When Robby Johnson came to Nashville to cut a couple of songs, he never imagined that he’d end up in the recording studio as a full-fledged artist with six of his own tunes on the project and then shooting a music video with director Ryan Smith (My Kinda Party). But life works in amazing ways sometimes, as Robby proves.

 

After high school, he took a job in a manufacturing plant. The equipment noise was deafening, but against the 110-decibel background levels, Robby could sing as loud as he wanted to on his shifts. His destiny finally took form one Christmas when he received a paid demo session as a present. The experience changed him forever. It was the first time he realized his voice might be special and that his songs could affect those who heard them. In 2012, Robby decided to come to Nashville and cut more songs. So strongly did he believe in his dream that even when the company where he worked as a manufacturers’ sales rep refused to give him time off, he took a leap of faith and moved to Nashville.

 

In Nashville, Robby was introduced to renowned studio musician/producer Jimmy Nichols by Tom Roach, who was amongst the first believers. Jimmy was brought in to oversee arrangements, but when he recognized the potential of Robby’s talent, Nichols turned to Grammy and multi-award-winning songwriter/guitarist Frank Myers (“I Swear,” “I’m Already There,” “Tomorrow”) and together they started helping Robby find his way through Nashville’s Music Business. “The minute we started working with Robby, we threw out the rule book,” says Nichols. “Everything was so different with him from the beginning. He has the makings of a true artist.” Echoes Myers, who likens Robby’s sound. “He definitely has the ‘it factor.’ I really believe Robby has the potential to fill a void right now in country music.”

 

Their work paid off as one of the songs they had recorded, “South Of Me”, broke the Top 20 on US country radio charts, a rare accomplishment for an independent artist. Even more unbelievable is when Robby was invited to perform the single on the LATE SHOW with David Letterman. Its music video was Top1 on CMT’s 12 Pack Country Countdown several weeks in a row. This unprecedented success opened the doors to incredible collaborations for Robby’s first album. Legendary producer James Stroud stepped in and helped Robby gather songs from Nashville’s top songwriters including Luke Laird, Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson, Shane McAnally, and Sam Hunt just to name a few. As an added treat, country music giant, Vince Gill, plays an electrifying guitar solo on one of Robby’s songs titled “I Ain’t The Guy.” Upon release, Robby’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ debut album was a People Pick in the popular People Magazine. Two of its songs broke the Top 30 and the music video for the power ballad “Together”, which gathered more than 2 million views, also aired on both CMT and GAC.

 

Robby’s music has been featured on Sirius XM The Highway, CMT, GAC, the Crook & Chase Countdown, Country Top 40 with Fitz, and has earned him major media, including the LATE SHOW with David Letterman, FOX’s Huckabee, USA Today, People Magazine, Country Weekly, Rolling Stone Country,  Music Row Magazine, The Boot, TV Guide, and The Tennessean.