Comments on: The Best of Johnny Cash: The Man In Black’s 15 Most Essential Songs

By: Drew

Drew — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:47:22 +0000

And change hppt to http

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:46:25 +0000

You’ll have to cut and paste that link I posted if you want to hear the song, as it doesn’t seem to be automatic.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:45:42 +0000

This is a good reality check for me, as it turns out, my list and this list match almost perfectly.

These songs, and this artist has been a great influence on my own work as a singer/songwriter.

Here is one example:

Johnny and June
Dr BLT and Alyssa Kaess
hppt://www.drblt.net/music/Johnnyandjune.mp3

By: Gwen

Gwen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:28:15 +0000

I have tried on my own to make essential song lists and it is a lot harder to do than it sounds. People like Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn have so many great songs, its really hard to exclude favorites. On this list tho, I think not having Ragged Old Flag is nearly criminal. Johnny Cash is still the only artist in my opinion to be able to talk not sing his way thru a song and make such a huge impact. In this world today, we need to hear ROF. Its one of those songs that will most definately stand the test of time. And truly shows just how major a star Johnny Cash was.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:49:50 +0000

I guess I didn’t read this close enough, but I definitely was not in the right mode of thinking yesterday, because the greatest Johnny Cash song of all time is “Get Rhythm” and “One Piece at a Time” should also be included on this list.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:59:33 +0000

“The Night Hank Williams Came To Town” and “Jackson” should be included

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:50:39 +0000

Good list. I think I’d only make 2 changes, one minor and one major.

The minor change, I’d drop The Man Comes Around (which I like) for Delia’s Gone. Delia’s Gone was the first song on the first American Recordings release to usher in that era. Also The Man Comes Around and Hurt both cover his impeding death. Limiting it to 15, I think Delia’s Gone should be the choice.

The major change is the addition of a traditional gospel song. If you are trying to define who he was you need some gospel. I’d drop John Henry’s Hammer (Ira Hayes was a better choice to reflect this part of him) and put something like The Old Account on the list.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:12:48 +0000

I’ve always liked “The One on the Right” too. It’s silly to a point, but it makes a point as well…one that I’ve seen played out many times.

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:23:49 +0000

Tough task you set for yourself, but a good effort. One Cash song that I would have included and always felt was overlooked was “The One On The Right Was On The Left”. While the album on which it appeared (EVERYBODY LOVES A NUT) is insignificant, I’ve always felt that this amusing song got its serious point across better than the Bob Dylans of this world did with their more somber offerings.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:30:18 +0000

I think this first round of “Essential Songs” indicates the song list should be expanded from its 15 song limit default to 20 or even 25 songs if the quality of the artist’s output warrants it. Or maybe a 10 song “Honorable Mention” list could be tacked on for worthy songs that just don’t quite make the cut. On the other hand if you focused on Billy Ray Cyrus, it would be hard to identify five essential tracks….

I agree with Steve Harvey that few other artists could pull off “25 Minutes To Go” the way Johnny did.