Johnny Bulford and Friends

When you grow up in a family with a rich musical history and influence you can’t escape the impact it has in your life and Johnny Bulford is no stranger to the world of music. Some of that rich history goes back to his granddad, LeRoy Davis, who toured Paris in the 30s while in a jazz band. Like a scenario out of one of your favorite books, Davis whistled on the ship to pay for his passage over to the City of Lights when he was just 20 years old. He along with his 9 brothers influenced all of the family with their gift of music and talent to play just about any instrument. With an upbringing like that it was no wonder Bulford would follow the very talent that coursed through his veins from the previous generations.

 The pivotal moment that changed this love and passion of the art into something more of a career occurred at age 12, when Bulford attended a Garth Brooks concert and recalls telling his mom, “Thats what I want to do”. Shortly after he picked up a guitar, learned to play and began honing his craft and focus onto songwriting. By the age of 15, Johnny was quite busy, performing all over Central Florida, landing opening act spots for artists such as Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Gretchen Wilson and Tracy Lawrence as they brought their tours to his home state; even gigging as far north as Alabama, all the while releasing his first independent album “Southern Thing”.

  As he continued writing and later releasing another independent album “Livin It Up” (2009), Johnny landed his first album cut on Chris Young’s third studio album “Neon” (2011) with “Flashlight” (written by Bulford, Young and Robert Arthur). Shortly after Johnny secured his first #1 hit with Lee Brice’s “A Woman Like You” with fellow co-writers Jon Stone and Phil Barton. This game-changing moment for Bulford took him right into a full circle moment at the 42nd Annual Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner where he was honored for “A Woman Like You” standing on stage in close proximity to his idol Garth Brooks. By 2014, “Lonely Eyes” a single written by Bulford, Jason Matthews and Laura Veltz was cut by Young and released on his fourth studio album “A.M.” which later rose all the way to #2 on the country charts. Bulford has continued to amass cuts over the years with Young including album cut “What If I Stayed” (2015), title track “It Must Be Christmas” (2016) and “Holiday” which he co-wrote with Young and the artist cut on his 2017 “Losing Sleep” album. Bulford was even invited to play “Lonely Eyes” on the famed Ryman Stage with Young during the 5th Annual YPO Southern 7 “Evening At The Ryman” in 2015.

Johnny continues to pen hits as well as perform at writers rounds in and around Nashville and writers festivals and events worldwide. While Nashville is where he currently resides, Florida is never far from Bulford’s mind stating, “I’d really love to land a record deal, I want to get my own single on the radio. And maybe one day come home to play the Amway Arena. Not in a ‘Hey, how do you like me now’ type of way, but more ‘Hey guys, we did it!’ way. It’s been a long journey so it would be nice to bring it back home.”

Source: Official Website