Living for a Song

Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran
Studio album by Jamey Johnson
Released	October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06)
Genre	Country
Length	53:58
Label	Mercury Nashville
Producer	Buddy Cannon, Dale Dodson
Jamey Johnson chronology
The Guitar Song (2010) Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran (2012) The Christmas Song (2014)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
American Songwriter	[3]
The Austin Chronicle	[4]
The A.V. Club	A– [5]
Entertainment Weekly	B [6]
Mojo	[7]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)	A– [8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Uncut	9/10 [11]

Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Jamey Johnson. It was released in October 2012 via Mercury Nashville on both compact disc and LP record. The album is a tribute to songwriter Hank Cochran. ^[12]

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of AllMusic rated the album 4 stars out of 5, saying that "Johnson doesn't attempt to draw attention to himself, but instead, presents a series of excellent performances of Cochran's songs with himself as an anchor." ^[2] American Songwriter's Stephen Deusner rated it 3½ stars, saying that Johnson and the others involved "treat these songs gingerly, even going so far as to gently re-create the countrypolitan arrangements of the originals. If that makes the album sound overly familiar at times, it also means Johnson never strains to update these songs or argue for their relevance." He criticized the album's length, and thought that it could have used younger artists for variety. Along with strong critical acclaim, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album. ^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Guest vocals	Length
1.	"Make the World Go Away"	Hank Cochran	Alison Krauss	3:04
2.	"I Fall to Pieces"	Cochran Harlan Howard	Merle Haggard	4:42
3.	"A Way to Survive"	Cochran Moneen Carpenter	Vince Gill Leon Russell	3:02
4.	"Don't Touch Me"	Cochran	Emmylou Harris	3:17
5.	"You Wouldn't Know Love"	Cochran Dave Kirby	Ray Price	2:43
6.	"I Don't Do Windows"	Cochran	Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel	3:23
7.	"She'll Be Back"	Cochran Dale Dodson Red Lane	Elvis Costello	2:45
8.	"Would These Arms Be in Your Way"	Cochran Vern Gosdin Lane		3:38
9.	"The Eagle"	Cochran Lane Mack Vickery	George Strait	3:10
10.	"A-11"	Cochran	Ronnie Dunn	2:20
11.	"I'd Fight the World"	Cochran Joe Alison	Bobby Bare	3:25
12.	"Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me"	Cochran	Willie Nelson	5:08
13.	"This Ain't My First Rodeo"	Cochran Gosdin Max D. Barnes	Lee Ann Womack	3:21
14.	"Love Makes a Fool of Us All"	Cochran Glenn Martin	Kris Kristofferson	3:14
15.	"Everything but You"	Cochran Willie Nelson	Vince Gill Willie Nelson Leon Russell	3:34
16.	"Living for a Song"	Cochran Bo Roberts David James Holster	Hank Cochran Merle Haggard Kris Kristofferson Willie Nelson	3:12
Total length:				53:58

