When Johnny Cash passed away just a shade over twenty years ago, he was one of the few musical acts that I ever felt legitimately sad over their passing.
Most people in the music industry get sort of a take them or leave them attitude from me, but Johnny Cash was a storyteller like no other.
His music just carried so much weight to it, even in the songs that were supposed to be a little more upbeat.
In the proceeding twenty years and change, I really can’t tell you how many times where the music of Johnny Cash was the soundtrack of what I was doing at that given moment.
As a matter of fact, one story involves my driving from Michigan to Florida back home at the end of a long vacation visiting family.
My wife and I were somewhere in Virginia, and it is about three in the morning. She is fast asleep in the passenger seat of the car and I turned on a Johnny Cash album.
She snapped out of sleep about two songs in and asked my why I felt the need to play Johnny Cash at three in the morning.
“It seemed like the appropriate thing to do honey.”
The thing about prolific musicians is that they produce far more music than you could ever possibly imagine. For example, it’s been said that despite Prince being dead for several years could release a new album of music every year for the next thirty years and not have to repeat a song once.
For whatever reason, fully produced songs don’t get released to the general public sometimes. They’ll sit and collect dust, and never see the light of day.
In the case of Johnny Cash, that’s not entirely accurate. According to a recent report, a new album of previously unhead songs by The Man In Black is scheduled to be released this summer.
For country music fans, and fans of Johnny Cash to begin with it is going to be a damn fine summer.
As a matter of fact, one of the songs from the album has been put online by the Johnny Cash estate. I have to say, even twenty years after his death Johnny still has it..
