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Johnny Cash:
The Man in Black
Johnny Cash has broken rules, blown minds, and made some of the most moving music the world has ever heard. On September 12 he died at the age of 71. Over the last several months we asked artists to pay tribute, compiled historic footage, reviewed classic albums, and assembled essential tunes that stretch from "Ring of Fire" to "Delia's Gone." Hopefully, they'll bring you a bit closer to the essence of Johnny Cash.
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The Man in Black has lots of great songs to his name, but we've narrowed the list of the most illustrative tunes to 10. Each of the below tracks is a stone classic, able to make you laugh or cry out loud. Click on the song titles to listen.
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"Hey Porter" (1955)
A glorious burst of pride for his Southern upbringing, Cash's first Sun record anticipated the kind of regional essence that energizes all his best work. And it chugs along with a mix of determination and glee.
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"I Walk the Line" (1956)
An iconic musical style is cemented on his third single, and Cash becomes Cash. It's a great view of the determination it takes to fulfill a promise of love. It's also one of pop's most poignant, romantic prayers.
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"Get Rhythm" (1956)
One of his earliest and best story-songs, and a great lesson in how to enjoy everything, even though you have nothing. It's a boot-straps tale, and its advice is irrefutable.
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"I Still Miss Someone" (1958)
Not really "someone." He knows exactly who he's pining for, and by the time this melancholy gem finishes, we all know just how much it kills him to be without those blue eyes and loving arms.
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"Ring of Fire" (1963)
The swirling music and exultant trumpet plunge us into Cash's blazing maelstrom. Within, the singer becomes a man reborn, in part due to the loving ministrations of the song's writer, June Carter.
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"Folsom Prison Blues" (live) (1968)
Just what did Johnny see in the face of that man he shot in Reno? Whatever it was, it's driven out of his head by dreams of a steadily rolling freedom train and the music's seductive backbeat - as constant as a prison clock.
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"A Boy Named Sue" (live) (1969)
Frontier mythology got a kicking when the singer set this Shel Silverstein poem to music. His gun-toting Sue is out for vengeance like every Cash ne'er-do-well, but the heaviest blows landed are the punch lines.
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"Sunday Morning Coming Down" (1970)
With plenty of first-hand experience at waking up groggy, Cash puts the chilling voice of a life lived wildly into Kris Kristofferson's disturbing portrait of self-degradation.
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"Delia's Gone" (1994)
Johnny Cash, folk singer. And as he vividly recounts the depth of his passion and how it fueled his murderous ways, you almost believe that there's a good reason for his crazed behavior. There isn't, but the offhand intensity of his voice could make us believe almost anything.
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