The Origins of his Music - Creating the "Outlaw Country" Genre

Cash grew up surrounded by music, and the majority of his life was inspired by the sounds he was brought up on. His mother would play guitar for the family and they would sing traditional country and gospel songs, which like Cash, originated from working-class America. Traditional country was typically conformist, and the hillbilly sound which he grew up with was of the Southern originated country, that thrived on purity and lack of artistic freedom. The rock and roll artists of Sun Records encouraged Cash's eclectic country/gospel sound to combine to produce a distinctive rockabilly sound that he eventually became famous for.

While Cash's outlaw projected image was definitively attached to his name, the Outlaw Country movement of the 60s/70s wasn't directly attached to Cash's music, instead was inspired by his refusal to conform to the standards of the country music genre. He inspired some of his friends in the industry to spur on the progressive genre hybrid that abolished the conformity that society required in the country music genre. With artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones rebelling against societies conformity, Outlaw Country came popular with songs about drinking, masculinity and drugs. While he's not always directly associated with the movement, his style of music has the same approach to what the other front-men of the movement also held.

He did become directly involved in a later decade when he joined the movements pioneering influences to create an Outlaw Country supergroup. The group, known as The Highwaymen featured Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. They released three studio albums together.

    

Prison Reform - Live at San Quentin/Folsom Prison Blues

As an advocate and representative of prison reform, Cash performed free concerts for prisoners during the height of his fame. His most famous examples are Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) and Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969). While he had his freedom, his empathy and identification with the prisoners allowed them to respect him, and the work he was doing against the dehumanisation of the inmates. In the song "San Quentin" he approaches his criticisms of the legal system by accusing politicians of overnighting the plight and human rights of prisoners.

While he hadn't served prison time himself, Cash's drug addictions, run-ins with the law and other sufferings from his life allowed him to sympathise with the prisoners. As a fallen man, worthy of redemption, he saw himself in the people that he believed were being mistreated. Merle Haggard, (who was serving time in San Quentin at the time) said that his work for prison reform and the live shows were the turning point in his own redemption. "It didn't even matter that he was free, because there was a connection there, an identification. This was somebody who was singing a song about your personal life." - Merle Haggard on Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin.

While the association of Cash and prisoners did affiliate him with crime and wrong-doing, thus sustaining his outlaw image, he still chose to use his power to help others. He is noted to have said that at one of his prison concerts, he had the opportunity to cause a riot, and at the height of his drug addictions would have correlated with his erratic behaviour, but he still just used the performances as a chance to protest.

  

"The Man in Black" - More than a Sartorial Statement

At this point in his life, he had already realised of his influence and power, meaning he had opportunities to raise important issues in the media. His 1971 protest song "Man in Black" is no different. Originally starting as his nickname, following his on-stage costuming for him and the Tennessee Two, when they could afford little else than the matching black shirts they already owned. As time went on, he realised that his sartorial choices could become much more, and he used the song to protest his feelings towards society, and how he represented them. While it also embodied his masculinity and working class upbringing, his self-presentation raised issues with his outlaw image, and progressed his nature as a saint...

The lyrics of "Man in Black" clarified his sartorial statement as an allegiance and out of respect for the poor, prisoners, and a protest against racism and the Vietnam war. While Cash was still a representation of the working class, he fought to influence freedom and equality for his fellow Americans. His patriotism was a symbol of pride, and his sartorial choices were used as a representation of this, and the way his fame could allow him to be an icon for those facing injustices and the oppressed.

His fashion statement in itself was the contradictory notion of standing up against injustices, whilst all promoting his brand image, and maintaining the outlaw, hard-country, rocknroll image which had become expected of him.

Starting Fresh / June Carter Cash

In 1967, at the highest point of Cash's path to self-destruction, he travelled to a cave in Tennessee to commit suicide. Even at his worst he believed in the spirituality, and planned to die their amongst the Indian artifacts to become a part of history himself. While the poetic notion of being a collective part of historical remains became a part of the Cash spiritual and religious narrative, he (obviously) didn't go ahead with his original plans and determined that he must make a better life for himself...

It was after divorcing his first wife (because of the drug addictions) and proposing onstage to June Carter in 1968 (who promised to marry him once he had kicked his habits) that his life started to take a better turn. He rediscovered Christianity and they had their first child together. Prompting the start of 7 years clean of substances for Cash. His image was reinvented as he toured and dueted with his wife, who he clearly was madly in love with.

The following year, after the large success of his live prison albums, he started to host The Johnny Cash Show, a TV series in which he showcased contemporary artists, and hosted other segments of country music and history which were important to him. As a man on a mission, his show was one of his first opportunites outside of his music, to highlight important societal issues. He discussed prison reform, the Vietnam war and Native American activism, using his forum of media to influence a mass audience. It was during this period that his identity became fully formed, and he used his music and influence to help others in the same way he had been saved by music following his hardships in his own childhood. While gospel music and learning to play the guitar was his methods of escapism during his youth, he hoped to inspire people in the same way.

