That's right, Saving Country Music wipes off that old feature and offers a different name from the modern era of country music badasses in Cody Jinks after its most recent run in recent years has made it one of the most formidable names in the independent country.
If you want to see more names on this series:
1. To be awarded platinum as the first independent country artist of the modern era
Before 2020, we didn't even think it was possible for independent country music artists to get those gold and platinum records to hang on the walls with the names of the superstars. That changed when Tyler Childers received a Certified Gold single from the RIAA for his song "Feathered Indians" for sales and streaming equivalents of 500,000 units.
Cody Jinks was right behind Tyler, coining Certified Gold Singles for the songs "Loud and Heavy" and then "Hippies & Cowboys". But then, on September 15, 2020, Cody Jinks took on even more when Loud and Heavy went on PLATINUM for sales and streaming equivalents of 1 million units – the first independent country artist to do so in modern times.
No mainstream radio play, no big awards show appearances, no significant industry help, and Cody Jinks had a certified smash hit song. It speaks to the power of Cody Jinks' music and the devotion of his fans.
2. Turning off on Sam Hunt
Sam Hunt released a terrible song in 2020 that sampled the Webb Pierce classic "There Stand The Glass". Cody Jinks accidentally caught a whiff of it and left. The funny thing is, he didn't even know it was a Sam Hunt song. All he knew was that it was terrible.
"I guess I'm just behind the times, I can't keep up with what's going on on mainstream radio for each format," Cody began in a Facebook message letter. “I turned this shit off years ago when I heard how bad the big market stations from almost every genre were giving in to big labels and playing rubbish. Trash rock, trash country, trash R&B, trash metal, etc. I don't make fun of people singing about record labels, I just chose not to be one of those people, cool.
“But I waited at the dentist's office today and they had a pop country station. That's fine, but I thought if the iconic Webb Pierce song "There Stands The Glass" came on, there might be a ray of sunshine. Then the rehearsal started and I heard the biggest piece of shit I've heard in a long time. I didn't know who it was, but I was mad. So much so that my blood pressure went up and the dental staff had to wait for it to go down again to start with me. For God's sake, please stop putting classic country samples into crappy songs. It's not an homage, it's a slap in the face. "
3. Share a Magum Opus in Adobe Sessions
If you want to make an indelible mark on the world as a music artist, you need an album that anyone can point out, that has become almost universal, and that time has confirmed its importance and appeal. Cody Jinks got this album in what many people consider his masterpiece, the 2015 Adobe Sessions. It was the success of that record that really kicked off Cody Jinks' career and made him an independent country hero.
If you look back on the album's tracklist today, and songs like "Cast No Stones," "Mamma Song," and what turned out to be the 2015 Saving Country Music Song of the Year, "David," it really speaks volumes the depth of Cody Jinks as a songwriter and artist, not just as a stocky, bearded performer who can put on a hell of a live show.
Adobe Sessions is one of those albums that you think you will be hearing in 50 years or more.
4. Earn Randy Travis' Ring Endorsement
Country music may have lost one of its most iconic voices when Randy Travis suffered a stroke in 2013 and Randy aphasia. But he still lets his feelings flow about who he thinks will take the country music torch forward.
On January 25th at Heritage Hall in Ardmore, Oklahoma – shortly after Jinks performed "Diggin 'Up Bones" – Randy Travis surprised Cody Jinks himself by stepping on stage. Accompanied by his wife, Mary Davis, Randy personally thanked Cody Jinks when Jinks humbly took off his hat and the crowd began to sing together: "Randy! hot! Hot!"
Then Mary Davis told the assembled crowd, “(Remember) when George Jones said, 'Who's going to fill your shoes?' He said Randy Travis. And I just want to tell you tonight if people ask us who is going to follow in Randy Travis' footsteps, (it's) Cody Jinks. "
And that's not all. In Randy's autobiography, he also mentions Cody Jinks and says, “In addition to working with various charities and charitable groups, Mary and I continue to go out to hear other artists, both the music we love and our fellow artists to encourage, ”writes Randy on the last page of the book. "I especially enjoy encouraging some of the new country stars like Cody Jinks and others."
Great endorsements from a Country Music Hall of Famer
5. Sell out Red Rocks & The Ryman
It's one thing to stir up a huge fan base across the country and around the world and get an album to the top of the charts in debut week. Getting a bum in the seats in some of the music's biggest and most iconic venues is quite another. Cody Jinks did both.
On October 22 and 23, 2017, Cody Jinks not only held court at the Mother Church of Country Music, also known as The Ryman Auditorium, right in the belly of the Nashville Beast, he was also sold out for two consecutive nights – a performance that seen by many as a rite of passage for a country star.
But even that feat was dwarfed when Cody sold out the iconic Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado on July 13, 2019, filling each of the venue's nearly 10,000 seats. Sure, many others have done this over the years, but few have done so without the support of radio or industry.
"People like us who said 'Fuck You' to the music industry don't play places like that," said Cody Jinks from the stage. “But we are very sincerely grateful that you all came out. This place is a place on the bucket list for anyone who makes a living from it. "
Jinks also had a professional sound crew on hand and eventually released his Red Rocks set as a live album.
