Happy birthday to Johnny- born February 26th, 1932
in Kingsland Arkansas.
Just a few words on why Johnny Cash's legacy
is so big- not only to country, but to rock'n'roll as well.
He was the original outsider in image and
music. His vocals weren't pretty. He sang-spoke
in a common man voice- for the rest of us.
I loved how he always instroduced himself to the
audience, like a regular feller'.
What makes him so memorable was he found the
connection with the greatest American metaphor-
the TRAIN. Always going somewhere, moving forward.
Most of his songs had that chugga-chugga rhythm,
so once you heard a Johnny Cash song, you immediately
knew it was the Man in Black. The railroad meant
freedom, hobos, the chance at adventure.
Johnny also looked different than most country performers-
while everybody else wore rhinestones, he was in black-
a man, who had traveled to the edge, and came back
alive- lived to tell.
What's really amazing is that anyone lived thru the
tour that Jerry Lee Lewis did (his first) with Johnny Cash, Carl
Perkins and Wanda Jackson thru Canada in 1957.
They must have went thru alot of "Pep" pills.
Here's a clip of Johnny, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison
and Jerry Lee performing a song for Elvis (another train
song) on Johnny's Christmas special.
Another thing that was great about Johnny-
how many performers could have had
done a really memorable TV variety show with performers
like Dylan, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton?
Yes, he had alot of different variations-
country singer, gospel singer, prison reformer, variety
show host, outlaw, folk singer, drug addict,
good husband, bad husband, rockabilly pioneer,
perfomer of Trent Rezner and Depeche Mode songs,
but he always remained true to himself and
to his audience.
Check out his really big boots (he was 6-2)
in New York City.
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