The Johnny Cash Show was just a blip on the radar screen of
one of country music’s all-time greatest stars. And just like with everything
else, his selection of entertainment was a fascinating variety of musical
genres from which his own brand of music had emerged.
One night he had Louis Armstrong on and they recreated the
original July 1925 session of what is considered to be the first country record
ever made. In the video he recounts the story of that recording and then plays
the song “Blue Yodel” with Johnny Cash accompanying him on guitar. It’s almost
as good as the original recording. Here’s a link to that one;
And when it came time to recognizing the revitalization the “English
Invasion” had brought to the American music scene, he was no less grand in his acknowledgment
to those artists. In the video above he hosts Derek and the Domino’s for a
great set.
Johnny Cash was kind of an enigma. He was anti- war during the Vietnam War at a time when “Stand By Your Man” and Okie from Moskogie” were
like national anthems in that part of the country. (Yes, he was ant-war; you
can read about in his autobiography, he tells it better than I do.) But at the same time he did the USO
shows to entertain the troops, paying his own way on several occasions.
The next thing you knew he was doing a film about Jesus
called “The Gospel Road”, and in his final years he was busy with producer Rick
Rubin, re-interpreting some of the music of the younger generation such as
Smashing Pumpkins and even U-2. His version of “One” is still my favorite.
If you have a favorite group, then chances are they were on the
Johnny Cash Show. Just hit you tube find out.
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