Johnny Cash: The Loss of an American Treasure
Louise Tripp
Issue date: 9/23/03 Section: Frontline
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I remember a certain deep voice that would pour out from the radio, or the television set. The dark, mottled voice, rough like gin and cigarettes.
The eyes that seemed both angry and warm at the same time, much like a father-figure or a god. His musical style never quite fit into the genre of "country". It crossed the lines of genre, into blues, rock-and-roll, rockabilly and folk. It was in another league, actually - distinctive and lone, just a guitar and a familiar voice.
Much of Johnny's music focused on rather rebellious topics, too. Angry and unapologetic, he gave voice to the voiceless: prisoners, alcoholics, poor people. It was interesting, and often beautiful.
And there is something innocent, even after all those years, about someone who still walks onstage and introduces himself: "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
A bit of a background on the legend: Cash hailed from Arkansas and wasn't known as "Johnny" until after he had already cut several albums, at the same studio in which Elvis Presley made a name for himself. He learned to play his guitar in the Air Force.
In 1954, he married his first wife, Vivian, and a year later, they had their first child- daughter, Roseanne Cash, who is also a renowned musician.
In the 60's, he played free shows in several large prisons, such as San Quentin, despite the fact that he was already a big name. In fact, he also wrote many songs over his lifetime about prison life, such as the very famous "Folsom Prison Blues".
It was in the same decade that he was forced to battle a drug addiction, which his wife, Vivian left him over, following an accidental overdose and subsequent car crash.
His long time friend, June Carter, helped him recover and find faith; they also fell in love and were married in 1968. It seemed that she was his soul mate- they were together until she died earlier this year, in May.
When one says Cash crossed the lines of genre, it is hard to leave out all the unlikely people he had worked with over the years. Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, etc.
More recently, he cut a handful of albums (The Man Comes Around to name one) of cover songs by bands and vocalists like U2, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave and Depeche Mode and he sang along with Fiona Apple to "Bridge Over Troubled Waters".
So, in retrospect, He also crossed generation gaps as well. The sound of Cash contained some kind of mystique that can only be created by someone who had years of wisdom and rebellion collected in his veins.
But it was the kind of sound that outcasts of all ages and backgrounds could relate to in some one.
Johnny Cash was an artist that generations could agree on musically, which says a lot. Cash is also a piece of our history - our childhood, our home. His music, is still very much mood music for days when the sunshine is coming through open windows and the house smells of pine. And it's much more.
Even in all his darkness-dark clothes, dark voice-the Man In Black was much more like a light in my life and in many others; judging from what I've read on many blogs and live journals in the past week since his passing.
His death has left a gap in the music world that cannot be repaired and he will be deeply missed. However, his music and the person that he was, which has spanned decades, touching so many and influencing the music of so many others, will live on for years to come.
Biographical information courtesy of Yahoo! Launch and http://www.cmt.com.