Who is Johnny Cash

DISC 1
Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
Bob Dylan - I Threw It All Away
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash - Girl From The North Country
Kris Kristofferson - Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash - Blue Yodel #9
Stevie Wonder - Heaven Help Us All
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Cash - I Will Never Marry
George Jones - Medley (White Lightning with Johnny Cash, She Thinks I Still Care, Love Bug, The Race Is On)
Johnny Cash - Hey Porter
Waylon Jennings - Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line
Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash - The Singing Star's Queen
Waylon Jennings - Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man
Marty Robbins - Medley (Big Iron, Running Gun, El Paso)
Johnny Cash - Come Along And Ride This Train
Johnny Cash - As Long As The Grass Shall Grow
Johnny Cash - Man In Black
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash - Cripple Creek, Worried Man Blues
Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Johnny Cash - Old Time Religion
Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and The TennesseeThree - Daddy Sang Bass
Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters - Wildwood Flower
Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done
Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three - Tennessee Flat Top Box
Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash - The Long Black Veil
Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three with Carl Perkins - Big River


DISC 2
Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line
June Carter Cash - A Good Man
Derek And The Dominos - It's Too Late Derek And The Dominos with Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins - Matchbox
Charley Pride - Able Bodied Man
Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys - Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Loretta Lynn - I Know How
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
Johnny Cash - Ride This Train (America The Beautiful, This Land Is Your Land)
The Everly Brothers with Ike Everly and Johnny and Tommy Cash - That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine
Ray Charles - Ring Of Fire
Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue
Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin'
Mother Maybelle Carter - Black Mountain Rag
Tony Joe White and Johnny Cash - Polk Salad Annie
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie
Ray Price - For The Good Times
Roy Orbison - Crying
Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash - Oh, Pretty Woman
Johnny Cash - Wanted Man
Chet Atkins and Johnny Cash - Recuerdo De La Alhambra
Chet Atkins - Medley (Country Gentleman, Mister Sandman, Wildwood Flower, Freight Train)
June Carter Cash with Homer And Jethro - Baby, It's Cold Outside
Merle Haggard - No Hard Times
Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash - Sing Me Back Home
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, The Carter Family and The Statler Brothers - The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago
Roy Clark - Medley (In The Summertime, 12th Street Rag)
The Statler Brothers - Flowers On The Wall
Johnny Cash - Working Man Blues
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - Jackson, Turn Around, I Love You Because
Hank Williams Jr. - Medley (You Win Again, Cold Cold Heart, I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You, Half As Much)
Johnny Cash - A Wonderful Time Up There

Four of the greatest legends of country music join together. Johnny Cash sings Folsom Prison Blues, Willie Nelson performs Always on my Mind, Kris Kristofferson solos in Help me Make it Through the Night, and Waylon Jennings sings Luckenbach, Texas. Also includes Highwayman, Good Hearted Woman, Theme from Dukes of Hazzard, Loving Her Was Easy, Mamas Don't Let Your Sons Grow Up to be Cowboys, Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way, Me and Bobby McGhee, Get Rhythm, Crazy, Ghost Riders in the Sky, Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground, Big River, On the Road Again..

Johnny Cash was a consummate professional during good times and bad, and this complete, uncut 50-minute set from the long-running PBS concert series Austin City Limits shows the Man in Black in fine form, recorded at a time (January 3, 1987) when his career was in a state of uneasy transition. Despite the success of his 1985 album Highwayman, Cash had been dropped by Columbia, his label of 28 years, and one can sense a hint of weariness in this otherwise-fine performance. As evident by the warm, enthusiastic audience, this eclectic gig also hints at the personal and professional revival that Cash would enjoy in his later years with producer Rick Rubin. Like many of Cash's typical tour gigs, this one opens to the familiar strains of "Ring of Fire," and includes a handful of hits ("Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," "Long Black Veil") along with a few rarities thrown in for good measure. Recommended to Johnny by Kris Kristofferson, a cover of John Prine's heartbreaking song "Sam Stone"--about the travails of a heroin-addicted Vietnam veteran--proves to be a perfect fit for Johnny (and a personal favorite), although Johnny (ever the devout Christian) changes the lyric "Jesus Christ died for nothin', I suppose" to "Daddy must have suffered a lot back then, I suppose," while retaining the song's sad, tragic tone. Cash then follows with a crowd-pleasing rendition of "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky," and his devoted wife, June Carter Cash, joins Johnny on "Where Did We Go Right?," a song by David Loggins (newly recorded at the time) that serves as a fitting tribute to the Cashes' long-term marriage. Johnny Cash considered this to be one of his finest TV performances, and considering this DVD's superior sound quality, recorded in an intimate setting, who are we to argue? --Jeff Shannon

The legendary Man In Black s performance on the Austin City Limits TV show is now available on DVD, with added songs that were not included in the TV broadcast. The DVD also features a duet with June Carter Cash. From "Ring Of Fire" to "I Walk The Line", this amazing DVD will be a must have for Cash fans and a great introduction for new fans.