Personnel

Musicians

• Bobby Bare – vocals on "I'd Fight the World"
• Ray Benson – electric guitar and vocals on "I Don't Do Windows"
• Zeneba Bowers – violin
• Jim "Moose" Brown – acoustic guitar, piano
• Buddy Cannon – upright bass, background vocals
• Melonie Cannon – background vocals
• Jim Chapman – background vocals
• Hank Cochran – vocals on "Living for a Song"
• Elvis Costello – vocals on "She'll Be Back"
• Chad Cromwell – drums
• Dennis Crouch – upright bass
• Janet Darnell – violin
• David Davidson – violin
• Floyd Domino – piano
• Ronnie Dunn – vocals on "A-11"
• Larry Franklin – fiddle
• Steve Gibson – electric guitar
• Vince Gill – vocals on "A Way to Survive" and "Everything but You"
• Kevin "Swine" Grantt – upright bass
• Jim Grosjean – viola
• Merle Haggard – vocals on "I Fall to Pieces" and "Living for a Song"
• Emmylou Harris – vocals on "Don't Touch Me"
• Stephen Hill – background vocals
• John Hobbs – string arrangements
• Jamey Johnson – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
• Shelby Kennedy – background vocals
• Alison Krauss – vocals on "Make the World Go Away"
• Kris Kristofferson – vocals on "Love Makes a Fool of Us All" and "Living for a Song"
• Red Lane – gut string guitar on "Would These Arms Be in Your Way"
• "Cowboy" Eddie Long – steel guitar
• Kenny Malone – percussion
• Liana Manis – background vocals
• Brent Mason – electric guitar, tic tac bass
• David Miller – bass guitar
• Willie Nelson – acoustic guitar and vocals on "Do You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me)", "Everything but You", and "Living for a Song"
• Stefan Petrescu – violin
• Ray Price – vocals on "You Wouldn't Know Love"
• Carole Rabinowitz – cello
• Mickey Raphael – harmonica
• Sarighandi D. Reist – cello
• Eddie Rivers – steel guitar
• Jason Roberts – fiddle
• Leon Russell – vocals on "A Way to Survive" and "Everything but You"
• John Wesley Ryles – background vocals
• David Sanger – drums
• Hank Singer – fiddle
• Pamela Sixfin – violin
• Joe Spivey – fiddle
• George Strait – vocals on "The Eagle"
• Bobby Terry – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Wei Tsun Chang – violin
• Robby Turner – dobro, steel guitar
• Dan Tyminski – acoustic guitar
• Tommy White – steel guitar
• Kris Wilkinson – string contractor, viola
• Lonnie Wilson – drums
• Karen Winkleman – violin
• Lee Ann Womack – vocals on "This Ain't My First Rodeo"
• Bobby Wood – Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
• Glenn Worf – upright bass

Production

• Shelly Anderson – mastering assistant
• Daniel Baciagalupi – mastering assistant
• Venus Barr – production assistant
• Drew Bollman – engineer
• Paul Bowman – assistant engineer
• Sorrel Brigman – assistant engineer
• Buddy Cannon – producer
• T.W. Cargile – engineer, mixing
• Butch Carr – engineer
• Tony Castle – engineer
• Steve Chadie – engineer
• Dale Dodson – producer
• Leland Elliott – assistant engineer
• Shannon Finnegan – production coordinator
• Angella Grossi – production assistant
• Will Harrison – assistant engineer
• Jonathan Harter – assistant engineer
• Jon Hersey – assistant engineer
• Rob Katz – assistant engineer, engineer
• Charlie Kramsky – assistant engineer
• Andrew Mendelson – mastering
• Seth Morton – assistant engineer
• Willie Nelson – drum triggers
• Chris Owens – assistant engineer
• Matt Rausch – assistant engineer
• David Robinson – assistant engineer
• Jacob Sciba – assistant engineer
• Sam Seifert – engineer
• Brian Wright – executive producer
• Nathan Yarborough – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012) Peak position US Billboard 200 [13] 5 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [14] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [15] 74 Chart (2013) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [16] 71

References

1. "Reviews for Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran by Jamey Johnson". Metacritic . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
2. "Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran - Jamey Johnson - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved October 24, 2018.
3. "Jamey Johnson: Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran". American Songwriter. November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
4. Freeman, Doug (February 22, 2013). "Jamey Johnson - Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran (Mercury)". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
5. Parker, Chris (October 16, 2012). "Jamey Johnson: Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran". The A.V. Club . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
6. Maerz, Melissa (October 17, 2012). "Living for a Song (2012)". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
7. [Hank Cochran's] proven an inspirational figure for honky tonk star Johnson, who's managed to rope in half of Nashville for this revamp of Cochran's songbook. [Feb 2013, p.90]
8. Christgau, Robert (October 16, 2012). "Jamey Johnson/G.O.O.D. Music". MSN Music . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
9. Rosen, Jody (October 16, 2012). "Livin' for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran". Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
10. Keefe, Jonathan (October 15, 2012). "Review: Jamey Johnson, Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran". Slant Magazine . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
11. Though feisty honky-tonk numbers like "I Don't Do Windows" shimmer, the worldweary ballads--especially the Johnson/Alison Krauss duet "Make The World Go Away"--are Sublime. [Feb 2013, p.74]
12. "Jamey Johnson Album, 'Hank Cochran: Living for a Song' Due October 16". The Boot. July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
13. "Jamey Johnson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
14. "Jamey Johnson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
15. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
16. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2020.