J.A.W. Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 I just heard on the news that Johnny Cash has died. I don't have any details. Quote
king ubu Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/obituari...RE-Cash.html?hp Johnny Cash, Singer Known As 'The Man in Black,' Dies at 71 EW YORK (AP) -- Johnny Cash, a towering figure in American music spanning country, rock and folk and known worldwide as "The Man in Black," has died, according to hospital officials in Nashville, Tenn. He was 71. "Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," said Cash's manager, Lou Robin, in a press release issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. The release said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. He was released from Baptist on Wednesday where he had spent two weeks being treated for an unspecified stomach ailment. Quote
Guest Chaney Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Not unexpected but still very sad. I'd prefer though to remember him this way... Quote
king ubu Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Not unexpected but still very sad. I'd prefer though to remember him this way... You're right, of course. The image I posted is from the NYTimes obituary. ubu Quote
king ubu Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 here is a link to a lengthy article for all those who read german: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/artikel/889/17872/ ubu Quote
Peter Johnson Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 This is a very sad day. Rest in peace. Quote
Stefan Wood Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 One of the last great giants of country music. RIP Quote
Jad Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Johnny and June get to duet again. Quote
Jim Dye Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Sad sad news. RIP, Johnny. If you haven't seen the video for 'Hurt', try and catch it. It is one of the most moving things I have ever seen. Emotionally devastating. Quote
The Mule Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 (edited) This has been an awful week for music. Another American maverick gone. First Warren Zevon and now Johnny Cash. Very similar artists in some ways as their songwriting explored similar themes: outlaws, sinners, society, heartache... Cash had an incredible career and a profound influence on musicians in and outside of country music. In my mind, he was one of the greatest American artists and I'm just glad he received so much recognition during this lifetime. Take Jim's advice and check out the video to "Hurt"---it's the greatest music video ever and an incredibly moving career summation from a man with amazing integrity who was unafraid of truth. Edited September 12, 2003 by The Mule Quote
ajf67 Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 This is truly sad news. What a giant. Here is a link to the video (I hope I get this right, because for some reason I always seem to screw up adding links here): Johnny Cash Video Quote
jacman Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 G*d Bless him. i had a feeling he wouldn't last long after his wife died, as his health had been declining for several years. that Hurt video is one of the best i've ever seen. isn't it a Tool cover? Quote
ajf67 Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Yep. His recent albums, all of which are awesome in my opinion, contain both Cash-written songs and covers. One of my favorite covers off the newest one is "Personal Jesus," originally done by Depeche Mode. Quote
Adam Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 "Hurt" is a Nine Inch Nails cover. That whole album of his - his last - is really really good. Mostly covers. Quote
catesta Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 I really respected Johnny Cash, I'm sorry to see him go. R.I.P Johnny. Quote
jacman Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 haven't gotten around to picking up his new one, of course i'll join the rest of the country and go buy it, tho i'll wait to see if the CD prices dip after the first. i have a ton of his stuff on vinyl. when i was a youngster, i listened to Cash, Jennings, Jones, Haggard, Etc., much to the annoyance of my Jazz musician father. i even had an uncensored version of "A Boy Named Sue". Quote
Jazzmoose Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 My father was a big Johnny Cash fan, so I grew up surrounded by his LPs. Of course, the "teen rebellion" thing brought along such wisdom in my head as "Johnny Cash sucks". Thankfully, age took care of that idiocy. Cash was a great musician and did more to shape the American music scene than is apparent at first glance. I'll miss him and his work. Quote
RDK Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 I can't add anything to this. I'm not surprised by his passing but I am deeply saddened. If anybody hasn't heard his latest American Recordings albums, do yourself a favor and give them a listen. Personally I don't think I'll be able to listen to his last one for a while - it brought me too close to tears while he was still with us; I fear that now I'd be weaping like a baby... At least he's with June now. R.I.P. Quote
J.A.W. Posted September 12, 2003 Author Report Posted September 12, 2003 when i was a youngster, i listened to Cash, Jennings, Jones, Haggard (...) I still listen to them B) Quote
Alexander Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Cash was a titan. He was a true original. Probably the greatest and most authentic coutry voice since the death of Hank Williams. I have several Cash albums, but none of the recent ones. My wife and I had been planning on getting "The Man Comes Around" for some time. I'll pick it up on the way home from work today... Quote
JSngry Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 (edited) I grew up in an area that was totally C&W-cwntric in the most stereotypically redneck idiotic way. So I soon grew to loath all Country music (something that I'm finally, thankfully, getting over). The one, the ONLY, exception was Johnny Cash. I have never not liked Johnny Cash, and I doubt that I will ever not like Johnny Cash. The guy had demons, and he was upfront about it. His openess about his religion was not in the service of castigating and demonizing others who also had demons, like it was with SO many of his Nashville peers. Instead, it was a reminder, as much to himself as to anybody else, that one can always get lost, one WILL get lost, and it's good to have a personal way to get back. Johnny Cash could be one HELLUVA prick in his songs (check out "Understand Your Man" and FEEL the seething contempt) and could probably be one in real life (you think that him and June didn't go through more than a few of the darkest possible dark nights of the soul?). But, again, unlike SO many of his peers, past, present, and no doubt future, he didn't gloss over them, or sanitize them for the purpose of creating a bad-boy image. You got the impression (I did anyway) that Johnny Cash carried a burden, and that burden was Johnny Cash. No mattter how much happiness Johnny Cash had in his life and career, he had to share it with Johnny Cash, and Johnny Cash loved nothing better than to fuck Johnny Cash up. It wasn't Johnny who wrote the lyrics to "Ring Of Fire", it was June. But Johnny knew what she meant all too well. Johnny Cash could not fake it worth a damn. That's the highest compliment I can pay anybody. R.I.P. Edited September 12, 2003 by JSngry Quote
Soul Stream Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Johnny Cash represented something so rare in show business, but at the core of every performer's intentions. Honesty. Cash was honest about who he was, and somehow that made us all feel better about who WE were. Quote
AfricaBrass Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Wonderful post, Jim! I don't really have any words to say, but I feel like I've been punched in the gut. I knew this day was coming, but it's still pretty sad. I grew up hearing Johnny Cash's music. Especially with my grandparents. They've been gone awhile and losing Johnny is like losing a bridge to a happier time for me. I'm just happy that he's back with June and I hope that he's jamming with Luther right now. Rest in peace, Johnny. Quote
The Mule Posted September 12, 2003 Report Posted September 12, 2003 Excellent post, Jim. It's what I was groping to say when when I wrote he was "unafraid of the truth," but you said it much better than I did... The other thing I greatly admired about Cash is that he embodied the ideal of the American maverick. He was his own man. He had integrity. He was a proud American but he never wrapped himself in the flag like so many of those phony, wannabe, cowboy types that have turned "country" music into a bad joke. Cash understood people's struggles and didn't judge their failings. Is there any major American musician who still plays concerts in prisons and proud of it? I don't think so. Quote
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