The idea of remaking a John Ford classic as an all-star country-Western TV movie may seem blasphemous to Western fans, but this loose-and-lanky version of Stagecoach is surprisingly entertaining. While sticking close to the original plot (involving a cultural cross-section of passengers on a dangerous trip aboard the Overland Express stagecoach), this good-natured adaptation (from the original story by Ernest Lee Haycox and screenplay by Dudley Nichols) allows ample room for Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson to play off each other like the old friends they are.

As directed by Ted Post (best known for helming Clint Eastwood's Hang 'Em High), the entire production has a light, friendly atmosphere, but the story remains earnestly well-served, and the cast (which also includes Elizabeth Ashley, Mary Crosby, Tony Franciosa, and Dukes of Hazzard alumnus John Schneider) thankfully avoids the in-joke frivolity that typically ruins all-star vanity projects like this one. It's obvious that Willie (as "Doc" Holliday) and his fellow musicians are playing thinly veiled versions of themselves, but they each bring their own legendary qualities to their roles. Gary Graver's cinematography adds to the inviting, outdoorsy warmth of the show, and with many of the cast no longer with us (including June Carter Cash in a cameo role, and Merritt Butrick from Star Trek II, who died of AIDS in 1989), this respectful rendition of Stagecoach is also a memorial to some of the most beloved talents of the 20th century. --Jeff Shannon

This introduction to the Man in Black's catalog is about as fine a one as can be found on one disc, primarily because the 21 classic tracks span J.R. Cash's entire career, from his first rockabilly single, "Hey, Porter"/"Cry! Cry! Cry!" (Sun Records, 1955), to his last significant alt-country tracks (American Recordings, 2003). Though Cash had his peaks and valleys in the studio, what shines brightly on this collection is how constant--how unwavering--his creativity remained, whether he was writing and performing original material or interpreting the work of others. His voice, too, remained a majestic thing of wonder, even as Cash often sang off-beat; settled his bass-baritone somewhere around, if not on the note; and cared more about power and emotion than strict rules of measure--something that became especially important as illness changed his great oaken voice into a frail instrument. In this way, he was able to infuse novelty songs ("One Piece at a Time," "A Boy Named Sue") with undeniable cool and maintain the poetry of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" even in the awful advent of a gloppy, too-peppy string section. Other chestnuts here take on new dimension in retrospect. "Jackson," a duet with wife June Carter Cash, seemed almost comedic ("hotter than a pepper sprout") when it was released, but now reveals the couple's own white-hot sexuality, primarily in June's elegant, if straightahead vocal. The surprise of The Legend of Johnny Cash is how seamlessly the newer material blends with the seminal, and how full-circle it sometimes comes: Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" doesn't seem markedly different from the quietly defiant songs that Cash defined himself with in the '50s and early '60s. Yet the compilation producers, like Cash himself, saved the best for last. "Hurt," Trent Reznor's poignant meditation on addiction, is devastating as written, but becomes a thing of terrible beauty in the ailing Cash's ravaged, autobiographical delivery. Sequenced as the final cut on the album, it ends with a kind of shocking void; stunning in its intensity, dropping the listener off a cliff of something very akin to grief. No artist, no matter what genre, could have planned a more haunting exit. --Alanna Nash

The Legend of Johnny Cash spans his entire career for the first time on a single disc. Featuring 21 of his recordings on the Sun, Columbia, Island, and American Recordings labels, it's the first compilation to include his work on American. Also highlighting the package is a 16-page deluxe booklet with photos and essay by author Rich Kienzle.

His Sun Records tracks begin with his first single, "Hey, Porter"/"Cry! Cry! Cry!," a Country Top 20 penned by Cash and produced by Sam Phillips. Straddling country and rock 'n' roll, they scored in 1956 with the Top 10 Country "Folsom Prison Blues," #1 Country/Top 20 Pop "I Walk The Line" and #1 Country "Get Rhythm." Also heard from his Sun days are 1958's "Big River" (#4 Country/Top 20 Pop) and "Guess Things Happen That Way" (#1 Country/Top 20 Pop).

Cash signed with Columbia in 1958 and five years later had a #1 Country/Top 20 Pop hit with "Ring of Fire," a ballad co-written by June Carter, who in 1967 would duet with him on the #2 Country "Jackson" and later become his wife. In 1969, the live Johnny Cash at San Quentin yielded his biggest hit: Shel Silverstein's novelty "A Boy Named Sue" (#1 Country/#2 Pop).

Kris Kristofferson composed Cash's 1970 #1 Country hit "Sunday Morning Coming Down" while Cash himself composed his personal philosophy on 1971's #3 Country "Man in Black," his nickname for the rest of his days. Also from his Columbia tenure are 1976's "One Piece at a Time" (#1 Country/Top 30 Pop) and 1985's "Highwayman" with Waylon Jennings and Kristofferson.

