Search Results for: blog johnny cash the man in black

Cash Concert Canned and “Stanford” Dishes on “Sex”

On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash performed a legendary concert at the Folsom State Prison. Cash himself was no stranger to run-ins with the law. But, despite his image, Cash was never sentenced to prison. He did go to jail seven times, but only spent one night each stay. However, his Folsom Prison concert helped give him the “outlaw” image and was a breakthrough performance that became a well-liked live album. To make the 40th anniversary of that memorable concert, there was tribute concert planned, but those plans have now been scrapped. Who decided to cancel the concert? Well, that … Continue reading →

Country Music News: Hank Thompson Dies, Roseanne Cash Has Brain Surgery

Country music lost another legend this week so soon after losing Porter Wagoner. Singer and bandleader Hank Thompson died late Tuesday of lung cancer at his home in Keller, TX. He was 82. His last show was in Waco, TX on October 8th. Texas Governor Rick Perry and Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy officially named that day “Hank Thompson Day.” Thompson death came quickly as it was just days ago that he cancelled his remaining tour dates and announced he was retiring from the music business. Thompson had twenty-nine Top 10 hits starting in 1948 and stretching all the way through … Continue reading →

Randy Travis- Losing It

You know, a lot of country singers lived their lives like country songs. Hank Williams died in a car on the way to a gig in Virginia at the young age of 29. George Jones’ wife once took his car keys because he was drunk. However, she didn’t take the lawn mower keys and Jones drove it 8 miles to get his hooch. Some might say you write best about that which you know and if that’s true, country great Randy Travis must have a really big hit brewing up inside of him. Travis has been in the headlines a … Continue reading →

Jerry Reed Dead at 71

This just confirms that I am actually older than I feel. I remember going to the theater with my parents in the ‘70s to see Jerry Reed star alongside Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit. I read that Jerry died last Monday due to complications from emphysema. Jerry was somewhat of a good ole boy Renaissance man in the ‘70s. He was a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor, but he did it the hard way. He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young then signed his first recording contract at … Continue reading →

The Betty Ford Center: 25 Years Later

I don’t even think I knew what a rehab center was until the Betty Ford Center came into being. Former First Lady Betty Ford decided to open the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Rancho Mirage, California along with Ambassador Leonard Firestone. It opened its doors in 1982, which makes this year the 25th anniversary of its opening. Why would someone so visible in the public eye open such a center? The First Lady decided to do it because she had fought an addiction and wanted a center that emphasized the needs of women as well as men. The center … Continue reading →

The Evolution of Recording Mediums and Devices

I was watching a Discovery Time special last night called “Yearbook.” It was covering 1978 and talked about how that was the first year the Walkman came out. It went on to say how it was the first time we could actually walk around and carry our music with us. I told my husband how funny it was that now, with the invention of the iPod you could carry around ALL the music you own in one small little device. I started to think how lucky I was to have seen almost all the mediums and devices for music. Actually, … Continue reading →

The Last Ten Years

Have you heard this recent release by Kenny Rogers? I caught it quite by accident on the radio a couple of days ago and I’ve listened to it several times since then. My husband and I have spent the last ten years together and so a song called The Last Ten Years gets my attention. The music is melodious and Kenny Rogers as always sings beautifully – but it’s the lyrics that haunt me when I listen to it. It’s the lyrics that speak to my heart and my memories of the last ten years. The Lyrics Oh, the last … Continue reading →

Dead Celebs Still Profiting

Well, maybe not so much the dead celebs as their descendents, but it is definitely profitable today to be a dead celebrity. Do you remember seeing Fred Astaire dance with the vacuum cleaner? Apparently, it is really the rock-n-roll legends that are pulling in the big dough. Elvis Presley may be spinning in his grave to hear that he is no longer the top earning dead celebrity, according to a Forbes.com list. He has been surpassed by another King – Grunge King Kurt Cobain. This just seems so wrong because Elvis had a much longer career. But according to Forbes, … Continue reading →

Walking the Line

I watched Walk the Line over the weekend. My mother and grandmother were both longtime fans of Johnny and June Carter Cash. I grew up hearing about their fairytale marriage. What made it so appealing to me was the reverence with which both my mother and my grandmother spoke. I never quite understood it, as my grandfather died the year before I was born and I never knew my father. I know that in retrospect, the romance of John and June is what appealed to them. They did not have that romance and in a world of hard lives and … Continue reading →