Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Deep Appreciation for Country Music

The last decade or so has been a slow and strange awakening to the very unexpected, but also super cool relationship that actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has enjoyed with country music.
It starts back in 2011 when Johnson was announced quite out of the blue as the actor who would portray pioneering country legend Charley Pride in a planned biopic film. And this wasn’t just a lark. As hard as it might be to envision the muscle-bound former professional wrestler playing the legendary country crooner, it was all a go.
“Dwayne is such a force on screen,” Charley Pride said at the time. “It startled me a little at first, but he flew down to Dallas and spent a day with me just sitting, talking recently. And when he left it was like parting with an old friend. We had such similar views on so many things.”
That particular incarnation of the Charlie Pride biopic never got off the ground, but that was just the start of the unveiling of Dwayne Johnson as a massive traditional country fan. Over the years, the popular culture superstar has shouted out some of the most important independent country stars. It was in 2017 when he showered praise upon Cody Jinks right as Cody was starting to make massive waves, and specifically Cody’s song “Somewhere in the Middle.” “These lyrics spoke to me pretty quickly,” Johnson said.
Then in 2019 The Rock doubled down on his country music love of both new legends and old ones.
“Good shit Sunday. As a lifelong fan of country (traditional/outlaw) music, I highly recommend one of my favorite artists, Sturgill Simpson,” Johnson said. “Sturgill, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, Stapleton, Jamey Johnson are a few of my favs who would’ve made Jennings, Merle, Paycheck, Cash, Gosdin and the Possum himself very proud to keep the tradition going. If you know, you know. Now jump in that truck and turn em up. #goodshitsunday #lowerbroad”
Perhaps just as impressive as the names Dwayne Johnson listed off—proving just how deep his knowledge goes of actual country artists from yesterday and today—was the “#lowerbroad” hashtag The Rock concluded his social media missive with.
Of course today, many know Lower Broadway in Nashville as a hellscape of corporate country-themed bars owned and/or named after megastars like Blake Shelton and Florida Georgia Line. But “If you know, you know,” like The Rock said, then you also know the region was once where all the country music legends used to hang out due to its proximity to the Ryman Auditorium, and it’s also where the underground/independent revolution in country music was launched in the 90’s via places like Robert’s Western World and Layla’s Bluegrass Inn.
Dwayne Johnson was born in California, but moved around a lot when he was growing up, living in New Zealand for a while, then in North Carolina, Connecticut, and Hawaii. He then eventually ended up in Nashville, attending both Glencliff High School and McGavock High School. Early in his high school career, The Rock was kind of a miscreant, including during his time in Nashville.
“I grew up loving traditional country, blues and hip hop—but when I was 15 living in a lil’ motel room in Nashville—just me and a buddy of mine—I thought I could be a decent country music singer to make a little money [and] not be broke,” Johnson said in an Instagram post of him posing in front of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Lower Broadway. “A woman heard me singing in a grocery store (true story) and told me I should go down to Broad street and try and sing in one of the honky tonks to get noticed. So that’s what I did. Keep in mind I was 15, but I actually looked 57.”
“One night at a one of country bars, I bought a car from a crackhead for $40 bucks (original agreement was $75:) – and that beat up Thunderbird turned out to be stolen, of course, and about a month later we were forced out of Nashville. Wound up moving to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Bethlehem) where I would FINALLY, get my wayward ass on the right track to become a productive young man.”
Though it’s hard to validate Dwayne Johnson’s story that he once performed at Lower Broadway bars, at about the time he was living in Nashville, Lower Broadway was a fairly seedy place. After the Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium, the area became fairly run down, with adult bookstores and stripper clubs in between the honky tonks and abandoned buildings. It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination that The Rock could have found a stage to sing on no matter his level of proficiency, or a stolen care to buy off a crackhead. We also know Johnson moved to Bethlehem, PA in part to get his life straight after the trouble he found in Tennessee.
“And though my 15yr old dream of become a country music legend, never came true… years later, my buddy – the GOAT Willie Nelson would gift me my very first guitar,” Johnson continues, “which I learned to play pretty well. Didn’t matter anyway because I proudly sing in raspy keys that don’t exist.”
Part black Canadian and part Samoan, the professional wrestler turned action movie hero may not exactly fit the conventional stereotype of a hardcore country music fan. But Dwayne Johnson has proved over the years to know his stuff, from old school legends to today’s most important independent country stars. Country music should be proud to have him in its fandom.
February 20, 2021 @ 11:41 am
The 2007 film The Game Plan gave some hints to this side of The Rock; his character was a big Elvis fan, and he performed an acoustic rendition of “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, which wasn’t half-bad. It’s nice for someone with his platform to promote actual country music artists. If he can stay mostly apolitical and not put off the bulk of traditional country music fans (which he failed to do during the 2020 presidential cycle), he can be a force for good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6MjIPRKcc
February 20, 2021 @ 11:46 am
Also, it is really saying something when the black Canadian/Samoan guy has a more authentic connection to Nashville and country music than every member of Midland…
February 20, 2021 @ 11:54 am
Dwayne Johnson covered a Loretta Lynn song in the movie “Be Cool” in 2005.
February 20, 2021 @ 12:43 pm
He also lists Jones,Strait,Haggard and Willie as his favorites in his book from 2000.
February 20, 2021 @ 12:46 pm
I like this dude a lot. What was he doing in Bethlehem, working in the steel mill? That’ll clear up whatever cobwebs a young man still has in his head.