6. Help emerging artists
Jordan Foster and Cody Jinks
So many artists around Cody Jinks will testify of how he helped grow their fan base and launch their careers by performing with them either in the studio or on stage. In addition to artists like Ward Davis, Sunny Sweeney, Tennessee Jet, Paul Cauthen, Josh Morningstar and many others, Cody is a guest on Tracks by People like Casper McWade.
Perhaps the best example of this was in July 2019. Somerset, Kentucky-based singer and songwriter Jordan Foster was playing a show at Champions Sports Bar & Grill in Richmond, Kentucky when Cody Jinks walked in the door. Jinks was in town playing a few shows at the Center for the Arts at Eastern Kentucky University a few blocks away and stopped by for a drink after his show.
A huge Cody Jinks fan, Jordan Foster was shocked when Cody Jinks emerged from the crowd and started singing with him as he sang the old Waylon Jennings standard "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand." . Jinks stayed until the end of Jordan's show and then invited Jordan to hang out with him on the bus, where Jinks asked to hear some of Jordan's recorded material. Cody Jinks was so impressed with the Jordan and his music that he invited him to open the show with his band the next night.
"The crowd went crazy with all of my songs and even gave us standing ovations," says Jordan Foster. "When I got off the stage, Cody was waiting for me and said, 'Turn around man, they stand up for you!' It was a great experience."
That speaks for the character of Cody Jinks (Read the full story).
7. Always show respect for songwriters
Considered one of the finest country songwriters of our time, Cody Jinks wrote many of his early hits himself. But he has also drawn on the services of co-writers over the years, particularly on some of his more recent albums. And just like he uses the attention he's been given to shed light on other performers, Cody Jinks also makes sure he highlights his songwriters.
At a time when it seems difficult or impossible to find the names of the songwriters, Cody Jinks has set up a feature on his website where you can not only find the songwriters and contributors for each song, but often the story behind it as well Song.
Some of the songwriters Cody Jinks worked with on the new records are familiar names to Cody fans such as Ward Davis, Tennessee Jet, Paul Cauthen, Rebecca Jinks, and Josh Morningstar, along with other names that some may recognize, such as Larry Hooper , Casper McWade, Jamie Richards, Jaida Dryer and Jamey Johnson guitarist and songwriter Chris Hennessee.
8. # 1 in album sales for two separate albums in consecutive weeks
In the fall of 2019, Cody Jinks surprised everyone when he first unveiled a new album called After The Fire and then revealed that he had a second album called The Wanting that he would release a week later. Following the release of the two albums at the time, Cody Jinks made country history by coining two separate albums released in consecutive weeks that both became # 1 in album-only sales.
Both After The Fire and The Wanting sold around 12,500 pure albums – pretty unprecedented for any independent artist or any other artist during the streaming era. Both albums also garnered enough streams to land at # 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and # 3 in album-only sales in all music.
It was another notch in his belt and another record for Cody Jinks.
9. Show respect for heroes
Cody Jinks with the real hero Johnnie Langendorff
The loyalty to Cody Jinks from his closest fans called "Flockers" comes from being such a worker hero. When he's on stage, Cody Jinks doesn't feel like a superstar. He feels like one of them.
But Cody Jinks always took the time to show respect for real life heroes as well. On Veteran's Day 2017, Cody Jinks played in front of a packed crowd at the Roundup in Boerne, TX near San Antonio. Guests of honor of the evening were service members of VFW Post 688 in Boerne, members of the Cody’s Flockers fan club bought VIP tables for the veterans and their families, and the event helped raise funds for the local VFW chapter.
But that was not all. In addition to meeting up with plenty of veterans, Cody Jinks also hung out with Johnnie Langendorff, another hero some may remember as a lanky cowboy who drove past a 2017 mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, and saw a aa Guy named Stephen Willeford exchanged shots with the crowd shooter and eventually picked up Willeford and chased the shooter until the shooter crashed and the police arrived.
10. Say "Fuck Nashville, we're starting our own damn club"
Cody Jinks took part in the Tailgate N ’Tallboys music series in Peoria, Illinois on July 21, 2018 and had a few words for Music City. Cody Jinks is usually a man of few words on stage. He lets his music speak. But after Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Ward Davis, and Paul Cauthen sang together during Cody's set, the normally non-talkative Cody Jinks broke out:
"Is not that funny? See, this is shit you saw in the '70s when all those motherfuckers out there sang and played, played and sang and recorded each other's songs. We bring that back! We said, 'Fuck Nashville, we're starting our own goddamn club.' "
And Cody Jinks did.
Bonus # 11 – Support the Steel Woods after the tragedy
Country and Southern rock band The Steel Woods made their first live appearance after the tragic death of guitarist and founding father Jason "Rowdy" Cope on January 16 at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, and one of the The band's closest friends were in the process of offering his support.
Lead singer Wes Bayliss, bassist Johnny Stanton and drummer Isaac Senty decided to move on with the blessings of Rowdy's family and the wishes of Rowdy. Rowdy died unexpectedly of complications with diabetes. Guitarist Tyler Powers has been named as the successor to Rowdy.
In addition to being there to cheer and offer his support, Cody Jinks took the stage to sing Merle Haggard's classic "Are The Good Times Really Over" with the band.
