Johnny Cash Story. My friend Ed Roland of Collective Soul dad carried him to see Johnny Cash making it his first concert ever to see. Funny his dad was a Southern Baptist Preacher carrying him to see Johnny. He knew then he wanted to be a musician.
The late, great Johnny Cash passed away on this day in 2003 (September 12)
The Man in Black is one of the most iconic figures in popular music; his rich, sombre, baritone voice on classic tracks like “Folsom Prison Blues", “I Walk the Line”, “Get Rhythm”, “Cry, Cry, Cry”, and “Ring of Fire”.
He also had memorable collaborations with wife June Carter Cash on songs like “Jackson”, and “It Ain’t Me, Babe”.
In 1967, Cash's duet with June Carter, "Jackson", won a Grammy Award.
Cash also began performing concerts at prisons in the late 1950s.
He played his first famous prison concert on January 1, 1958, at San Quentin State Prison. These performances led to a pair of highly successful live albums, “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” (1968), and “Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969)” which went to #1 on the US Billboard charts.
Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide.
His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel sounds.
This crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.
In 1999, Cash received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Cash #31 on their "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list and #21 on their "100 Greatest Singers" list in 2010.
In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Cash's 1968 live album “At Folsom Prison” and 1994 studio album “American Recordings” at #88 and #366 in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
And the reason he wore black clothes and became known as The Man in Black?
Initially he said he chose them because they were easier to keep looking clean on long tours.
Later he said he wore all black on behalf of the poor and hungry, the "prisoner who has long paid for his crime", and those who have been betrayed by age or drugs.
He added, "With the Vietnam War as painful in my mind as it was in most other Americans, I wore it 'in mourning' for the lives that could have been' ... Apart from the Vietnam War being over, I don't see much reason to change my position ... The old are still neglected, the poor are still poor, the young are still dying before their time, and we're not making many moves to make things right.
There's still plenty of darkness to carry off."
Cash wrote over 1,000 songs, and continued to record and perform up until shortly before he passed away.
He died of complications from diabetes on September 12, 2003, aged 71.
Click on the link to watch “Folsom Prison Blues”::
On this day in 1977, Ram Jam’s self-titled LP debuted on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart at #146 (September 10)
First up on Ram Jam’s debut album is the classic rock track “Black Betty", which was a Top 10 song in many countries around the world, including the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Belgium.
The band was called “American Ram Jam" for the UK market to avoid confusion with a UK band bearing the same name.
The album went to #4 in the Netherlands, #7 in the UK, #16 in Australia, #33 in Canada, and #34 in the US.
It all started when guitarist and singer Bill Bartlett left the Lemon Pipers to form a group called Starstruck.
While in Starstruck, Bartlett took Lead Belly's 59 second long "Black Betty" and arranged, recorded and released it on the group's own TruckStar label.
“Black Betty" became a regional hit, then was picked up by producers in New York who formed a group around Bartlett called Ram Jam.
They re-released the song, and it became a hit nationally.
The Ram Jam "recording" was actually the same one originally recorded by Starstruck (albeit significantly edited to rearrange the song structure).
The rest of the tracks on the album were played by the Ram Jam lineup.
Click on the link below to watch “Black Betty”:
On this day in 1966, the Bob Dylan single “Just Like a Woman” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #81 (September 10)
Dylan allegedly wrote the song from his seventh studio album “Blonde on Blonde”, on Thanksgiving Day in 1965.
Although he didn’t release it in the UK, a Manfred Mann cover version was a hit in several European countries, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart and #1 in Sweden.
The musicians backing Dylan at the Bashville recording sessions on the track are Charlie McCoy, Joe South, and Wayne Moss on guitar, Henry Strzelecki on bass guitar, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Al Kooper on organ, and Kenneth Buttrey on drums.
Although Dylan's regular guitar sideman Robbie Robertson was present at the recording session, he did not play on the song.
Dylan’s version went to #8 in Australia, #30 in the Netherlands, and #33 in the US.
In 2011 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1988, the Guns N’ Roses single “Sweet Child o’ Mine” went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (September 10)
One of the most recognizable rock intros of all time…
The song from their debut “Appetite for Destruction” LP was to be their only US #1; also peaking at #4 in Ireland, #5 in New Zealand, #6 in the UK, #7 in Canada, and #11 in Australia.
