The name on his birth certificate was John R. Cash.
Born on February 26 1932, the boy known as J.R. to his family grew from his very humble beginnings in rural Arkansas to become one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. Internationally respected and universally loved, Johnny Cash was an Icon of the 20th Century.
In this special two-hour concert event, we pay tribute to JOHNNY CASH and his music, bringing you hit after hit spanning his entire career. From his first release on the Sun label, 1955’s “Hey Porter” and his signature “Folsom Prison Blues”, through to his left of field cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage” and his breathtaking version of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt”, released shortly before his death in 2003.
Johnny Cash: The Concert’s first set re-creates Cash’s early years – the highlights of Sun and Columbia Records where Cash’s career began under the guidance of legendary producer Sam Philips on his Sun Records label in Memphis, Tennessee in 1955. Cash recorded a string of rockabilly hits on the Sun label, including “I Walk the Line” (1956), “There You Go” (1957), “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” (1958), “Guess Things Happen That Way” (1958) and “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” (1959) — all of which topped the US Billboard charts. By the early 1960s and after a move to the industry giant Columbia Records, the black-clad rebel rocker was a musical superstar with chart topping hits “Ring of Fire” (1963) and “Understand Your Man” (1964).
Although he had several stays in county lock up’s, he never spent more than a night in Jail. Nevertheless Cash’s outlaw image had fans the world over convinced that he had served hard time with many performances at some of Americas most notorious prisons. These performances led to a pair of very successful and now legendary live albums, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) and Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969) — the latter of which contained the world wide chart topping hit, “A Boy Named Sue” which cemented Cash as an International Superstar.
Leading the audience in to the show’s second set, we celebrate Cash’s “best of” catalogue performing all the hits, Cash & Carter duets and more. Throughout all of his success of the 60’s, Cash had a well-documented battle with drugs and alcohol and several brushes with the law but his 1967 marriage to then Country music royalty June Carter helped him get back on the straight and narrow. With Carter’s steadying influence, Cash amassed a further string of hits and Billboard number ones — Beginning with his Grammy Award winning duet with Carter, “Jackson” (1967). Then “Folsom Prison Blues” (1968), “Daddy Sang Bass” (1969), “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (1970), “Flesh and Blood” (1971), “One Piece at a Time” (1976) and “Highwayman” (1985), with Friday,ends, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.
Carter, herself a veteran performer and member of the legendary Carter family, was a stable influence on Cash and their marriage lasted over 35 years until her death in 2003. Johnny died less than 4 months later….
Cash’s music was always straight shooting, often dark but always relatable to the common man. It was never judgemental no matter what the subject matter. It was sometimes delivered with a sense of humour and always delivered in his powerful baritone voice and with the driving rhythm of his backing band, The Tennessee Three….
Cash’s crossover appeal led to him being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, an honour he shares with only 4 other performers. He has also been recognised by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame as well as receiving numerous Grammy’s and other industry awards throughout his stellar career.
The Johnny Cash 80th Birthday Show will be held at the Glasshouse on Saturday, October 13. Tickets are available to purchase from the venue, phone (02) 6581 8888 or www.glasshouse.org.au
