Reba McEntire has joined Cody Johnson to turn his new single, “Dear Rodeo,” into a duet. Cody wrote the song as a very personal tribute to his previous career in bull-riding, but the song struck a chord with Reba, who grew up on a family ranch competing in barrel racing.
Reba said, “It was a thrill to get to sing ‘Dear Rodeo’ with Cody because we’re both from the rodeo world. 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.”
Cody said, “The story behind ‘Dear Rodeo’ is more a story about life and less about rodeo. 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 . . .”
“Dear Rodeo” is featured on Cody’s major-label debut album, Ain’t Nothin’ To It, which was released in January of 2019.