Johnny Cash

I have to admit, I'm not someone who ever listed to a lot of Johnny Cash. But I've always known that he is one of the big reasons I have the music I love to listen to so much. He always forged his own path with little regard to what was expected or popular, and blazed many trails that have remained for others to follow. When I first heard that he was doing a remake of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt", I could hardly stop laughing. The idea to me seemed preposterous - and if it had been anyone but Cash, I would have assumed that it was something being done by a desparet old man hoping for a little fresh glory in a fading career. But Cash was never the kind of person who would do that, and so even though it sounded hilarious, I wanted very much to hear it, and was quite impressed when I finally did.

One thing I've really appreciated today is the outpouring of kind words and high praise from many of today's artists.

Cash garnered acclaim most recently from a new generation of music fans thanks to his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt," which appears on his latest album, American IV: The Man Comes Around.

"To hear that Johnny was interested in doing my song was a defining moment in my life's work," said NIN's Trent Reznor. "To hear the result really reminded me how beautiful, touching and powerful music can be. The world has truly lost one of the greats. My heart goes out to his family and friends."

The Nine Inch Nails Web site, www.nin.com, was all black on Friday in tribute.

"Hurt" was the latest cover converted into a hit in the American series. With producer Rick Rubin at the helm, the Man in Black basked in a new wave of cool when American Recordings, the first LP in the series, dropped in 1994.

"He's an outsider, never been part of a trend," said Rubin, who also noted that he wasn't a country fan but a Johnny Cash fan. "A rock star is a musical outlaw and that's Johnny."

Audioslave's Chris Cornell agreed with Reznor that being covered by Cash is a great compliment. "Rusty Cage," by his former band Soundgarden, was remade for Cash's 1996 album, Unchained.

"The highlight of my musical career," Cornell called it. "When [Johnny] sings a song, you listen to what he has to say. And he draws from his own experience to make that song believable and get people to understand it."

While I may not always have liked the music he did - I'm just not a bit fan of country music in general - I have a great deal of respect for the skill he demonstrated in his performances, and am grateful for the mark he's left behind.

Posted by thorswitch at September 12, 2003 03:57 PM | TrackBack