JOHNNY CASH

JOHNNY CASH

Before I write about Johnny Cash, I need to write a little about country music.

 

I think my grandfather played a lot of it, I say think, because there are songs that feel like home to me and he would be the only culprit. And I just don't remember.

 

I am pretty sure he played Johnny, I can see how he would have loved him.

 

Despite that, I would have said I was not a fan of country at all (one of the few genres of music I would wipe completely).

 

I have only admitted to loving country in the past decade...but let's get this straight, cool/edgy country...ok some daggy stuff too! When I look back, of course I have always loved it.

 

I grew up with Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers at home. I loved Dolly - who doesn't? I adore Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson.

 

And when you listen to bands like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul Kelly, Elvis Presley and Bonnie Raitt as I did and still do, you know they have a little country in their backbones.

 

Then there is the new wave of 'alternative' country stars - The Waifs, Kasey Chambers, Norah Jones and the Little Willies, Dixie Chicks, Tex Perkins, Alison Krauss and Steve Earle (not so new).

 

Even Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton John and Elvis Costello have had their country periods. Most folk and blues singers have country in them somewhere, and rock came from there...

 

It's funny how you judge something and not even realise you are judging yourself! Maybe it wasn't cool to like country, but you get to an age where cool just doesn't cut it anymore, you need to own what you like...and I like (NO LOVE) Country...ok not all of it, but a huge enough chunk!

 

And as every good country music lover knows, the king is Johnny Cash. He is country, he is cool, he means business, he's lived those lives he is singing about. And anyone who wears all black is all right with me!

 

I remember discovering he sung Jackson with June.

 

Jackson!!!!!

 

Wasn't that the duet INXS did with Jenny Morris at the Countdown awards many moons ago??? I LOVED that song, well Johnny's is far cooler (sorry Michael) cause you know he meant it!!!

 

I wasn't a huge fan, I knew a lot of his music and listened to it occasionally.

 

Then I got my hands on the American Recordings Albums, his 'comeback' albums with Rick Rubin. Comeback being a bizarre term to use - he never really went away!!! His interpretations were amazing, humbling and often raw (that's how we like Johnny...raw...well, I do anyway!)

Most especially his version of Hurt, formerly sung by Nine Inch Nails. It was beyond powerful - and that was before you saw the clip. You knew he was sick, but how sick I do not think anyone really knew. Trent Reznor has gone on the record as saying Hurt "that song isn't mine anymore" which shows how powerful Johnny's version is.

 

Then wherever you went Johnny was there - in magazines, on charts, in record stores, and a movie coming out about him.

 

He was a star...again...still.

 

And like that, he was gone, 2003, almost ten years now, but it feels like yesterday.

 

I went to see Walk the line with high expectations - they were met and exceeded...a very rare thing indeed. I learnt even more about Johnny Cash, the man. Some of it was not pleasant, some of it just devastating, but mostly you just admired him, his talent and his perseverance. And that love he had for June - wow he had it bad!

 

Johnny Cash is the man, every song a gem and hard to pick which ones I like the best.

 

TRACK FOURTEEN: Ring of Fire

From the beginning the horn section starts, it drags you in. The intensity of his voice, the twang of the guitar and that sharp brass sound - wow! The lyrics match the song, they tell the story of Johnny and June's love and the craziness of it all. A great song.

 

TRACK FIFTEEN: Folsom Prison Blues

A classic track indeed, starting with the famous "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" - as if we didn't know. It's that nod and wink to a small joke. Folsom Prison Blues, whilst tough subject matter, really has this tongue in cheek vibe to it. I love it. great guitar playing, and the rhythm matches that train coming down the track. It's that toe taping beat that makes us enjoy his performance. Check out how he holds his guitar and indeed himself! Oh and those deep, deep notes, and the way he tilts his head for the extra air to get down that low.

TRACK SIXTEEN: Jackson

Classic duet, sung by many over the years, but Johnny and June make it their own. So much so, you would have thought they wrote it about themselves. And it features a favourite line of mine: "Goodbye, that's all she wrote." I use it a lot!!

And while I didn't include this in my compilation, I will include the video here, it is something else: HURT.