Johnny Dailey

Johnny Dailey has been working with his hands for as long as he can remember. Growing up
the son and grandson of Alabama steel workers, he learned how to fabricate and shape
metal; and he also became an expert wood craftsman. “Quality matters to me. Who I am
and where I come from matter, Johnny says.

Johnny’s written many songs and each one is informed by the joys and tragedies of his own
life. He writes about meeting and marrying his wife; about the push-and-pull of wanting to
stay in his small town of Argo, Alabama, or strike out for Nashville; and about the loss of his father.

“When my kids listen to my records when
they’re older, I want them to be proud of who their dad was and be able to hear my life in my
songs,” he says.

To stay centered, he frequently finds himself driving back to Argo to breathe in the air and
check in old friends and co workers. He’s writing songs for them, he says, and he hopes
they can relate and hear his gratitude for the values they helped instill in him while working
shoulder-to-shoulder in the steel shop.

“Every song I write has to have some truth from my life. I’m writing from real life experience
and what I know.”