For many people, Johnny Cash isn't just an American music icon. He is American music. His was the voice of the rebel, the seeker of truth, the romantic, the underdog, the criminal, and the preacher. In his life, he wrestled with the contradictions inherent in all those characters, which made him all the more fascinating. While that may be a cliché, it's almost impossible to say something about him that hasn't already been said so many times over the past 50 years.
Six weeks ago, Sony Legacy released a two-DVD set comprised of 66 performances from the 58 episodes of The Johnny Cash TV Show, which ran on ABC from 1969 to 1971. The show gained fame for its diversity of guests, from Derek & The Dominoes to Ray Charles to Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.
John Carter Cash is the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash and the Executive Producer of both this DVD, and of Walk The Line, the Academy Award-winning biopic of Cash's life. I recently spoke with Cash about the TV show and his father's legendary career.
I'm really glad this DVD is out, because I've never seen anything more than clips here and there. Why did you wait so long to release it?
It wasn't a wait, really, it was a longstanding effort that has been in process in dealing with Sony Legacy for over 12 years that was begun by my father and my mother, and carried over by his manager Lou Robbin and myself after they passed. It was just a matter of finally being able to get it all together, with the million different licenses and clearances. It's a logistical nightmare to make something like this a reality, with the blessed help of some hard work and dedication by the folks at Sony Legacy.
By definition, a variety show is supposed to be diverse. But on his show, your father really sought to push the boundaries of what was allowable on TV, didn't he?
Yes, he did. He wanted to go as far as he could in any direction out of his spirit, whether it was rock 'n roll performers like Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles, and all these different areas of music, and then have these bright, young aggressive songwriters at the time like Neil Young and James Taylor. And then, to come back around and focus on where his heart was, which was gospel. He created this full picture, this amazing diversity that had not been touched on before.
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