I grew up in a house where literally every genre of music was heard at one point or another, so I was introduced to the awesomeness of Johnny Cash at an early age.

 

Now I know there's some folks here (like a certain person in charge  ) who are Cash fans as well, so I thought there should be a place for everyone to discuss the greatness that was Johnny.

 

What I liked the most is that unlike pretty much everyone else who ever became big in music, Johnny never had a "used to be good, isn't so much now, but we still like him for what he used to be" period at the end of his career.  I mean, there he was battling all sorts of health issues with everyone knowing he wouldn't be around much longer, and what does he do? Does an album of covers and knocks everyone on their asses with his version of a Nine Inch Nails song.  He makes you think Trent Reznor has a time machine and went back in time to jack the song from a younger version of Cash.  When they close in on Cash at the end of the video, you can see that despite the effects of age and infirm he has that "yeah, you fuckers still can't hang with this" gleam in his eye.

 

My fiancee bought a Greatest Hits CD of his the other day, and every track on it is gold. He was truly the real Original Gangsta, singing about drugs, bitches, and poppin' caps in people's asses before it was the trendy thing to do. Then he can turn around and sing a song about the Lord that makes you want to testify like you're in that church from the Blues Brothers.

If you haven't already, pick up his last cd, American V: A Hundred Highways.  Good stuff, especially since Johnny was all but dead when he and Rick Rubin were recording the songs. 

I picked up American V as soon as it came out. I enjoy the album but the previous album was better and had a more "final" feeling to it, if that makes any sense.