In 2015, the web page of the Australian music TV channel MAX published an article by music writer Nathan Jolly that noted similarities between "Sweet Child o' Mine" and the song "Unpublished Critics" by the Australian band Australian Crawl, from 1981.
Guns N’ Roses bass player McKagan said he found the similarities between the songs "stunning," but said he had not previously heard "Unpublished Critics."
"Sweet Child o' Mine" placed #37 on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos”, and at #198 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
It was also in Rolling Stone's 40 Greatest Songs that Changed the World, and placed #210 on the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Songs of the Century list.
Guitarist Slash said in 1990, "[The song] turned into a huge hit and now it makes me sick. I mean, I like it, but I hate what it represents."
Click on the link below to watch the clip:
On this day in 1966, The Beatles LP “Revolver” hit the #1 spot on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart (September 10)
Through its individual tracks, Revolver covers a wide range of styles, including acid rock, chamber music, R&B, raga rock, musique concrète, as well as standard contemporary rock and pop.
The Beatles seventh studio album also hit the #1 spot in the UK, Australia and Sweden.
In 1999, Revolver was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, an award bestowed by the American Recording Academy "to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old".
In September 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver at #11 on its new list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"…
Click on the link below to watch “Got To Get You Into My Life”:
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Michael Sembello single “Maniac” hit the #1 spot on the US Billboard charts (September 10)
The song by Stevie Wonder’s former guitarist from the smash hit movie “Flashdance” was also a #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia, Spain, and Switzerland, and Top 10 in New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands.
As part of the “Flashdance” soundtrack, all of the songwriters who contributed to the album won the Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.
An MTV and dance floor favourite…
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1977, the Linda Ronstadt single “Blue Bayou” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #84 (September 10)
Linda Ronstadt’s version of Roy Orbison’s early 1960s hit was a worldwide success, going all the way to #1 in Mexico, #2 in Canada, #3 in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and #35 in the UK.
Don Henley of the Eagles sang backup on the recording…
Click on the link below to watch:
The late, great Johnny Cash passed away on this day in 2003 (September 12)
The Man in Black is one of the most iconic figures in popular music; his rich, sombre, baritone voice on classic tracks like “Folsom Prison Blues", “I Walk the Line”, “Get Rhythm”, “Cry, Cry, Cry”, and “Ring of Fire”.
He also had memorable collaborations with wife June Carter Cash on songs like “Jackson”, and “It Ain’t Me, Babe”.
In 1967, Cash's duet with June Carter, "Jackson", won a Grammy Award.
Cash also began performing concerts at prisons in the late 1950s.
He played his first famous prison concert on January 1, 1958, at San Quentin State Prison. These performances led to a pair of highly successful live albums, “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” (1968), and “Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969)” which went to #1 on the US Billboard charts.
Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide.
His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel sounds.
This crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.
In 1999, Cash received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Cash #31 on their "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list and #21 on their "100 Greatest Singers" list in 2010.
In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Cash's 1968 live album “At Folsom Prison” and 1994 studio album “American Recordings” at #88 and #366 in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
And the reason he wore black clothes and became known as The Man in Black?
Initially he said he chose them because they were easier to keep looking clean on long tours.
Later he said he wore all black on behalf of the poor and hungry, the "prisoner who has long paid for his crime", and those who have been betrayed by age or drugs.
He added, "With the Vietnam War as painful in my mind as it was in most other Americans, I wore it 'in mourning' for the lives that could have been' ... Apart from the Vietnam War being over, I don't see much reason to change my position ... The old are still neglected, the poor are still poor, the young are still dying before their time, and we're not making many moves to make things right.
There's still plenty of darkness to carry off."
Cash wrote over 1,000 songs, and continued to record and perform up until shortly before he passed away.
He died of complications from diabetes on September 12, 2003, aged 71.
Click on the link to watch “Folsom Prison Blues”::
On this day in 1977, Ram Jam’s self-titled LP debuted on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart at #146 (September 10)
First up on Ram Jam’s debut album is the classic rock track “Black Betty", which was a Top 10 song in many countries around the world, including the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Belgium.
The band was called “American Ram Jam" for the UK market to avoid confusion with a UK band bearing the same name.
The album went to #4 in the Netherlands, #7 in the UK, #16 in Australia, #33 in Canada, and #34 in the US.
It all started when guitarist and singer Bill Bartlett left the Lemon Pipers to form a group called Starstruck.
While in Starstruck, Bartlett took Lead Belly's 59 second long "Black Betty" and arranged, recorded and released it on the group's own TruckStar label.
“Black Betty" became a regional hit, then was picked up by producers in New York who formed a group around Bartlett called Ram Jam.
They re-released the song, and it became a hit nationally.
The Ram Jam "recording" was actually the same one originally recorded by Starstruck (albeit significantly edited to rearrange the song structure).
The rest of the tracks on the album were played by the Ram Jam lineup.
Click on the link below to watch “Black Betty”:
On this day in 1966, the Bob Dylan single “Just Like a Woman” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #81 (September 10)
Dylan allegedly wrote the song from his seventh studio album “Blonde on Blonde”, on Thanksgiving Day in 1965.
Although he didn’t release it in the UK, a Manfred Mann cover version was a hit in several European countries, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart and #1 in Sweden.
The musicians backing Dylan at the Bashville recording sessions on the track are Charlie McCoy, Joe South, and Wayne Moss on guitar, Henry Strzelecki on bass guitar, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Al Kooper on organ, and Kenneth Buttrey on drums.
Although Dylan's regular guitar sideman Robbie Robertson was present at the recording session, he did not play on the song.
Dylan’s version went to #8 in Australia, #30 in the Netherlands, and #33 in the US.
In 2011 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1988, the Guns N’ Roses single “Sweet Child o’ Mine” went to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (September 10)
One of the most recognizable rock intros of all time…
The song from their debut “Appetite for Destruction” LP was to be their only US #1; also peaking at #4 in Ireland, #5 in New Zealand, #6 in the UK, #7 in Canada, and #11 in Australia.
In 2015, the web page of the Australian music TV channel MAX published an article by music writer Nathan Jolly that noted similarities between "Sweet Child o' Mine" and the song "Unpublished Critics" by the Australian band Australian Crawl, from 1981.
Guns N’ Roses bass player McKagan said he found the similarities between the songs "stunning," but said he had not previously heard "Unpublished Critics."
"Sweet Child o' Mine" placed #37 on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos”, and at #198 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
It was also in Rolling Stone's 40 Greatest Songs that Changed the World, and placed #210 on the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Songs of the Century list.
Guitarist Slash said in 1990, "[The song] turned into a huge hit and now it makes me sick. I mean, I like it, but I hate what it represents."
Click on the link below to watch the clip:
On this day in 1966, The Beatles LP “Revolver” hit the #1 spot on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart (September 10)
Through its individual tracks, Revolver covers a wide range of styles, including acid rock, chamber music, R&B, raga rock, musique concrète, as well as standard contemporary rock and pop.
The Beatles seventh studio album also hit the #1 spot in the UK, Australia and Sweden.
In 1999, Revolver was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, an award bestowed by the American Recording Academy "to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old".
In September 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver at #11 on its new list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"…
Click on the link below to watch “Got To Get You Into My Life”:
Exactly forty years ago, on this day in 1983, the Michael Sembello single “Maniac” hit the #1 spot on the US Billboard charts (September 10)
The song by Stevie Wonder’s former guitarist from the smash hit movie “Flashdance” was also a #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia, Spain, and Switzerland, and Top 10 in New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands.
As part of the “Flashdance” soundtrack, all of the songwriters who contributed to the album won the Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.
An MTV and dance floor favourite…
Click on the link below to watch:
On this day in 1977, the Linda Ronstadt single “Blue Bayou” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at #84 (September 10)
Linda Ronstadt’s version of Roy Orbison’s early 1960s hit was a worldwide success, going all the way to #1 in Mexico, #2 in Canada, #3 in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and #35 in the UK.
Don Henley of the Eagles sang backup on the recording…
Click on the link below to watch:
