The Johnny Cash Show
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
The show lasted a little under two years, but in that time it hosted a lot of fantastic musical guests. Johnny Cash had great taste in music and had to fight to get his choices on tv on several occasions.
There are so many great artists and they’re giving some of the best performances ever done for TV.
Here are my 11 favorite You Tube clips from the magnificent, The Johnny Cash Show:
Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away , Living The Blues and Girl From The North Country (duet with Johnny Cash):
Neil Young – The Needle and the damage done and Journey through the past:
Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Morning Coming Down:
Cash fought hard to keep the word, “stoned” in the lyrics that were broadcast.
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
― Dolly Parton
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
― Dolly Parton
“I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.”
― Dolly Parton
Here’s a nice tribute video – Gospel Music Hall of Fame 2009:
Jolene – live 1974:
In her productivity and devotion to writing Parton is like a nineteenth-century woman novelist–a hillbilly Louisa May Alcott. What’s best about her is her spunkiness and prettiness (Jo crossed with Amy); what’s worst is her sentimentality and failures of imagination (Beth crossed with Meg).
~Robert Christgau (Christgau – Dolly Parton albums)
From Wikipedia:
Birth name
Dolly Rebecca Parton
Born
January 19, 1946 (age 67)
Sevierville, Tennessee, United States
Genres
Country, country pop, pop, bluegrass, gospel
Occupations
Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, author, musician, businesswoman
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author, and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music.
Beginning her career as a child performer, Parton issued a few modestly successful singles in the mid-1960s, showcasing her distinctive soprano voice. She came to greater prominence in 1967 as a featured performer on singer Porter Wagoner’s weekly television program; their first duet single “The Last Thing on My Mind” was a hit on the country charts and led to several successful albums before they ended their partnership in 1974. Moving towards mainstream pop music, Parton’s 1977 single “Here You Come Again” was a success on both the country and pop charts. A string of pop-country hits followed into the mid-1980s, notably recording a pair of successful albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, along with the creation of the Dollywood amusement park. In the late 1990s, Parton returned to classic country/bluegrass with a series of acclaimed recordings.
Coat Of My Colors – live 1974:
She has composed over 3,000 songs, the best known of which include “I Will Always Love You” (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), “Jolene”, “Coat of Many Colors”, “Here You Come Again” (Parton’s first significant crossover hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100), “9 to 5”, and “My Tennessee Mountain Home”. Parton is one of the most successful female country artists of all time, and with an estimated 100 million in album sales, she is also one of the best selling artists of all time in any genre.
As an actress, she starred in the movies 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, Gnomeo & Juliet, Straight Talk, Unlikely Angel, and Joyful Noise.
I Will Always Love You – live 1974:
Album of the day:
The Essential Dolly Parton (2005):
There have been many, many Dolly Parton compilations over the years, but RCA/Legacy’s 2005 set The Essential Dolly Parton is one of the handful that gets it right. Spanning two discs and 37 tracks, this set covers her entire career, from her 1967 debut, Hello, I’m Dolly, to her 2001 bluegrass comeback album, Little Sparrow, but the bulk of this set concentrates on her hitmaking years for RCA in the ’70s and ’80s. Since Dolly had so many hits, not all of them can be included even on a double-disc collection, but this does a tremendous job of picking the biggest and the best of them.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)
Country blues guitarist and vocalist Blind Lemon Jefferson is indisputably one of the main figures in country blues. He was of the highest in many regards, being one of the founders of Texas blues (along with Texas Alexander), one of the most influential country bluesmen of all time, one of the most popular bluesmen of the 1920s, and the first truly commercially successful male blues performer.
~Joslyn Layne (allmusic.com)
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean:
Well, there’s one kind of favor I’ll ask of you
Well, there’s one kind of favor I’ll ask of you
There’s just one kind of favor I’ll ask of you
You can see that my grave is kept clean
Here is Bob Dylan’s take (from his first album – “Bob Dylan” (1962)):
From Wikipedia:
Birth name
Lemon Henry Jefferson
Born
September 24, 1893
Origin
Coutchman, Texas, United States
Died
December 19, 1929 (aged 36)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres
Blues
Occupations
Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Years active
1926–1929
“Blind” Lemon Jefferson (Lemon Henry Jefferson; September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled “Father of the Texas Blues”.
Jefferson’s singing and self-accompaniment were distinctive as a result of his high-pitched voice and originality on the guitar. Though his recordings sold well, he was not so influential on some younger blues singers of his generation, who could not imitate him as they could other commercially successful artists. However, later blues and rock and roll musicians attempted to imitate both his songs and his musical style. His recordings would later influence such legends as B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Son Houseand Robert Johnson.
