Growing up a fan of Country Music in the 1970s and 80s, one
definitely had to be aware of the music and legend of Johnny Cash. He was
larger than life. Who doesn’t remember the yearly “CBS Special Presentation”
bumper that would run before the CMA Awards each year. The first shot would
likely be a man with his back to the camera. He turns around and says ‘Hello,
I’m Johnny Cash.’ Talk about starpower. That was the definition.
By the late 1980s, tastes were changing. Cash was dropped
from the Columbia roster, landing with Mercury. He made a few interesting
records – including 1990’s Boom Chicka
Boom, which was one of his better sets – in my opinion. But, nothing found
favor on a commercial level.
Then, a chance encounter with renegade producer Rick Rubin sent
Cash’s career in a new directions. Signing with his American Recordings label,
the singer released an album by the same title in April 1994. The approach was
a toned-down, acoustic approach, with Cash doing some cover material such as
“Why Me Lord” and “Bird On A Wire.” This sound re-introduced the singer to the
modern public as one of the hippest 62-year olds around. Cash would continue to
record with Rubin through the rest of his life, releasing 1996’s Unchained, and 2000’s Solitary Man. Both albums were extremely
well-received.
It was his next album (and last to be issued during his
lifetime) that will be featured on the July 1 edition of “Crazy Chucky’s
Classic Country Corner” as part of “The House That Built Me Series.” 2002’s The Man Comes Around was in line with
his other three albums under Rubin. The album was full of covers – of songs
such as his own “Give My Love To Rose” or “Desperado,” which Cash gave a deeply
emotional rendering to.
But, the jewel of this album came out of left field. I have
to admit that not being a fan of 90s hard rock, I wasn’t familiar with Nine
Inch Nails, but the decision by Cash to record their song “Hurt” was one that
even writer (and front man) Trent Reznor wondered about. Would the 70 year old
make it hokey? I think we all know the answer to that. “Hurt” was a gripping
story that Cash was born to sing. It didn’t matter what your Achillies tendon
was in life, “The Man In Black” could identify. Death. Divorce. Self-Abuse
through drugs. Cash had done – or endured it all, and lived to tell the story.
The fact that he was a little worse for the wear only added to his mystique.
Johnny Cash doing “Hurt” was not a moment where he stood ten feet tall and
bulletproof like the old days. He was tired. He was fragile. Unlike any other
artist at that stage in his career, Cash allowed the listener to see him in
that light. Though some might proclaim his Sun years or his ABC-TV era to be
his greatest moments of rebellion, allowing himself to be heard and seen for
the final time in such a state was perhaps his greatest and most honest act of
all. “Bad ass” has been a word that young hipsters use to describe Cash and his
sound. I don’t think the man was ever more “Bad Ass” than he was at the end. He
faced his deteriorating health, the loss of June, and the fact that the “Man”
was about to come around with dignity, grace, and power.
Tune in on Wednesday, July 1, for a look at an artist who
went out with a career-defining work – American
IV: The Man Comes Around – on WNKX 96.7 FM! It’s part of “The House That
Built Me” series…..brought to you by Tennessee Properties.