February 20, 2021 @ 2:42 pm
His family relocated there, I’m guessing his dad was probably working for WWF then
February 20, 2021 @ 1:28 pm
Rock and Steve Austin used to occasionally sing country duets after WWE Raw went off the air for the live crowd as part of their ad lib act before Austin would eventually beat up Rock to send the crowd home happy from about ’98 to ’01. It was funny, entertaining shit.
February 20, 2021 @ 2:40 pm
Rock also learned how to play guitar because he wanted to play “Crazy” because it was one if his favorite songs. His guitar he used to learn on was a guitar Willie Nelson gave him.
February 20, 2021 @ 3:08 pm
Dwayne may have been born in California, but I bet if you asked him, he considers himself a Samoan boy, and I think this probably plays into his love of country music.
He spent time here in New Zealand growing up, and he attended university in Hawai’i. Things are different here, for example Maori and Pacific Islanders LOVE Elvis, whist I believe the black community in the states accuse him of appropriating their music.
I reckon Dwayne would have been exposed to heaps of country music/Elvis etc whilst in NZ in the 1970s. It was what all our parents were listening to!
There’s a fella named Bill Sevesi who was a NZ music icon for 60 years. He was Tongan and introduced NZ and the pacific islands to Hawai’ian pedal steel. In 1949 he first recorded with a country music star called Tex Morton.
I’d be not be surprised if Dwayne was a fan of his, and it may have influenced him too?
Anyway, just super cool to know a Polynesian is digging country music! Good on him.
https://e-tangata.co.nz/arts/bill-sevesi-a-lifetime-sailing-on-an-ocean-of-music/
February 20, 2021 @ 4:43 pm
I know that Marty Robbins loved Hawaiian music and was heavily influenced by it – he fought in the pacific islands in World War Two. According to Wikipedia ” To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs,[7] and came to love Hawaiian music.” There’s more about it in ‘Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins by Diane Diekman’. He did some Hawaiian music albums as well for example: “Song of the Islands”, “Hawaii’s calling me”, “Island Woman”.
February 20, 2021 @ 10:20 pm
Just a clarification, Dwayne attended the University of Miami. I don’t see anything of him attending Hawaii.
February 21, 2021 @ 7:17 am
Also, when he lived in Hawaii, he was also tearing up the m-i-c as MC Skyy from the Union of Styles Crew!!
February 20, 2021 @ 5:30 pm
The face to say, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson knows good country music.
February 20, 2021 @ 5:41 pm
Thanks for that, likestorambleonman! I googled it and Marty was based in The Solomon Islands, which is right between Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. My grandfather (who was a kiwi) was based in New Caledonia … I thought for a second there maybe he was hanging out with Marty Robbins!!
Yeah, I love these stories of how music is really so global and influences are pulled from everywhere. I always think of country music as ‘American’ music, however, it’s really influenced by Irish music, Hawai’ian music, African music … .etc etc ets, isn’t it?
My boyfriend is the band leader of an alt-country band, and he runs a rehearsal space here in NZ. He’s been having a few gorgeous Pasifika female singers through his space lately. I’m gonna talk to him about maybe getttng one of them onboard to sing in his band. Could make for some sweet, sweet music, right?
February 20, 2021 @ 6:15 pm
This is him getting himself out there. Been reading alot about this the past couple of weeks. He’s readying himself for a run in 2024 on the republican ticket. Would probably win too.
February 20, 2021 @ 7:22 pm
I would probably vote for him if he ran (though I’m not a fan of celebrities getting to deep into politics), and also, he endorsed Biden in 2020 so it’s unlikely that he would run against him.
February 21, 2021 @ 3:57 am
Or you’ve been reading about it because he has a show on NBC based on his life growing up and its called promotion
February 25, 2021 @ 3:39 pm
He’s too good of a person to get mixed up in politics.
February 20, 2021 @ 9:08 pm
Hey Trigger. You still doing OK over there in Texas? I know things have been hard but I see it’s warmed up.
Sure hope no music venues were seriously damaged in the event.
February 20, 2021 @ 11:08 pm
Thanks for checking in John. I got pretty lucky. Aside from losing primary internet for five days and a couple of frozen pipes that luckily didn’t burst, I’ve come out unscathed. Many other folks were not so lucky. I haven’t heard of any major damage at venues, but most are still shut down anyway due to COVID, and are hanging on for dear life anyway. It’s hard to know who will be left once everything returns to normal.
February 20, 2021 @ 10:08 pm
Who’s watching “Young Rock” on NBC Tuesday’s at 8pm??
#NBC_Marketing #MustSeeTV
We Peacock Comedy,
The More You Know
February 20, 2021 @ 10:09 pm
* Perhaps country music inspiration will take place on the series in some form
February 21, 2021 @ 2:33 am
you have such great taste in music Duane. like alot of the people you like too
February 21, 2021 @ 2:44 am
While his movies generally aren’t my cup of tea, he’s always impressed me with his work ethic. No idea how he’ll turn out playing Charley Pride, but I’m sure he’ll give it his best effort and it’ll be an accurate and respectful portrayal.
February 21, 2021 @ 8:22 am
Just to clarify, the iteration of the Charley Pride biopic where Dwayne Johnson plays Charley Pride never went forward. There is a new biopic in the works, and the lead has yet to be announced.
February 22, 2021 @ 2:54 pm
Re: Johnson not playing Pride. I gladly stand corrected.
February 21, 2021 @ 6:18 pm
You didn’t like him as the Scorpion King, in The Mummy Returns? : D
Love The Mummy movies.
February 21, 2021 @ 12:24 pm
I always thought “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth” would have made a good
name for a Hank Jr or Paycheck song.
Good on The Rock.
Glad you’re okay, Trig.
February 21, 2021 @ 4:16 pm
The rock get the country music from his father side cause in nova Scotia there alot of country music being played..