In rodeo parlance, Cody Johnson and Reba McEntire are team roping.
Cody and Reba have joined forces for a new duet, “Dear Rodeo.”
Penned by Cody and Dan Couch, the original version of “Dear Rodeo” is featured on Cody’s 2019 major-label debut album, Ain’t Nothing To It. The tune is a personal one for Cody, who spent many years riding rodeo bulls. The native of Sebastopol, Texas, gave up his quest to be a world champion, but he’s never gotten over his love of the sport.
The song struck a chord with Reba, who grew up on her family ranch in Oklahoma competing in barrel racing.
“It was a thrill to get to sing ‘Dear Rodeo’ with Cody because we’re both from the rodeo world,” says Reba. “I grew up in a rodeo family, I’m a third-generation rodeo brat. So the song means a lot to me because I did leave rodeo to be in the country music business. I sure miss it.”
“The story behind ‘Dear Rodeo’ is more a story about life and less about rodeo,” says Cody. “I feel like everybody has their own ‘Dear Rodeo’ story and when I found out that Reba was impacted by this song enough to want to do a duet, it was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my career. Reba adds a certain level of authenticity to this song that makes it so special. I love it when people sing songs about rodeo and cowboys, but there’s a little bit of a different feel when you know that somebody can walk the walk they’re talking. Neither one of us has a problem saying ‘Hey, this is where I come from, you can check the credentials, we’ve got the scars to prove it.’ I think that the honesty is really going to speak to people, and hopefully we can help people with this song.”
Listen Cody and Reba sing “Dear Rodeo” below.
