Any fans out there?



This guy was great, maybe the most important country/rock legened of all time after Hank Williams.
Though I have always known some of his most famous songs (Walk the line, Ring of Fire, Get rhythm, etc.), I have to admit that I wasn't hooked on his music until the biopic Walk the Line arrived, then I became a true fan

I think the Sun Records era (50's) is his best and most important (when he discovered his boom-chicka-boom style, a rough, hard-edged country/rock which has lasted decades), but the rest of his career as a whole is solid and impressive, from his 60's-70's Columbia hits (Ring of fire, I still miss someone,Orange blossom Special, Daddy sang bass, Man in black, etc) to his surprising 90's comeback with the American Recordings albums (produced by Rick Rubin) full of interesting covers and priceless neo-classic country.
Also, he has two of the best live albums of all time: Live at Folsom Prison and Live at San Quentin, two larger-than-life events of rock and roll power, faith, love and redemption.





And his life was amazing: troubled childhood, terrible military service, drug addiction, hard beginnings in the music industry, friendship with Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, strange love-hate relationship with June Carter (until they got married), strong religious/spiritual beliefs that saved him (like Prince ), social/political activism, even his death was an act of love: he wasn't able to live without June (which died only a few months before, if I'm not mistaken).










[Edited 10/10/07 15:26pm]

I'm one...I grew up on Johnny Cash!!!!

It was one of the first concerts I went to..my dad took me. I am eternally grateful for that!

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VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Really? Wow! that's great man! Was it in the 90's, in the American Recordings era? Or in the 80's?

JoeTyler said:

Oh man..it had to have been early 80's..I was about 7 so that would've been around 1982...I cant remember much but I remember my dad and my uncles and alot of beer (them not me)...it was in Phoenix at the State Fairgrounds...

In my childhood I also saw Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Merle Haggard (my dads favorite), Alabama...we saw them all..Phoenix may be a more progressive city now but not more than 20 years ago it was still very 'wild west' in culture and all...big pop artists hardly played there but every Country artist played there all the time!

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VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Wow man, that's cool, it seems like a paradise for a country fan! (me included )

Love the man. Love the voice. Love the music. Love the soul.

I love me some JC - I grew up with my grandparents playing his music, but I didn't really appreciate him on my own until the first "American Recordings" album. I can't really say which era is my favorite. He was pretty consistent throughout his entire career - I guess my LEAST favorite would be around the mid-80s, but I keep hearing surprisingly good stuff from those years when I get new compilations, so really I guess I just like it all.

Anxiety said:

Yeah, that's true; though the 80's are undoubtedly his least interesting/consistent decade, he still released some good, underrated material: the Highwaymen collaboration, Rockabilly Blues (but it sounds somewhat dated, too electro-rockabilly for me ), Johnny 99 or Johnny Cash is coming to town.

JoeTyler said:

For the most part Country Music in the 80's sucked hard. It went all schmaltzy creamy pop for awhile but the end of the decade brought 2 bad ass artists by the name of Dwight Yoacham and kd Lang!!
[Edited 10/10/07 16:51pm]

I’m not sure if I've ever heard a gruffer voice that revealed so much vulnerability.

He could sing to death row or your grandma and somehow not end up offending either.

Yes, he's a legend.

The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"

A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What is truth?"

A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What is truth?"

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What is truth/"

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Dwight Yoakam =
Best country artist of his generation