Jeg må nok stå frem som en Johnny Cash-digger også [:I][:I][:I]
...det begynte allerede pre-Bob...
Interessant artikkel i
dagens USA Today (ja, jeg ér avisoman).
Even in death, Man in Black looms large
Cash maintained a keen interest in his legacy,
handpicking Joaquin Phoenix to play him
in the biopic Walk the Line. Both icon and iconoclast, Johnny Cash began his career as a tormented superstar possessed of a black-clad, James Dean cool. He ended it as a soft-spoken sage who showed future generations of musicians how to stare down age and death with dignity.
Cash could make hardened prisoners rise to their feet with a line about shooting a man in Reno "just to watch him die," yet he could fall to his knees and pray with Billy Graham. A country singer whose authenticity appealed to generations of rock 'n' rollers, Cash counted Bob Dylan and Richard Nixon among his friends. He made fans of children even into his 70s.
Cash tapped into so many streams of the American myth — self-made man, gold-hearted rebel, champion of the underdog — that he became Everyman, not because he was like just any man, but because he was like all of them.
"Wherever you get on the Johnny Cash train, just keep going," says singer Marty Stuart, Cash's former son-in-law and next-door neighbor. "There's a whole lot more to him than what you see."
These days, there's a lot to see and hear. With the new movie Walk the Line, an upcoming TV special and a lavish CD box set, Cash is shaping up as towering a figure in death as he was in life. The singer's estate earned $7 million last year, propelling him onto Forbes magazine's list of top-earning dead celebrities.
Her er USA Todays rating av hans viktigste sanger... (nnei, såpass oversikt har jeg ikke at jeg skal begynne å argumentere denne listen...)...
USA TODAY's Ken Barnes examines Cash's key songs and how they illuminate his complex characterSong Date Country chart peak Pop chart peak Revelation
Cry, Cry, Cry 11/55 14 n/a First single, 50 years ago, had all the timeless Cash-sound elements in place.
Folsom Prison Blues 2/56 4 n/a Cold-blooded as any rapper, yet still sends a poignant message in remorse code.
I Walk the Line 6/56 1 17 Cash for the ages, trying to stay true on a tightrope through a burning ring of fire.
Ballad of a Teenage Queen 1/58 1 14 Sweet tale of teen devotion shows off his sentimental side.
Don't Take Your Guns to Town 1/59 1 32 First in a long line of tragic gunfighter ballads.
I Still Miss Someone '59 B-side n/a n/a Aching loss expressed with simple eloquence worthy of Hank Williams.
Tennessee Flat Top Box 12/61 11 84 Irresistible stardom mythmaking; might have been part Elvis, maybe part Cash.
Busted 4/63 13 n/a Months before Ray Charles made Harlan Howard's song a crossover classic, Cash evoked the country side of destitution.
Ring of Fire 6/63 1 17 Co-written by his future wife, an immortal depiction of love's dangerous temptations.
Understand Your Man 2/64 1 35 An early admirer of Bob Dylan, Cash borrowed the tune and structure of Don't Think Twice for this hit.
The Ballad of Ira Hayes 7/64 3 n/a Then he stepped into the protest ring with this bitter commentary about a Native American war hero.
It Ain't Me Babe 10/64 4 58 And then he took a Dylan song into the country top 5, months before The Turtles made it a pop hit.
Orange Blossom Special 2/65 3 80 Most prominent of a series of train songs in which Cash personified the voice of a vanishing America.
The One on the Right Is on the Left 2/66 2 46 Pointed political commentary disguised as humorous novelty.
Jackson 3/67 2 n/a The quintessential Johnny 'n' June duet, hotter than a pepper sprout but underlaid with affection.
Folsom Prison Blues (live) 6/68 1 32 The modern-day icon arrived with this remake of the prisoner's lament recorded at its titular institution.
Daddy Sang Bass 12/68 1 42 A lighthearted but heartfelt glimpse at the spiritual side of Cash.
A Boy Named Sue 7/69 1 2 A lighthearted, witty novelty that became his biggest pop hit, but thankfully not his enduring legacy.
What Is Truth 4/70 3 19 At the peak of his popularity, Cash reached out to disaffected youth and perpetuates his last-honest-man image.
Sunday Morning Coming Down 7/70 1 46 The ultimate song of bleak regret the morning after.
Man in Black 3/71 3 58 Casting the Cash image in stone.
Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues 6/71 18 n/a From personal experience (on a morale tour), a plea for peace.
Ragged Old Flag 4/74 31 n/a And a display of unabashed love for America and its traditions.
One Piece at a Time 4/76 1 29 The humorous side strikes again, with a sly shaggy-car tune about acquiring your dream ride the hard way.
Far Side Banks of Jordan '76 album track n/a n/a Spiritual duet with June, even more poignant when re-recorded in 1999 for June's Press On album with its theme of love surviving death.
Without Love 1/81 78 n/a A nifty slice of new-wave rockabilly written and produced by son-in-law Nick Lowe.
The General Lee 4/82 26 n/a Ominous sign of career floundering: cutting a song from the point of view of the car from The Dukes of Hazzard.
The Chicken in Black 7/84 45 n/a Ominous sign No. 2: parodying his defining iconic number, even if it was kind of amusing.
Highwayman 5/85 1 n/a Unlikely comeback in the company of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings singing a Jimmy Webb song about reincarnation.
The Wanderer 7/93 album track n/a n/a More unlikely comeback in the company of U2 (on Zooropa), a lonely quest for truth and honesty.
Delia's Gone '94 album track n/a n/a Stark folk ballad he had previously cut heralded his late-in-life artistic renaissance.
One '00 album track n/a n/a Returning U2's favor by digging into regret and loss even more hauntingly than their original.
Hurt '02 album track n/a n/a Aided by a wrenching video, Cash lifts Nine Inch Nails' lyrics from petty whine to epic tragedy.
Singer of Songs '03 album track n/a n/a Played at Cash's funeral, it serves as a self-descriptive and most fitting epitaph.
September When It Comes '03 album track n/a n/a One of his last recordings, a heartbreaking duet with daughter Rosanne. Impossible to avoid a lump in the throat as he foreshadows his passing.
Come in she said I'll give yeahhhh
Shelter from the Storm
