Legacy of Cash - The Saint and Sinner

Cash without a doubt embodies American culture, and thrives as a representative for the ill-treated, all through his wide-spread, mainstream appeal. As an iconic figure in and out of the music industry for nearly five decades, his image is spread throughout popular culture to embed his popularity even after his death. His legacy was shown in the video for "God's Gonna Cut You Down" a song who's accompanying video was a mass of celebrities from different musical genres, and actors that had all been inspired by Cash. The stars included Johnny Depp, Iggy Pop, Kris Kristofferson and Kate Moss (and others) and it was released three years after his death to pay homage to the late country, rockabilly star. This video alone worked as a representative for the appeal of Cash, and the influence he had on so many people, regardless of their background or beliefs...

While the video for "Hurt" stands for most as Cash's emotional final farewell, "God's Gonna Cut You Down" was the dedication to him that he would never get to see. The mashup of stars that had been inspired by him both directly and indirectly gathered to pay homage to the inspirational man who's career spanned and affected generations. The song suggested that people couldn't run away from their sins, and they would eventually catch up with them, which meant it proved so powerful to be the song which was a dedication to Cash.

His early career (and even some later years) were spent in drug fuelled stupors, and he was fully aware of his sins but never chose to ignore or try and hide that fact. The contradictory relations with his beliefs, religion and spirituality lie parallel with his sins and create the Cash which cannot be categorised, and the legacy and icon which he will remain to be for years to come.

Cash in Contemporary Music

His distinguished, individual non-conformist style is said to have influenced numerous genres, and having come from a country music background, hybridised country with traditional rocknroll. He held an iconic role in the establishing of rocknroll, of the outlaw country movement, and still inspires contemporary artists to this day. Kirk Hammett of heavy metal band Metallica is said to have been inspired by Cash, believing that his embodiment of the "don't mess with me image" was inspiring. And Bob Dylan's folk/rock background was directly influenced by Cash, who had him on his television show in his earliest years as a singer. Like his appeal, his influence was as equally widespread, and he is said to have influenced artists from numerous genres (like his music itself) including Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Bono and Jack White.

Many have argued that Cash started the punk rock genre, and his diversity and bad-ass image which came from performing in prisons made him brave, and the front-runner of the angry, tough genre. His statement black clothing, anti-establishment attitude and outlaw image and the previously mentioned middle-finger photo, all implement his sinner status, and would provide reason for why he influenced punk rock.
   

Cash's Later Years / "Hurt"

His problems with drug addiction were mostly confined to his youth, but he did still suffer when he went his addictions started again in the 1980s. His dependancy during the majority of his life left him fearful of all medications, and he was diagnosed with a neuro-degenerative disease in 1997, as a result of all his years of drug misuse. 

He fought the disease and still produced music in the form of American Recordings, and his other American albums, which flourished in mainstream popularity after his prominent performance at Glastonbury festival in 1994. Once again breaking all the rules and boundaries in place by conformist genre, he covered the Nine Inch Nails song, "Hurt" in 2002, putting his own powerful spin on a traditional rock song, removing profanities and replacing them with references to his devout Christianity and relationship with religion. The video was intended to capture Cash throughout his life, in youth and in his elder years. The metaphorical decaying fruit in various stages epitomises his legendary life, and the reality of him as a icon. As one of his last songs, he is seen as very frail in the video, and looking back on his life the video and song in itself suggests Cash's saint/sinner binary, and his paradoxical nature.

While he did all he could to fight the disease and keep going he eventually died in 2003. This was four months after his wife June died, and it's highly believed that he died of a broken heart. His previously recorded unheard music still gets released, with his most recent example being 2014's, Out Among The Stars.

Political Affiliation and Protesting American Culture

While his compassion and plight for prison reform goes hand in hand with his status as a saint, and with his religious views, it was also his political affiliations that made him care so much for others. Like with his protest songs "Man in Black," "One Piece at a Time," and "Folsom Prison Blues" Cash didn't like to be categorised, and his music and religious beliefs were a representation of this. Choosing to believe in fighting for injustices and standing up for the oppressed was his take on politics, and he saw himself as being above political affiliation.

Through his music he fought the injustices in society, he condemned racism and prejudices, and often protested against these topics, in the same manner of which he did for prisoners and Native American rights. While he spoke out against these issues, and the Vietnam war, his opinions didn't lie politically as his ideals were just to gain freedom and equal opportunities for his fellow Americans. The poor, working men, and ill-treated were deemed as a much more important cause than categorising or associating himself with specific political parties.

Like with his attitudes to religion, he encouraged independent thinking about politics and urged others to do the same. While he did hold strong beliefs and protested them to the masses, he encouraged that everyone celebrates their individual beliefs also, in the same way he had done.

Iconography of Cash

One of the most iconic images of Cash, is the previously shown photograph of him flipping off the photographer at his San Quentin prison performance in 1969. This image is cemented at the centre of his outlaw image, and represents his fight against the establishment. His resentment for the standard of the Southern country music genre and the people living in poverty in his home country can be epitomised by this single picture. 

As an advocate for prison reform, his concerts were a method of showing his support and representing equality, but the image itself was a protest against officials. The photo arose when the photographer, Jim Marshall, asked Cash to "do a shot for the Warden..." 

So Cash sticks up his middle finger, and creates an image which will incorporate his outlaw image, and his saint/sinner contradictions for decades to come...

Religion and Spirituality

Another aspect of his youth that influenced both his music and his image in later life, is his connections with his religion and spirituality. He was raised as a Christian, but his issues with drug addictions and his outlaw image shadowed and separated his connection to God. All of this reinforced the impossibility of categorising Cash. He did embrace his outlaw image, but contradicted it still, to be the self-confessed saint and sinner his name is mostly associated with. Yet, despite his downfalls, and his sins he remained to keep a complicated relationship with his faith and spirituality.

It was his faith and spirit that saved him during his suicide attempt during his early years, and allowed him to embody the paradox and contradiction he kept up through his life. His self-identificiation as a sinner plays dynamically with his religious evocations, and not only reinforces his contradictory, outlaw image but rather plays on it. His religious and spiritual upbringing made him the man that he is today, and arguably without religion wouldn't have had the opportunity to even create the persona of Johnny Cash, as he wouldn't have been influenced from such an early age.

An American Hero - Representing the Working Class

At no point during his successful career did Cash attempt to disguise the fact that he grew up in and lived the majority of his youth in an American working-class family, struggling to get by. He in fact thrives on the traditional masculinity of which has been produced from his poor upbringing, and chose to be influenced to achieve social justice. As he sees himself as a voice for the downtrodden and those alienated from society, he explored the angst of the men unable to break free from their existence in poverty, and their resentment for the rich and privileged.

While he became a rich and privileged person himself, he didn't ignore the plea of other fellow Americans, and still used his fame and power to be a voice/spokesperson for the ill-treated. Instead, he took advantage of his past in poverty and urged political leaders and government officials to stand up for justice and peace in the same manner that he had.

His representation of the working class is abundant in his song; "One Piece at a Time." A song which looks at an auto-worker stealing parts of a car one at a time so he can eventually build a Cadillac. Like his own saint/sinner binary, the song explores the traditional masculinity, and the frustrations which arise from their labour producing such product, but never being able to own them, they steal them in the process as part of a protest.

 

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.