The Home Of The Late Johnny Cash Engulfed In Flames
- The big news that everyone was covering yesterday is the burning of the late Johnny Cash’s home. Tommy Cash says it’s the only house that Johnny and June lived in while they were married.
When Cash moved there, the road was a quiet country lane that skirted Old Hickory Lake. Kris Kristofferson, then an aspiring songwriter, once landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to pitch him a song. Roy Orbison was his next-door neighbor for a while.
Parts of the landmark video for Cash’s song Hurt was shot inside the house.
“It was a sanctuary and a fortress for him,” Stuart said. “There was a lot of writing that took place there.”
Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys lives on the same road. “Maybe it’s the good Lord’s way to make sure that it was only Johnny’s house,” Sterban said.
- Toby Keith’s new album is set for release on June 12. It’ll be the first album produced by Keith himself, and he’ll claim writing credits on all but two of the songs. I for one, am interested to see how this turns out. Keith is one of my favorite current main stream artists.
- Texas Tunesmith has an audio interview with Guy Clark from back in 2005. Pieces of Clark’s songs are played and then he tells stories about how/why he wrote the song.
“I’m not always able to accomplish it, but I try to write in a way that allows the listener to become part of the song,” Clark says. “Being a songwriter is not something you’re ever through with. You don’t ever get to be the best there is. You try to do better than you did but you never get completely through it. When you remember all the words without having to even learn them, that’s usually a good sign. There’s a myth about Willie Nelson never writing anything down — if the words are so strong that you can’t forget them, the song will usually hold up. Sometimes you just have to get out of the way and let the music emerge without trying to command it.”
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April 11, 2007 at 9:24 am Permalink
So sad about the Cash home! Maybe no one else was meant to live in it. I’m not superstitious, but… Hope it was heavily insured.
April 11, 2007 at 9:26 am Permalink
I’m looking forward to Toby’s new album, too. It will be interesting to see how it is. His songs, his production, his record label. Willie Nelson said he talked to Toby about his label to see how it was going, before he launched Pedernales Records.
I like Toby, too.
April 11, 2007 at 9:43 am Permalink
Can’t wait till June 12th and get my new TOBY CD!!! It is coming to be sooooooooooooooooooooooo AWESOME!!!
April 11, 2007 at 12:55 pm Permalink
I blame the evilness of Barry Gibb, who had purchased and was having Cash’s house renovated, for the tragedy. I mean who renovates Johnny frinkin Cash’s HOUSE!
April 11, 2007 at 1:13 pm Permalink
Very sad about the Cash house. Was the house featured in the last scene of Walk the Line? The set designer did a good job matching the exteriors, if not.
BL, yes, it’s hard not to be suspicious of a Bee Gee :).
April 11, 2007 at 1:45 pm Permalink
Can’t wait to hear Toby Keith’s production of Toby Keith! It should be the best yet, because who know’s Toby better than himself. June 12th won’t come fast enough!
April 11, 2007 at 5:11 pm Permalink
June 12 can’t get here soon enough. Songs written, performed and produced by Toby Keith…that’s a fantastic combination. As Toby told us it’s just him top to bottom. So glad Toby is finally getting to do it his way.
April 11, 2007 at 5:19 pm Permalink
Viva la Toby!
Baron Lane - I feel ya, it’s probably better off burned. All the articles make it sound like Gibb purchased the house with the intent of writing songs in it (probably not the case). I just wish I had the kind of money to buy a house just to write songs in it.
April 11, 2007 at 9:32 pm Permalink
Funny thing is I thought Johnny Knoxville owned the house. I could have swore I read that Dale Watson’s new CD was recorded in that house with Johnny Knoxville’s blessings.
April 11, 2007 at 9:43 pm Permalink
You’re partly correct. It’s not the house, but a cabin that Cash used to own and is now owned by Knoxville. The Watson CD was recorded there and has a lot of Cash undertones to it. I’ve been working on a review for a while, so hopefully it’ll go up soon.
April 12, 2007 at 11:49 am Permalink
Ah, gotcha. I can’t wait to see Dale next month at the Rodeo Bar here in New York.
June 30, 2007 at 12:14 am Permalink
If Gibb loved the house like he claimed he would not have started huge renovations and left it for months and months without moving in. Maybe he was only interested in telling people he owned the house as if he had wanted to keep it the way Johnny and June had kept the house you would only do the exact replica of anything that needed attention but not change it altogether.
June 30, 2007 at 12:16 am Permalink
Gibb should have left the house as it was and moved in immediately if he loved it and wanted to feel the spirit of John and June. He would not have started huge renovations and left it for many many months before moviing in.
July 24, 2007 at 8:02 am Permalink
To see the names of Johnny Cash and Toby Keith in the same thread makes my skin crawl. Cash was/is King. Keith is an idiot.
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