Johnny Cash: Myth, Legend, and Truth

Johnny Cash was perhaps the closest thing to a living, walking mythical creature as cynical society will come any time soon. In a career that spanned more than four decades, he created an image and used it to have as much fun, reach as many people, and tell as much truth as he could.

There has been a lot of talk about the myth of Johnny Cash since his passing on September 11th of this year. No one of these pieces will capture him, no matter how earnest in intent or knowledgeable the writer. People have written of the badass, the man of the people who played prisons to give the most hated of our society a little temporary dignity (or a lifetime career, in the case of Merle Haggard, who, as an inmate, was inspired one of Johnny's prison shows to make music his career). They have written of Johnny Cash, the devoted husband who died four months to the day after his beloved June Carter died.

There's the 50s rockabilly pioneer, the recovered addict, the son of poor farmers, the man of God, the forgotten legend in the 80s, when he was cast aside by Columbia for poor sales. And there's the most overlooked, Johnny Cash the humorist, who recorded Shel Silverstein's "Boy Named Sue" and "Boa Constrictor", who parodied himself with "Chicken in Black" and the folk scene with "The One On the Right", and whose last Top 40 hit was the 1976 novelty tune "One Piece at a Time". Then there's the most recent storyline, his rise in popularity with the "American Recordings" series produced by Rick Rubin. His history is better chronicled in his two books, "The Man in Black" and "Cash", than could be recounted here.

Everyone had a favorite myth. He had been close to death so many times, whether it was from the poor we he treated himself until June cleaned him up, or the repercussions of that life that haunted him recently, that it was easy to believe he just couldn't die. To put it mildly, he was Johnny Cash, goddam it. Whatever was strong enough to take him couldn't be far behind the rest of us. In the end, though, he simply wasn't meant to live without June.

Bob Zmuda once wrote of one of the greatest moments in pal Andy Kaufman's life, when he got to appear on "The Johnny Cash Christmas Show". Kaufman was a music nut, but even more than that, he loved a good myth. Zmuda wrote that upon arriving at the Grand Old Opry for the taping, they saw an old man sitting at a desk looking at some paperwork through thick "Coke bottle" glasses, and didn't think much of him. But when the man caught sight of them, he "suddenly stood to full, impressive height, shed hid bifocals, shook his long black hair", walked over and said, "Hi, I'm Johnny Cash" (according to Zmuda's "Andy Kaufman Revealed!").

Pick your favorite Johnny Cash. Whatever you believe about him, you're probably not too far from the truth.

Recommended Listening

Johnny Cash recorded more than 100 albums in his lifetime, and compilations, reissues, and bootlegs add to that number. But to get a good sense of the breadth and depth of Cash's recording career, these twenty albums, from Sun to Columbia to American, are a good start. We've included the original release date of all of these albums, as well as the original label. You can find all of these nuggets on vinyl, but not all of them have made it to CD. So the completists will have to dig through some used record bins to find everything on this list. This list also leaves out some great work, like "Bitter Tears" and the Highwaymen albums, but with so much to choose from, twenty albums almost seems frail. But take this list for what it is, and maybe find an aspect of Johnny Cash you're unfamiliar with.

1. Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar (Sun Records, 1957) Standout tracks: "Folsom Prison Blues", "Cry, Cry, Cry"
2. Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams and Other Favorites (Sun Records, 1960) Standout tracks: "You Win Again", "Give My Love to Rose", "I Walk the Line"
3. The Sound of Johnny Cash (Columbia, 1962) Standout tracks: "Delia's Gone", "In the Jailhouse Now"
4. Blood, Sweat and Tears (Columbia, 1963) Standout tracks: "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer"
5. Ring of Fire (Columbia, 1963) Standout tracks: "Ring of Fire", "I Still Miss Someone", "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)" - with the Carter Family
6. Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West (Columbia Records, 1965) Standout tracks: "The Streets of Laredo", "Sam Hall", "25 Minutes to Go"
7. Everybody Loves a Nut (Columbia, 1966) Standout tracks: "The One On the Right is On the Left", "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog", "Boa Constrictor", "Joe Bean"
8. Carryin' On With Johnny Cash and June Carter (Columbia, 1967) Standout track: "Jackson"
9. At Folsom Prison (Columbia, 1968) Standout tracks: "25 Minutes to Go", "I Got Stripes", "Cocaine Blues"
10. The Holy Land (Columbia, 1968) Standout tracks: "Daddy Sang Bass", "God is Not Dead"
11. At San Quentin (Columbia, 1969) Standout tracks: "I Walk the Line", "San Quentin", "Starkville City Jail"
12. Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers (Sun Records, 1969) Standout tracks: "Hey Porter", "Wreck of the Old 97"
13. Any Old Wind That Blows (Columbia Records, 1972) Standout track: "Country Trash"
14. Greatest Hits, Volume Three (Columbia, 1978) Standout tracks: "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" with Waylon Jennings, "One Piece at a Time"
15. The Survivors, with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins (Sony, 1983 /Razor & Tie, 1995) Standout tracks: "Get Rhythm", "I'll Fly Away"
16. Johnny 99 (Columbia, 1983) Standout tracks: "Highway Patrolman", "Johnny 99", "I'm Ragged But I'm Right"
17. American Recordings (American, 1994) Standout tracks: "Delia's Gone", "Drive On", 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry"
18. VH1 Storytellers, with Willie Nelson (American, 1998) Standout tracks: "Worried Man", "Don't Take Your Guns to Town"
19. American III: Solitary Man (American, 2000) Standout tracks: "I See A Darkness", "The Mercy Seat", "Country Trash"
20. American Recordings IV: The Man Comes Around (American, 2002) Standout tracks: "The Man Comes Around", "I Hung My Head", "Sam Hall", "We'll Meet Again"

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