Editor: David Tanny
Home, Latest News, 2003 Archives, E-Mail
Johnny Cash Dies 9-12-03Music legend Johnny Cash died Friday, September 12th at a Nashville hospital of complications from diabetes resulting in respiratory failure. Cash was 71.Known as "The Man In Black," Cash had a career that spanned five decades. He began his recording career in 1955, scoring such hits as "I Walk The Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash continued to record over 1,500 songs in his lifetime and won nine Grammy awards. Along with being a legendary recording artist, Cash's career paths included being a writer, actor and television performer. We will surely miss "The Man in Black" who influenced so many artists throughout his life. Read more, here.. Essential Johnny Cash albums include: Live From Folsom Prison (1968) Live From San Quentin Prison (1969) 16 Biggest Hits The American Recordings (I - IV) View Johnny's "Hurt" video. For the lastest on Cash's work, visit his web site. A public memorial for Cash is being planned and the date is yet to be announced. Donations in honor of Cash may be sent to: SOS Children Villages USA 1317 F Street NW #550 Washington, DC 20004 "I don't see him as a country act, I would say he embodies rock 'n' roll. He's an outlaw figure, and that is the essence of what rock 'n' roll is." -- Rick Rubin Over at the fm949sd.com website, Johnny Cash from the great beyond and his record label are thanking country radio and the Nashville establishment for their support over the past several decades. It just goes to show you how ignorant many of today's contemporary country radio stations were as they casted him aside in favor of female-friendly country, while Cash's masculine delivery and intelligently thoughtful lyrics were enjoyable enough for listeners of all ages and genders. At least MTV played his last hit "Hurt", as well as alternative rockers 94/9 and 92.1. 92.1 and 94/9 in San Diego played several Cash songs and alternative rock bands influenced by Cash throughout the day. At 94.9, Mike Halloran, Hanson, and Garret were playing cuts such as "I Walk The Line", "Rusty Cage", "A Boy Named Sue", "Ring of Fire", "Personal Jesus", "One Piece at a Time" as well as alternative acts influenced by Cash, and covers of his songs by acts like Depeche Mode (Personal Jesus) and Wall of Voo Doo (Ring of Fire). Meanwhile, DFSX Radio mixed in a dozen of Cash's funny songs in his career into the playlist. All of the funny songs is found on his album Crazy Country Obit: Johnny Cash Johnny Cash, a towering figure in American music spanning country, rock and folk and known worldwide as "The Man in Black," died Friday. He was 71. "Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," Cash's manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. He said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT Friday. "I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time," Robin said. Cash had been released from the hospital Wednesday after a two-week stay for treatment of an unspecified stomach ailment. The illness caused him to miss last month's MTV Music awards, where he had been nominated in seven categories. Cash had battled a disease of the nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and pneumonia in recent years. Dozens of hit records like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" defined Cash's persona: a haunted, dignified, resilient spokesman for the working man and downtrodden. Cash's deeply lined face fit well with his unsteady voice, which was limited in range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches, and tales of everyday life. He wrote much of his own material, and was among the first to record the songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson. "One Piece at a Time" was about an assembly line worker who built a car out of parts stolen from his factory. "A Boy Named Sue" was a comical story of a father who gives his son a girl's name to make him tough. "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" told of the drunken death of an American Indian soldier who helped raised the American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II, but returned to harsh racism in America. Cash said in his 1997 autobiography "Cash" that he tried to speak for "voices that were ignored or even suppressed in the entertainment media, not to mention the political and educational establishments." Cash's career spanned generations, with each finding something of value in his simple records, many of which used his trademark rockabilly rhythm. Cash was a peer of Elvis Presley when rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis in the 1950s, and he scored hits like "Cry! Cry! Cry!" during that era. He had a longtime friendship and recorded with Dylan, who has cited Cash as a major influence. He won 11 Grammys -- most recently in 2003, when "Give My Love To Rose" earned him honors as best male country vocal performance -- and numerous Country Music Association awards. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. His second wife, June Carter Cash, and daughter Roseanne Cash also were successful singers. June Carter Cash, who co-wrote Cash's hit "Ring of Fire" and partnered with her husband in hits such as "Jackson," died in May.
|