Johnny Cash
The Man in Black's Musical Journey Continues
From NPR
|
"If the songs are really great, if the writer is good, if the song is really there, if I like it, if I feel like I can do it and make it my song and enjoy it myself, then it's going to be mine." Johnny Cash |
Listen to Part One
of Bob Edwards' report.
Listen to Part Two.
Listen
to an extended version of the report.
Watch an All
Songs Considered presentation on Johnny Cash.
Watch
Johnny Cash
Listen
to The Wanderer
Nov. 6, 2002 -- Johnny Cash's musical journey through the
heart of America began 50 years ago. And though the Man in Black has turned gray
-- he celebrated his 70th birthday this year and has been in ill health -- the
country legend is still going strong musically.
A new CD, The Man Comes Around, finds Cash singing his own songs as well
as those of other artists ranging from the Beatles to Trent Reznor (Nine Inch
Nails). It's Cash's fourth record with hop/metal producer Rick Rubin, with whom
Cash began to collaborate in 1994.
"If the songs are really great, if the writer is good, if the song is
really there, if I like it, if I feel like I can do it and make it my song and
enjoy it myself, then it's going to be mine," Cash tells Morning
Edition host Bob Edwards in an interview at the cabin he uses for a
recording studio on his property in Tennessee.
Cash recalls the first songs he did for Sam Phillips' Sun Records in the 1950s,
backed by Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant -- two mechanics he met in Memphis.
"We started going to each other's house at night and playing music just for
the fun of it. And at one point, we were invited to play at a church... And it
felt good, so we said, 'Let's do some more shows.'" They would play at
movie theaters and other locales around Memphis and the mid-South, Cash says.
He also explains the band's distinctive rhythm that came to be known as his
signature sound -- a train moving down the line. It was the combination of
Perkins laying the heel of his hand on the strings on his Fender Telecaster and
Grant pounding his upright slap bass with "the snare drum side
effect," Cash says.
The result was a unique blend of musical genres. As Edwards reports: "The
first big hit, 'I Walk the Line,' established Cash as a performer who didn't
quite fit the mold of traditional country or the new crowd, the rock 'n'
rollers. Folk, maybe -- or perhaps a category uniquely his own, called
Cash."
Cash admits he's hard to categorize, musically and politically. "Maybe it
is a conscious thing to be all over the place," he says. "A person of
my position and situation is in a position of responsibility, for one thing, to
answer the call for those who need a voice. I'm not saying that I'm the nobleman
to jump up and rally to the call, but sometimes I can remember to."
His famous recordings in -- and about -- prisons added to the Cash mystique. In
1968, Cash actually recorded a live version of his 1955 song "Folsom Prison
Blues" at the California prison by that name.
"Well, my whole thing about recording in prisons was because I thought it
would make an interesting record. I heard that sound of that audience applauding
me in a prison in 1957. And I told my band that day, I said, 'We've got to
record a show at a prison and get that audience response on record.'"
In the interview with Edwards, Cash also touches on the religious influences of
his music, including "The Man Comes Around," the title track of his
new CD, and "Personal Jesus," the 1987 hit by Depeche Mode. "To
me it's a very fine, fine evangelical song, although I don't think that's why it
was written," Cash says. "It's where do you find your comfort, your
counsel, your shoulder to lean on, your hand to hold to, your personal
Jesus."
As for the variety of artists he has covered, Cash says with a laugh:
"Nobody's safe."
Listen to samples of Johnny Cash music:
MP3
PAGE
The Latest
From
Cash's new album The Man Comes Around (Lost Highway Records)
The Classics
"Hey
Porter" (1955)
"Cry,
Cry, Cry" (1955)
"I
Walk the Line" (1956)
"Folsom
Prison Blues" (Recorded live at Folsom Prison, 1968)
"A
Boy Named Sue" (Recorded live at San Quentin Prison, 1969)
"Man
in Black" (1971)
Cash's "I Walk the Line" was selected one of the NPR 100 most
important American musical works of the 20th century.
Listen to an All Things Considered review of two Johnny Cash tribute albums.
Listen to a 1997 Fresh Air interview with Johnny Cash.
Read about Johnny Cash and Sam Phillips at Sun Records.
Read about the influential Carter Family, the "first family" of
country music.
Search for more NPR stories on Johnny Cash.OTHER LINKS FOR CASH
Academy
of Achievement - Johnny Cash, Country Music Legend
Tribute to this singer-songwriter features a profile, a biography, and an
interview with the Man in Black.
Cash,
Johnny - Nashville Songwriters Foundation
Listings from this organization includes career highlights, numerous awards, and
a look at his former occupations.
Cash,
Johnny - NY Rock All-Star Tribute
Otto Luck offers a review of the tribute paid to the Man In Black by numerous
and diverse performers. Includes a RealVideo clip.
Cash,
Johnny - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Read a profile of this music legend, who was inducted in 1992. Includes sound
files and links to other performers.
Cash,
Johnny - Trivia Contest
Test both general and specific knowledge of the life and work of this musician.
Find quiz answers, or link to Cash's official homepage.
Hollywood's
RockWalk - Johnny Cash
Sponsored by Musician Magazine, this dedication to the Man In Black took place
in 1990.
Interview
Magazine - 1-800-TRY-CASH
Read a 1996 interview with the successful country recording artist, Johnny Cash.
Questions are asked by his daughter Rosanne.
VH1.com
- Johnny Cash
Musical legend's biography is filled with booze, drugs, fights and disease. Read
it, as well as news stories on the current state of his career.
Cash,
Johnny - eBay
Look through the Cash collectibles for sale at this auction site and place bids
on CDs, LPs, videos and other items.
|
|||
|
You can purchase The Johnny Cash Discography
at The
Johnny Cash Discography, 1984-1993 The
Johnny Cash Discography The
Johnny Cash Record Catalog |
|||