Cash joined Mercury in 1986 and The Legend of Johnny Cash includes a track from that period titled "The Wanderer," a duet with U2 written by Bono and U2, taken from the group's 1993 release Zooropa. That same year Rick Rubin, known for producing rap and rock acts, offered to record Cash singing whatever he chose. 1994's American Recordings, including college radio favorite "Delia's Gone," brought Cash to a new generation and won the Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy. On 1996's Unchained, Cash brilliantly interpreted Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" as well as the Hank Snow classic "I've Been Everywhere" and copped the Grammy for Best Country Album. On 2003's American IV: The Man Comes Around, he revisited old favorite "Give My Love to Rose" and gave new meaning to Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" (the video for "Hurt" was 6 times nominated at MTV's 2003 VMAs and also won a Grammy for "Best Short Form Music Video" that same year). From 2003's posthumous box set Unearthed, The Legend of Johnny Cash adds an early take on "The Man Comes Around."

The ethical questions surrounding this final album in the American Recordings series are as unavoidable as they are, ultimately, peripheral. While the vocal tracks were recorded in the months just prior to Johnny Cash's passing in September 2003, the arrangements weren't undertaken until two years later. And though producer Rick Rubin had become a trusted friend, the Man in Black wasn't around to approve or disapprove, let alone guide, the final sessions. However, if the pure power of these recordings doesn't quiet the skeptics, nothing will. With Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench and slide guitar session pro Smokey Hormel on board (all three of whom appear on earlier Cash albums), along with guitarists Matt Sweeney and Johnny Polansky, the sound is stately and acoustic, but rarely staid, even as the dynamics of earlier recordings in the series are absent. Instead, the songs have a measured, elegiac intensity, the sound of musicians choosing their notes carefully and making just the right choices.

The songs Cash sings are, unsurprisingly, confessional and reflective: his mortality and his mistakes, his maker and his salvation, and the loss of his wife June and the end of his career may have weighed on his mind, but in these songs he both embodies and transcends his personal history. On "God's Gonna Cut You Down," as the musicians clap and stomp behind him, his voice cuts through the air like that same avenging hand. On the new original "Like the 309"--the last song Cash ever wrote--he cops to being short of breath, and that voice becomes a metaphor for what each of us will one day face. On Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Read My Mind," Rubin flirts with overwhelming the damp bittersweetness of Cash's phrasing in tasteful atmospherics, but the voice is implacable, hitting and finding notes one never expected he'd have the will to find. Likewise, it's hard to believe this is his first recording of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds"; the elemental narrative seems to have been written for him. Two songs, however, Cash has recorded before: the born-again hymn "I Came to Believe" and the final spiritual, "I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now." The latter especially is a definitive testament, as is his version of Bruce Springsteen's "Further On (Up the Road)." "One sunny morning we'll rise, I know / And I'll meet you further on up the road," he sings. If only, John, if only. --Roy Kasten

On first thought, the idea of the Man in Black recording such covers as "Bridge over Troubled Water," "Danny Boy," and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" might seem odd, even for an artist who's been able to put his personal stamp on just about everything. But American IV: The Man Comes Around, which also draws on Cash's original songs as well as those by Nine Inch Nails ("Hurt"), Sting ("I Hung My Head"), and Depeche Mode ("Personal Jesus"), may be one of the most autobiographical albums of the 70-year-old singer-songwriter's career. Nearly every tune seems chosen to afford the ailing giant of popular music a chance to reflect on his life, and look ahead to what's around the corner. From the opening track--Cash's own "The Man Comes Around," filled with frightening images of Armageddon--the album, produced by Rick Rubin, advances a quiet power and pathos, built around spare arrangements and unflinching honesty in performance and subject. In 15 songs, Cash moves through dark, haunted meditations on death and destruction, poignant farewells, testaments to everlasting love, and hopeful salutes to redemption. He sounds as if he means every word, his baritone-bass, frequently frayed and ravaged, taking on a weary beauty. By the time he gets to the Beatles' "In My Life," you'll very nearly cry. Go ahead. He sounds as if he's about to, too. Unforgettable. --Alanna Nash

On July 27, 1990, Johnny Cash took his revue to The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and performed a truly unique and wonderful concert, captured on multi-tracks that lay dormant until recently mixed and edited for this near hour-long CD.

Terrific performances of his greatest hits are here I Walk The Line, Ring Of Fire, etc. A wonderfully upbeat Cash and wife June Carter Cash's stories and introductions punctuate the music; June contributes a boisterous Jackson duet with Johnny; local songstress Lucy Clark duets on the first performance anywhere at the time of Johnny's What Is Man?; and the singer performs the only recorded version anywhere of the classic gospel song Wonderful Time Up There. A great lost performance is found.