Cody Johnson has long been an undisputed torch bearer for country music -- since well before his 2019 major label debut "Ain't Nothin' To It." He was one of Texas' biggest stars when he aligned his COJO Music with Warner Music Nashville for a partnership that catapulted the married father of two from Lone Star arenas into the national country music spotlight.

In the four years since "Ain't Nothing To It," Johnson has been a mainstay on national television and awards shows, being named a CMT Artist of The Year and collecting three CMT Music Awards wins, two CMA Awards and more.

Johnson's third major label studio album, "Leather," will be released on November 3 and continues his unflinching dedication to country music's tenets. 

He calls the album "a surprise" for his Warner Music Nashville team as well as his producer Trent Willmon and engineer Jack Clark. The singer, most known for songs including "Til You Can't," "On My Way To You" and "Human," said he had a year and a half of freedom and creativity with no agenda. He wasn't trying to please his record label or country radio and decided to go in on his own and make "Leather." The album is home to songs including his current single "The Painter," which reminded him of his wife, Brandi, along with "Long Live Country Music" (feat. Brooks & Dunn)," "Whiskey Bent" (feat. Jelly Roll)," the album's title track and "Watching My Old Flame," which is so country it reminded Johnson of the George Jones classic, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

Written by Kat Higgins, Wynn Varble and Clint Daniels, "Watching My Old Flame" was inspired by Daniels' experience with divorce.

Johnson said that when Daniels divorced his wife, the couple tried to be civil and still lived together while they straightened out their finances.

"She had already started seeing somebody else," Johnson explained. "He said, 'I watched her go out.' And I'm like, 'Whoa, that is serious. You can't make that up. That's real country music."

But every song on the album isn't a heartbreaker. Johnson recorded more than 12 songs for this project, but he didn't want to release another double album. So, he opted to release 12 now and plans to put out the rest of it later. He chose the current dozen tracks because they are the best representation of how he feels creatively at the moment.

"I want to be able to sing songs that make me feel good … like 'Work Boots,'" Johnson said.

Then he continued: "I want to sing a song that makes you want to pour a glass of whiskey, like 'Double Down.' I want to take you back to where I come from in Texas with 'Dirt Cheap.' I want you to understand how I feel about being a rancher. 'Jesus Loves You' is dark a place that I've never really showed anybody that I have. 'Whiskey Bent' is still in that same vein, and I got to share that song with my new friend Jelly Roll, which is awesome."

He said "Leather" is a cowboy song he thinks George Strait would have recorded in 1995. He explained "People In The Back" is for his Live crowd, that "Long Live Country Music" is exactly how he feels about the genre and that "Make Me a Mop" is a prayer that he'll probably pray every day for the rest of his life.

"This is where Cody Johnson is in his life personally and creatively," he said. "Now, next year, you're going to get the second half and it's going to be the deluxe edition. We'll talk about that Cody then."

He thinks splitting the album in two gives people the opportunity to digest the music.

While Johnson has always waved the country flag, he dove in even deeper with the production on "Leather," wanting his country music to "look, feel, sound, smell, and taste like country music."

"I'm at a point where I'm mature enough, and I'm far enough along in my career where I'm going to go eff it, for lack of a better term," he said. "I'm going to put out what I want to put out. If it's too country for somebody, then maybe they'll come around once the pendulum swings. But I'm starting to see authenticity make a comeback in our genre."

"Leather" Track Listing:

"Work Boots" (Jason Afable, Brett Beavers, Canaan Smith)

"Double Down" (Jeff Hyde, Adam James, Clint Daniels)

"Watching My Old Flame" (Kat Higgins, Wynn Varble, Clint Daniels)

"That's Texas" (Andy Sheridan, Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin)

"Dirt Cheap" (Josh Phillips)

"Jesus Loves You" (Mark Holman, Chase McGill, Michael Hardy)

"Whiskey Bent" (feat. Jelly Roll) (Adam James, Mikey Reaves, Rocky Block)

"Leather" (Ian Munsick, Rivers Rutherford, Jeremy Spillman)

"People In The Back" (Devin Dawson, Austin Taylor Smith, Mark Trussell)

"Long Live Country Music" (feat. Brooks & Dunn) (Phil O'Donnell, Wade Kirby, Trent Willmon)

"The Painter" (Kat Higgins, Benjy Davis, Ryan Larkins)

"Make Me A Mop" (Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Alan Shamblin)