legend Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, he gravitated to playing metal-based rock ‘n’ roll at an early age. Shooter moved to LA as a teenager and assembled a high-voltage band, Stargunn, and lit up the local rock scene. After his father’s death in 2002, Shooter – at his late father’s oft-expressed desire – sang Waylon’s “I’ve Always Been Crazy” at the memorial service, with Stargunn joined by Waylon’s Waymore band.

In 2003, he departed Stargunn and assembled the .357s, creating a sound that was a blend of the modern rock and soul he loved with the country sensibility and dynamics. Together, Shooter and the .357s have released 3 studio albums and one live record.

The professional novelist and amateur musician Stephen King wrote that Shooter’s song “Fourth of July” was “maybe the best fusion yet of rock and country.”

Last year, Shooter completed his father’s heritage by finishing several songs they had cut together at home when Shooter was 16. He and the .357s cut new tracks behind Waylon’s vocals, giving the songs a future-leaning rock sound that Shooter felt Waylon was striving for.

Completing the album Waylon Forever was for Shooter, he said, a liberating process. It had closed a chapter of his father’s life and opened a new one of his one.

He could be basking in his songwriting accolades, but Jamey Johnson remains a restlessly creative maverick. Johnson is the co-writer of the CMA and ACM 2007 Song of the Year “Give It Away,” recorded by George Strait. Trace Adkins, George Jones and Joe Nichols have also recorded his songs.

“Writing is not enough for me,” says this intense artist. “I did not come here to just be a writer. I live to play….I’m not here to take a stab at it. I am going to DO it.”

Following a deep period of isolation and introspection, Jamey Johnson entered the recording studio in April 2007. Within months, Johnson emerged with That Lonesome Song, a collection of extraordinary compositions that is equally noteworthy for its lyrical craftsmanship and its strikingly original sound.

This unique album was embraced by the music industry as well as music fans. That Lonesome Song was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2008 and appeared on multiple “Best of 2008” lists including Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, SPIN and PASTE. iTunes hailed That Lonesome Song as the Best Country Album of 2008 and Johnson’s hit song “In Color” as the Best Country Song of 2008.

Johnson recently received what he considers the highest honor from his peers by receiving three Grammy nominations. And just this morning, Johnson received four nominations from the Academy of Country Music including Top New Male Artist, Single Record of the Year and as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for “In Color.”

Shooter Jennings and Jamey Johnson join an elite group of performers who have taped CMT CROSSROADS, which pairs country music stars with popular artists from other genres—pop, rock, R&B—to play together, swap stories, and share their common love of music. Previous episodes of CROSSROADS have included Lindsey Buckingham and Little Big Town; Bon Jovi and Sugarland; John Fogerty and Keith Urban; Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire; Joss Stone and LeAnn Rimes; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; and Def Leppard and Taylor Swift.

CMT CROSSROADS is presented by Alltel Wireless, the first title sponsor of the critically-acclaimed series.

CMT CROSSROADS is produced by Tom Forrest and Kathryn Russ. John Hamlin, Margaret Comeaux and Bill Flanagan serve as executive producers for CMT.

For more information on CMT CROSSROADS log on to CMT.com