Johnny Cash books

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:54 pm

[bigred]I Was There When It Happened: My Life With Johnny Cash (Hardcover)[/bigred]
[lilred]by Marshall Grant with Chris Zar; foreword by The Statler Brothers
August 31, 2006[/lilred]

From Booklist
When coworker Roy Cash introduced his fresh-out-of-the-air-force younger brother J.R. (John, then Johnny, came later) to him, Grant says, "a funny feeling--a kind of tingling--come [sic] over me." For the next 50 years, Roy's brother would loom over Grant's life, as he would over country music, like a colossus. Grant played bass in Cash's road bands until 1980. He was also Cash's road manager, making housing and travel arrangements and getting Cash to the gigs. That became a Herculean task as Cash's entourage, and his amphetamine and barbiturate addictions, begun as early as 1957, grew. Grant figures that Cash was entirely off pills for only the six years following his son John Carter Cash's birth in 1970. Cash finally fired Grant amid baseless allegations of embezzlement. A long lawsuit ensued, but the men reconciled shortly before Cash's death. Throughout this immaculately edited mounting of his oral testimony (kudos and then some to Zar), Grant maintains that, sober, Cash was utterly lovable. The man he primarily presents, in a voice that couldn't be more congenial and disingenuous, is, however, a monster of self-destruction.

Review
"Endorsed by Johnny Cash's daughter, Rosanne, his brother, Tommy, and featuring a foreword by The Statler Brothers, who credit him with launching their career, this biography by longtime band member Marshall Grant takes its title from a gospel tune Cash recorded in 1957. As one of Cash's original bandmates and thereafter a member of his inner circle until his death in 2003, Grant recounts the career of the legendary Man in Black--including the devastating spiral of drug abuse that Grant says ultimately destroyed him--with fly-on-the-wall, warts-and-all detail...and the unique, unvarnished perspective of one of the few people still living who really was there when it happened." --Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine, July 2007

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1581825102/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:57 pm

[bigred]Cash (Paperback)[/bigred]
[lilred]by Rolling Stone Magazine
October 30, 2008[/lilred]

From Publishers Weekly
The late legendary Cash is celebrated in one of the best of Rolling Stone magazine's series of special tribute books about popular musicians. And as in the series' other titles, the featured artist is treated to an oversize, lavishly illustrated (150 photos) and lovingly written collection of new and old essays. Cash's long career gives this volume more depth than usual, since the writing ranges from Ralph J. Gleason's 1969 column on "Johnny Cash at San Quentin" to a thoughtful and revealing new interview with Rick Rubin, the rap/metal producer behind Cash's mostly acoustic albums in the 1990s. The collection is book-ended by its two best pieces: a wonderful overview of Cash's life by Mikal Gilmore and a fantastic critical discography by rock critic Greg Kot. The photographs—which cover everything from his birth in 1932 to his death in 2003—allow for a greater portrait of Cash, including those from his farm youth in Arkansas and candid shots from his turbulent 1960s career. It helps that Jim Marshall, the equally legendary photographer whose work is generously featured, captured Cash in serene and volatile moments, providing a well-rounded look into the emotional complexity of the self-styled "Man in Black." Indeed, Kot's discography and the photographs alone make this volume essential for a true understanding of Cash's impact on popular music.

From Booklist
Johnny Cash (1932-2003) was, next only to Elvis Presley, the greatest pop musician discovered by Sun Records of Memphis, but while Elvis became Mr. Mainstream, Cash became country music's greatest maverick. Best when applying his sepulchral baritone to songs about mournful love, down-and-outers, and rowdy spouses--sometimes funny ("A Boy Named Sue"), sometimes devastatingly somber ("Long Black Veil")--he had an up-and-down career, punctuated by bouts of addictive upper and downer pill-popping. Though hampered by serious illness during his last years, he was producing some of his most successful work when he died. Selected Rolling Stone articles and interviews, and excerpts from Cash: The Autobiography make up most of the text here; editor Fine's excellent biographical precis, David Fricke's piece on Cash's Sun sessions, Greg Kot's recommending romp through Cash's discography, and brief tributes from daughter Rosanne and several musical friends round it out. Good as the prose is, the wealth of photos, especially those from Cash's family, outshines it. One reason Cash was a star: cameras loved him.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307338452/?tag=imwan-20

Johnny Cash books

Who is WANline