I imagine that some of you my age or older have a soft spot for Johnny Cash's music. For me, he was a big part of my early railroad experiences. As a youngster, I learned plenty of railroad folklore through his music. When I realized that he, too, was a a bit of a buff, that made it all the more special.

As a kid, mmom took me to many JC shows. For me, he made it "cool" to be passionate about machines. I learned to play guitar because of seeing him live. (When my CD finally gets done, you can tell me if that was a good thing. ;-))

The last time I saw him was at the Dylan Tribute at MSG about 10 years ago. I missed a few opportunities after that. Wish I hadn't.

Despite being from coastal NJ, there are plenty of JC heads in the community -- amongst the local railroad preservationists and the music community. A friend of mine ran into our rather modest neighbor Bruce Springsteen awhile back. Bruce had just come back from visiting with Johnny during his last health scare. It's all they talked about.

That tells you about the importance of Cash to his fans and his peers... when someone runs into Springsteen, and all they end up talking about is JC. (Bruce, by the way, seems to have a bit of a train bug, too.)

God bless you, Mr. Cash. May the train blow its whistle when you go.

Rest in peace.

Rob



rdavis@rypn.org

I first heard Johnny Cash on our little Kansas radio station in 1955, and in subsequent years collected most of his music. As a child, I well remember my mother shuffling around the floor of beer joints to his songs on the jukebox, and of a friend named Virgil who could imitate him almost perfectly, playing rhythm and lead concurrently as he sang, on Saturday nights at the Severance Inn in Colorado. Even saw Johnny once at the Red Rocks outside Denver, but he was hopped up on pills at the time and the then-unheard of Statler Brothers stole the show.

I like the earliest stuff the best, the yellow Sun Records, that I have dozens of. His booming baritone was totally unique among the other nasal, high pitched country singers of the time. It was a three-piece band at the time, Johnny on rhythm, Marshall Grant on stand-up bass and the fantastic Luther Perkins (who burned to death in 1968 when he fell asleep on the couch with a cigarette) on lead guitar. It was all recorded as it was performed, with no phony electronic mixing afterward. The simple E-chord rhythms can be played by anyone, but few have the voice.

The later Columbia recordings were quite good also, but as more instrumentation and "production values" were added in later years, some of his music lost its powerful, raw edge. The early train songs were good, but my favorites were "Luther's Boogie and "Come in Stranger".

Johnny reportedly owned a locomotive at one time, the former BC&G No. 4, now at Spencer Shops. I think he and second wife June Carter (of the famous Carter Family) planned a tourist railroad for a time, near her ancestral home in Virginia.

Now there is only one of the famous family of Sun musicians left, that being "the killer" Jerry Lee Lewis (whose inimitable rollicking piano can be heard on some of the early Cash recordings). Elvis, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison have passed on, along with producer Sam Phillips and now Johnny too. I hope to go to Memphis someday and stand in that hallowed studio where it all began...

http://www.sunstudio.com/default.htm
ryarger@rypn.org

There are several Johnny Cash websites, but this one has some lyrics and a link to some chords, if you're interested.

http://www.toptown.com/hp/66/jclyrics.htm
ryarger@rypn.org

Bob beat me to it....

As a JLL fan of many years I've always held my breath when I've heard the term "Pioneer Rocker Dies at..." on TV or the radio. The first song I ever remember hearing as a child was "Whole Lotta Shakin", ironically while sitting at a railroad crossing.

The passing of Mr Cash is definitly a blow to those who loved "old school" country and rockabilly music. Jerry Lee did a number of covers of Cash tunes during and after his tenure at Sun Records (where the Rock and Roll hall of fame SHOULD HAVE been, don't get me started) and a number of these were train songs. If you ever have the opportunity, pick up a copy of Jerry Lee's c.1980 cover of Folsum Prison Blues. I gaurantee that after the first few notes and "I hear that train a comin', rollin' 'round the bend" your foot will be tapping along...

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

> There are several Johnny Cash websites, but
> this one has some lyrics and a link to some
> chords, if you're interested.
MR. Johny Cash

I saw Mr. Cash in the 60's June his wife was a fine person,,,but now JUNE and Johnney are now together,,,sorry too be so mornbid,,,,Johnney and June always did great music,,,but let's not forget,,the MAN or his WIFE thar made GREAT MUSIC together,,,,,Said enough PAT

cprh1b@concast.net

Yes, Dave, Sun not Cleveland!

And there should have been a Chicago blues museum in the Illinois Central station in the Windy City, too!

BTW - there's some great new railroad music in the past 10 years from the BottleRockets.

Rob

Technically not a "Johnny Cash" song, but he was the lead singer on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Life's Railway to Heaven". (Now he is riding on a lifetime pass.) Click below for a short segment. Album is "May the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol 2"...special thanks to R&R Editor Steve Barry for bringing it to my attention.

http://hurl.content.loudeye.com/scripts/hurl.exe?clipid=001979501010006900&cid=466568
sfreer@trail.com