Johnny Cash: The Life

I am abashed to say it but what turned me on to Johnny Cash was the trailer for Walk The Line. The summer of 2005 was one of my darkest most lonely periods. I was a camp counselor at an affluent all boys 9 week camp in northern Wisconsin. I hated the entitlement of the boys, I hated the elitism of my co-workers(most former campers), and I hated the dirty mediocrity of the grounds. I felt trapped. Three weeks in I crashed and totaled my beloved 1999 Buick Regal in the woods while driving under the influence. I was almost fired but was allowed to stay through the remainder of my contract. I was in a hellish purgatory. Stranded and alone I found my solace in movies. The Woodruff movie theater offered little in the way of variety, with nothing else to do and with a blossoming depression I went to Stealth. Easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Before the movie they ran the preview for the Johnny Cash biopic. I saw a solitary man dressed in black and heard the haunting beginnings of the track Folsom Prison Blues. I was inspired. I felt like someone was telling my story.


When the summer was over I got a pair of black cowboy boots, a couple black button ups, and a couple pairs of black slacks. I wore all black almost every day for a year. I began to voraciously consume as much Johnny Cash music as I could. From the original Sun records to the American records. I began to learn his songs on guitar. He became my hero. The music and the man resonated with me- love, loneliness, rebellion, addiction, compassion, struggle, and redemption.


I still wear black often and listen to Johnny Cash but his influence has become more internal. He contributed to my sense of justice and individuality. I still turn to his music for comfort and motivation. I recently finished the biography Johnny Cash The Life which was exhaustive in its detail. The most interesting was the extensive discography- why songs were written, what inspired them, what influence they had. The most surprising thing was the debunking of certain Cash myths. His sobriety and fidelity were the two big ones. It was unsettling.


This past week I burned the midnight oil racing through the book. I couldn't put it down. I learned more about the real life of Johnny Cash. The truth from the fiction. A line often repeated in the book is "he never let the facts get in the way of a good story" and after reading it I decided I like the fiction better. Whatever the ups and downs in the personal life of Johnny Cash, whatever his flaws, they ultimately don't change or undermine what he means to me. It doesn't change the singular way in which I hear his music. Doesn't effect his artistic impact. And for the man and the music I will be eternally grateful.

Influence

I didn't develop a real interest in music until high school.The first album I ever bought was Metallic's Ride The Lightening. I didn't like it. I figured out early that I don't like hard rock, punk rock, heavy metal or any kind of music that could be described as "hard". It made me feel crazy, made me want to lash out.

Music didn't open up for me until I bought Beck's Odelay in 1997. I listened to the album start to finish endlessly. It made me feel good, it made me want to dance, it made me realize how effecting music could be if you find the right kind. My favorite track is "Readymade"



A couple years later, junior year of high school, I saw O' Brother Where Art Thou? I discovered the blues and country and fell in love. I found a type of music that spoke to me, that I identified with, and I was hooked. The titular song in the film "Man Of Constant Sorrow" I loved but when I heard "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" in the scene with the main characters huddled around a camp fire my world opened up.



I through myself into the blues devouring John Lee Hooker, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Muddy Waters, R.L. Burnside, Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Son House, and B. B. King. However my modern day music exposure was slim to none. My college roommate Bob, who was and is a musician, introduced me to a ton of modern day artist that inspired me to pick up a guitar and Bob and I to start writing songs. The song that hit me the hardest was Martin Sexton's "Can't Stop Thinking About You" Bob and I discovered it during the perfect time. I had just got out of an intense emotional relationship and was heartbroken.



Since college HP and Beanpole have single handedly cultivated and expanded my contemporary musical taste. HP burned me the Saul Williams record and "List Of Demands" has gotten me amped up ever since.



Towards the end of college I discovered Johnny Cash. The first track I heard was "Folsom Prison Blues". I immedately felt a kinship with him and his music. Felt inspired and lifted up. Felt a harmony with it. Felt hardened, tempered like steel. His words and songs expressed exactly how I felt. I finally found someone who understood and expressed the storm within that I couldn't put words to.



Becoming obsessed with Johnny Cash lead me to look for more country music. I started to learn Johnny Cash songs and broadened to Hank Williams. I got into Hank III, o'death, and Adrienne Young but was always more partial to the music of the past.



I still love the blues and the majority of music is Johnny Cash. I rarely hear recent stuff now, only when Beanpole and HP send me mixes. What you like, what resonates with you, fills in the gaps, molds you.



What a person listens to can tell a lot about them. Some people may call that shallow, I call it true.