Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Recalls the Story of How Willie Nelson Gave Him His First Guitar [Exclusive] – Country now

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reveals country icon Willie Nelson gave him his first guitar.

The entertainment icon’s name isn’t usually associated with the country music community, but as he showed during his recent appearance in Chris Janson’s “Whatcha See is Whatcha Get” music video, his The connection with gender is deep.

By the age of eight, Dwayne admits he was singing songs by country music greats like Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr., Merle Haggard, Johnny Yaycheck and Vern Gosdin. When he moved to Nashville as a teenager, his love for country music grew even stronger and he eventually dreamed of becoming a superstar. Even though his career path ended up taking a very different turn, Dwayne still has a great appreciation for the country music community.

How Dwayne ended up on Willie Nelson’s bus

One day, Dwayne found himself at a wrestling match in Texas where Willie Nelson was also filming a music video. The two first met on the “Always on My Mind” singer’s bus and laid the foundation for what would become a true friendship.

“I was a really big fan and we kept in touch. He sent me my first guitar. It’s a Trigger guitar, Martin makes a hundred of them,” Dwayne said. Country now in reference to Nelson’s unique Martin N-20 classica, known as the “Trigger” and which was his instrument of choice for most of his career.

After hearing Dwayne’s story, Chris Janson said he also owned a similar guitar model that gives it a very special memory, as it was signed by another country music legend, Merle Haggard.

“I had never asked any star for an autograph except Merle Haggard and I did it in person, which is not what most people wouldn’t do,” Janson explained during the interview. “It was a gut string, just like Trigger. It was a much cheaper model, but it was my pawn shop guitar that I spent $25 on in 2014 and in 2015 I wrote, “Buy me a boat.” In 2016, I had a number one song with it.

When did Dwayne and Chris Janson’s friendship begin?

Just like when he first met Nelson, “The Rock” and Janson also became fast friends when they unexpectedly met in a parking lot in 2022. The couple explained that they bonded over their days together trying to make it on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, and their love of classic country songs like Hank Williams Jr.’s “The Blues Man.”

This ultimately led to Janson asking Dwayne to help bring his authentic country single to life in a new music video. They filmed the video for “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” in an open field in Texas for two hours and “had a lot of fun” hanging out together.

“We didn’t have to think about timing, schedules, none of that. No one was bothering him or me about where we needed to be, and we needed to be at places in passing, but we didn’t feel like a roadblock or rushed to do it,” Janson explained. “So we got everything we wanted. We got some incredible B-roll footage, we achieved the objective, the mission was accomplished, very quickly and perfectly executed. And I love the video. I’m so proud of it.

Future Plays to perform at the Grand Ole Opry

After seeing how much fun they were having making this project, the friends began thinking of other ways to collaborate in the future and Janson, as an official member of the Grand Ole Opry, invited Dwayne to join in the coveted circle.

“Yes, the Opry performance is going to happen,” Janson confirmed. “It’s going to be a very special moment. And I’ve already, in my heart, planned some things that are going to be really awesome, that coincide with this and make it even more special. Him being basically from Nashville and basically me too, even though I wasn’t born and raised there as an adult, it’s going to be an amazing night…the good news is it won’t just be for the show. It will be about music, friendship and our country. And we will celebrate and we will highlight the things that are important to us. That’s what the Grand Ole Opry is.

Dwayne Johnson may be best known for his time competing in the ring and starring in films, but it’s clear he’s never strayed too far from his country music roots, and soon, we hopefully, he can show it off on the Opry stage.