With his long, bushy beard, hair down to his shoulders, and a voice that can rumble walls, there’s really no mistaking Jamey Johnson. But that hasn’t stopped the country singer from being confused for…another bearded, long-haired country singer.
One time, Johnson even almost made off with his doppelganger’s car at a local Nashville airport.
In a wide-ranging new interview with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, the “In Color” singer and licensed pilot tells the tale.
“Back before the color left my hair, I flew into John Tune airport one night after a show, and I asked them to bring my car around. And they did,” Johnson says. “And they handed me the keys and the tag said ‘Stapleton.’”
Johnson had to document the mix-up and share it with his country twin: “I grabbed a picture of that and sent it to Chris,” he says. “He said he gets the same shit.”
Except for when it comes to getting paid. “Everything but the checks,” Johnson laughs. “They seem to go to the correct place.”
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In this week’s episode of Nashville Now, Johnson also talks about his time serving as a Marine in the military and the 2010 concussion that nearly derailed his songwriting for good.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, and Clever.