Cody Johnson and  Carrie Underwood have a Top 25 hit with “I’m Gonna Love You.” The song, from Johnson’s latest  Leather Deluxe Edition album, was written by Travis Denning, Kelly Archer and Chris Stevens in 2016, taking years for the song to come to life.

Ironically, Denning, who had signed his own record deal at the time, asked Underwood to sing with him on it, though she, very politely, declined. He also asked if she wanted to release it on her own.

“I thought it was a beautiful song, but I felt like it might be better for a male artist to sing,” Underwood tells Billboard. “Plus it didn’t really fit with the direction of where my new album at the time was going.”

“They gave me the nicest answer of ‘no’ ever,” Denning recalls of when she turned down his offer of a collaboration.

Denning still had hopes of releasing it on his own, but when his own plans were altered by the pandemic, he finally agreed to let Johnson have it.

Produced by Trent Willmon, it’s Vince Gill who does the guitar solo, but the Country Music Hall of Fame member wasn’t sure it would make it into the song.

“He was out on tour with the Eagles, and it took him a minute to get to it,” Willmon remembers. “He played that solo, and it’s funny. He leaves this message: ‘Hey, T man, I just played what I felt like it needed, and if you don’t use it, I’m fine with it. It wouldn’t be the first time Carrie Underwood fired me.’ ”

“I’m Gonna Love You” sounds like a classic love song, but the three writers worked hard to make the song’s lyrics make sense for more than just a couple.

 

“We wanted to make sure that it was not only for your significant other, but to your children, to anybody you love, to your parents, whoever,” Archer says.

As a testament to the vocal ability of both Johnson and Underwood, the vocals heard on the song were sung mostly live, although that wasn’t the original plan. Johnson had already recorded his vocals when Underwood came in to sing hers, and they both agreed that the song was missing something, with Underwood pinpointing what the song needed.

“She’s like, ‘I think we should sing it live. Let’s just go in and sing it live together.’ So, glass between the two microphones. Well now, we’re singing in church,” Johnson recounts..

“What you hear on the record, that’s a live take … that’s a live version,” he adds.  “It was weird because that was the first time Carrie and I ever sang together, and it was perfect family harmony. I think that speaks to the caliber of vocalist that she is, really.”

It was also Underwood who picked the key for “I’m Gonna Love You,” with Johnson leaving that decision up to her.

“We found a spot right in the middle to where she could really do something that she doesn’t normally get to do,” Johnson explains. “It’s that soulful, sultry, sexy kind of low end thing, and it left my vocal right in the middle, it blended better with the harmonies, but she still gets to show off who she is.”

“I’m Gonna Love You” was supposed to be on Johnson’s first Leather album. But Underwood wasn’t ready for it to come out, so he waited, and is now glad that the love song ended up on Leather Deluxe Edition instead.

“We couldn’t put it on the first part, and that killed me, because I was like, ‘I want the world to hear this,” Johnson admits. “But in retrospect, I think it turned out better to wait. I gave this second Deluxe Edition just a little bit more flair. I don’t think it would have been as special if it had been on the first part.”

Find “I’m Gonna Love You” at CodyJohnsonMusic.com.