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American singer

Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of country music's most successful male artists, recording a string of hit songs, such as "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me," "Desperado," "Down on the Rio Grande" and "Foolin'." He has recorded six No. 1 country hits in his career.

Rodriguez was born in Sabinal, Texas, situated 90 miles from Mexico. He was the second youngest in a family of 10 children living in a four room house. Growing up in Sabinal, Rodriguez was a good student in school and an altar boy for his church. He was also the captain of his junior high school football team. When Rodriguez was 16 years old, his father died of cancer, and his older brother, Andres, died in an automobile accident the following year. The two incidents had an effect on Rodriguez and he became a troubled teen. In 1969, at age 18, Rodriguez ended up in jail. He sang frequently in his cell and was overheard by Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, who was impressed and told promoter "Happy" Shahan about him. (The common story told is that he was arrested after he and some friends were caught stealing and barbecuing a goat, although Jackson would later state that Rodriguez was in jail simply for an unpaid fine.) Shahan then hired Johnny to perform at his local tourist attraction called the Alamo Village. In 1972, Rodriguez was voted the 'Most Promising Vocalist' by the Academy of Country Music. The next year, he achieved his first No. 1 hit song, "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me." In October 1999, he was acquitted of murder by a jury. In 1993, he recorded an album for Intersound Records called Run For the Border. In the mid 1990s, the indie label High Tone released his album, You Can Say That Again. He continued to tour around the country during this time. In 1996, he turned to another label, Paula Records, which issued "One Bar At a Time", but it was unsuccessful. By this time his musical presence was fading from the public view.

Since 1998, Rodriguez has toured the United States and further afield including Switzerland, Poland, UK, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. He has performed concerts at the Ryman Auditorium and Carnegie Hall. Rodriguez continues to tour and record new material, performing dates in the United States and Canada. In 2012, he released his first live album, Johnny Rodriguez: Live from Texas.

Rodriguez has been honored by three U. S. presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He played at George H. W. Bush's inaugural ball. On August 18, 2007, Rodriguez was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, located in Carthage, Texas. On October 23, 2010, Rodriguez received the Institute of Hispanic Culture Pioneer Award, in recognition of his accomplishment as the first major Hispanic singer in country music.

Rodriguez was first married to Linda Diann Patterson, a Southern Airways flight attendant from Conyers, Georgia. His second marriage was in 1995 to Lana Nelson, daughter of country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson. That marriage lasted seven months. His most recent marriage was to Debbie McNeely, a hair salon owner from San Marcos, Texas, in 1998, with whom he had a daughter, Aubry Rae Rodriguez born in April 1998.