My Johnny Cash article was published yesterday.
The Man in Black was an amazing artist. I never met J.C. but I am honored to have met Bobbie John, 81, a Toledo woman who worked with Cash from 1968 to 1975. She gave me some inside info that you can't get anywhere else. Turns out Cash was humble and sincere -- not a real surprise, but reassuring. I've met many celebrities and far too many have an air about them, as if they truly believe they're better than the average joe and entitled to fame and fortune and all the perks that come with it. Cash was down to earth and a very kind and considerate person, according to Bobbie, who saw him off camera, away from the spotlight.
I was always amazed by Johnny Cash. In the 1960s, I had a friend who really loved his music. I was a young kid into Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jim Hendrix, and the Beatles and had little interest in country music. But Cash was different. He had that booming baritone voice and a sly smile that seemed to hint he knew some deep secret about life. Maybe it was his Christianity, which shined brightly after he overcame his troubles with alcohol and pills. But I admired him even more in the latter years of his life, especially his covers of songs by contemporary groups such as U2's "One" and Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down."
I am not a big video watcher, but of all the music videos I have seen I think Cash's "Hurt" is the greatest. Just to think that Johnny Cash, at 70, would cover a song by Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails is amazing in itself. But to see how he reinterpreted it and made it his own, new song, was stunning. He made the video shortly after the death of his beloved wife and soulmate, June Carter Cash, and she can be seen looking down from the stairs at him, and he sings such lyrics as, "Everyone I know goes away in the end..." I get teary eyed every time I see it.
In fact, you can watch it here: "Hurt" by Johnny Cash.
I talked to someone after Cash died in 2003, don't remember who it was, but he said something that really summed up his contributions: "Johnny Cash was a true artist, he was far beyond worrying about the charts and the number of albums sold. He made music from the heart."
It's funny, some artists never make it because they want to defy the business side of music and remain true to their art. Few ever get to the superstar level and then are able to move past it, creating great art with no regard for commercial success. Or refusing to sell out. Even the big names get seduced by fame and fortune. As one of the Beatles' representatives once said when asked about them cashing in on the Anthology series: "I've met very few rich people who turn down an opportunity to become even richer."
Another example of an artist who put his art before greed is Michael Stipe of R.E.M. I remember seeing him interviewed on VH1 by Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis about turning down a multi-million-dollar offer from Microsoft to have one of R.E.M.'s songs used in a Windows commercial. Yes, it's a lot of money, Stipe said, but there comes a point where you have enough money, and you don't want your artwork associated with a commercial product.
A month later, Windows began running commercials using the Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up." Now Mick and Keith, there's a pair who will never turn down a wad of cash. They'll never get no "Satisfaction," monetarily speaking.
Toledo, Ohio, April 1, 2007