The Johnny Cash Show allowed his projected image to develop the saint/sinner binary, by stressing that he, despite all his flaws, still dedicated himself to trying to achieve a better life for his fellow ill-treated Americans.

Sustaining the "Outlaw" Image / Ring of Fire

Despite losing all control of his addictions, and becoming an nervous, wayward person as a result Cash still produced popular songs, and his creativity with his music lead to one of his most popular songs to this date; Ring of Fire. The 1963 hit was again popular on both the pop charts as well as on the country charts, spanning his appeal outside of the Southern Country and gospel genre he had been raised on. This period of Cash's life reinforced the image he held of being an "Outlaw" as he ended in jail several times, but never actually served a prison sentence. One of his most well-known run-ins with the law was in 1965, when he was arrested for attempting to smuggle amphetamines across the Mexican border.

The song, Ring of Fire was originally written by June Carter, who was at the time, falling in love with Cash, despite his current marriage to Vivian Liberto. It was first recorded by her sister, who had little success, Cash covered the song, adding in the sounds of the "mexican horns" after they reportedly came to him in a dream. His relationship with June Carter both on and off stage also worked to reinforce his outlaw image, with them both being famously involved while still in relationships with other people. The popularity of Ring of Fire only added to his increasing addictions, pressure, and added to the demons he struggled to fight. While his adulterous relations with June Carter fed and maintained the outlaw image, they were mostly overlooked because of his highly self-destructive addictions.

Substance Abuse, Fame and "I Walk The Line"

The turning point in Cash's fame and popularity, came with the release of "I Walk the Line." Having released three songs previously and been met with only a mediocre reception, this song shot him to mainstream popularity, he became a superstar, selling over 2 million copies, and remaining in the charts for 43 weeks. His distinguished hybrid genre style put him in the eyes of a mass audience, and powerful baritone voice established him as an iconic artist. As his career and popularity grew very quickly, and whilst sharing an apartment with Waylon Jennings (who was addicted to amphetamines) Cash found himself dependant on substances to keep up with his busy and erratic schedule and ever-increasing popularity.

Being at the height of his constantly rising fame, and his drug problems increasing with it, his "Outlaw" status became cemented as part of his projected image, instead of being a side-effect of his career. His self destructive behaviour from the drug addiction led to the divorce from his first wife, and also started more issues with his career, with the drugs causing ill-health and thus impacting on his ability to perform. His constant struggle was that he was depressive and clouded by pain, so used drugs to dull the pain that eventually caused more than it eased. Cash said himself that he was a paradox, a contradictory person, and he truly believed that his stage name of Johnny Cash was "the one that caused all the trouble."

Youth, Sun Records and "Hey Porter"

Born in 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas as one of seven children to the poor, working-class farmers, Ray Cash and Carrie Cloveree, John R. Cash was brought up in economic suffering, during the Great Depression. At the age of 12, his older brother Jack died in a tragic accident, leading him to find solace and escape from his own life in music and religion. Around this time, he started to write songs and play guitar, whilst performing for a local radio station. His earliest memories were based around gospel music and radio, with his mother using the very little money they had left to pay for his singing lessons.

He enrolled in the air force in his teens, and served for four years until 1954, when he returned to Memphis and married his first wife, Vivian Liberto. He worked as an appliance salesman and being completely unsatisfied with his life without music, he performed with Luther Grant and Marshall Grant (later to be known as Johnny Cash and "The Tennessee Two") in his spare time.



(Pictured: Impromptu jam session at Sun Records with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. This later became known as the "Million Dollar Quartet" and Cash's association with such large stars of the rockabilly genre helped to shoot him to mainstream fame)

Having heard about the popularity and controversial Rock 'n' Roll music of Elvis Presley, and "Elvis-mania," Cash was drawn to the record studio that helped develop his fame, Sun Records. The owner Sam Phillips, didn't wish to produce their music, believing there wasn't a market for gospel music. A year later, he called them back wishing to hear original music, and upon hearing a more distinguised, hybrid rockabilly style, they recorded Cash's first songs "Hey Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!" These were met with mediocre success in the country music genre.

Sun Records was the turning point in John R Cash's life, and the moment that he became the Johnny Cash we all know and love today. His appeal was his hybridisation of genres, his rockabilly sounds combined elements of gospel, blues, and rock and roll.

Johnny Cash - Saint and Sinner Binary

As an iconic figure both in and out of the country music genre, Johnny Cash is arguably one of the most influential music artists of the 20th century. His distinguished style and "Outlaw" image allowed him to become a household name, and to influence hundreds of contemporary artists. It is his drug abusing, and self-destructive nature of which most people remember him for, often overlooking his roles in highlighting societal issues. He embraced music, and his influential voice to give his audience a prime diversion, in the same way music had done so for him in his youth. This is what makes Cash so interesting to me. The paradox of American music and identity, his spirituality and humble nature are hidden behind a facade of Rock n Roll, drugs and misdemeanor...

This blog will be a way for me to look at the legacy of Cash, and his contradictions in his life. Starting from his childhood and ending with the people he influenced and the music he left behind.