..Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him – the greatest of the greats then and now. I first met him in ‘62 or ‘63 and saw him a lot in those years. Not so much recently, but in some kind of way he was with me more than people I see every day.
~Bob Dylan (Statement on Johnny Cash – Sept 2003)
Johnny Cash was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound. Cash didn’t sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world-weariness of country.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)
Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
And the tears that I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River
Then I’m gonna sit right here until I die
–
As a songwriter, I’ve always loved his lyrics. At the beginning of his career, John released a bunch of powerful songs in a very short time. For me, the best one was always “Big River.” It’s so well-written, so unlike anything else. The lines don’t even seem to rhyme.
~Kris Kristofferson (rollingstone.com)
[Bob Dylan]…the greatest writer of our times
~Johnny Cash (introducing “Wanted Man” on the album “At San Quentin”)
..Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him – the greatest of the greats then and now. I first met him in ‘62 or ‘63 and saw him a lot in those years. Not so much recently, but in some kind of way he was with me more than people I see every day.
~Bob Dylan (Statement on Johnny Cash – Sept 2003)
Today we celebrate Johnny Cash’s birthday & I’ve collected some videos of him performing together with Bob Dylan.
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (from the documentary No Direction Home)
Paul [wrote this]. That was from a lecture of Maharishi where he was talking about nature, and I had a piece called “I’m just a child of nature,” which turned into “Jealous Guy” years later. Both inspired from the same lecture of Maharishi.
~John Lennon (September 1980, Playboy interviews)
He was a giant, a great, great soul, with all the humanity, all the wit and humor, all the wisdom, the spirituality, the common sense of a man and compassion for people. He inspired love and had the strength of a hundred men. He was like the sun, the flowers and the moon and we shall miss him enormously. The world is a profoundly emptier place without him.
– Bob Dylan (George Harrison’s Obituary, Nov 2001)
George Harrison: The Last Performance (John Fugelsang)
Broadcast the day George Harrison died.
The last interview & last performance of a truly great individual:
