Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Reminisces On His “Craziest” Nashville Experience
on Nov 20, 2023
Dwayne Johnson recalls living in Nashville at 15 and his unexpected friendship with Chris Janson in a new Instagram post.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has donned various roles in his career, transitioning from a prominent WWE superstar and influential business leader to a highly sought-after Hollywood heartthrob. Throughout his journey, Johnson has surely showcased his talent across numerous diverse fields. However, it appears that in his youth, he wanted to pursue a completely different career centered around music.
Johnson has demonstrated his musical abilities on multiple occasions. While his regular fans are likely familiar with this, they might have overlooked the intriguing backstory related to his musical talents.
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The wrestler-turned-actor shared a distinctive story to his Instagram page Sunday (Nov. 19) about his childhood dream of becoming a country music star.
“I apologize in advance to @thechrisjanson & @officialhankjr for singing in keys that sure as hell don’t exist, but I sing from the heart + I got tequila so that always helps. I got the craziest stories out of Nashville when I was a broke 15yr old kid, hanging out on Music Row looking for a job and drinking (diet coke) in those honky tonk dive bars- with this wild hair of an idea that I was gonna be a country music star.” he wrote.
In the video he shared to his page, Johnson talks about becoming friends with Chris Janson through their similar stories while in Nashville and how to two bonded over their love for country music.
“When I first met Chris a couple years ago, we were talking about my love for country music and he said, ‘Man, I can’t believe you love country.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I love country, raised on country from my old man. But traditional country music, outlaw country music.’”
George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams Jr. were just a few country stars he named as his favorite singers growing up.
“I was telling Chris, I said, ‘I’ve got a crazy story. We’ve got some Nashville ties.’ I lived in the great state of Tennessee three times. When I was 15, I was forced to go to Nashville and I was broke and had no place to live. And I had this idea in my head. I said, ‘I know. I need to do something where I can make money and do something that I love.’ And I said, ‘I’m going to become a country music star. This is Nashville. This is where country music is born out of.’”
Johnson went on to talk about meeting a woman in the grocery store who told him to go down to Music Row to try and get a job. After stopping by a famous bar to ask if he could sing on their stage, Johnson was unfortunately turned away for not having an appointment, guitar, or band.
“It’s the craziest thing and I was telling Chris that. He was asking me then, ‘What songs were you singing back then?’ and I said, ‘I was singing anything I can, but I was singing a lot of Hank Williams Jr.’ When I told him that story, Chris said, ‘Man, that’s crazy. I was just singing “Blues Man” at one of my concerts.’ And just like that, we bonded and we became buddies.”
This story came out after Chris Janson dedicated a song to The Rock, announcing their music collaboration the next year.
“This one goes out to my good buddy, my good friend, Chris Janson. Chris, I saw your post brother. I saw the song that you sang and you dedicated it me, our friendship, our brotherhood and I really appreciate it. You and I have been talking about singing a song together for years now and in 2024, guaran(damn)tee, you and I, we’re going to be singing that song for sure.”
Man right back at ya brother and I appreciate the kind words.
Great to meet you and the family.
We’ll get together in the ‘Ville and hit up our old stomping grounds @tootsiesnet 🥃 and some other lower Broad hangs 🤙🏾 #bluesman https://t.co/d8yR7taP5b— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 15, 2022
Johnson goes on to pour himself a nice glass, giving a toast to both Chris Janson and Hank Williams. He jokingly added, “I apologize to both of you in advance for singing in keys that I’m sure as hell don’t exist. This one is for you,” before sharing a short cover of “The Blues Man.”
See his Instagram post below!
