Yer Weekend Chuckle: A “Thanks” for the Ages
Johnny Cash was a legendary figure in American music. I’ve mentioned him previously in comments to articles at TAH, as well as featuring one of his late-career collaborations in this article.
And yeah, that means I’m about to go on another music-related walkabout. You’ve been forewarned.
But if you read on, I think you’ll get a chuckle out of this one. (smile)
. . .
From his beginnings in the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, Johnny Cash was one of the biggest names in country music as well as one of the most successful. He also had substantial crossover appeal on the pop music scene of the day, and hosted his own TV show on ABC for a while (1969-1971).
But his career – and his relationship with the music industry – wasn’t always “smooth sailing”. From the mid/late 1970s to the early 1990s, Cash’s career as a significant recording artist appeared to be winding down if not over. His popularity waned, and he was even dropped by two recording companies because of poor sales (Columbia in the mid-1980s and Mercury in 1991).
However, two chance meetings then occurred that were instrumental in changing his career for the better.
In early February 1993, Cash was in Dublin, Ireland, on tour. While there he met with members of U2. (He’d previously met Bono and Adam Clayton of U2 in 1988.) This chance meeting led to Cash recording the lead vocal for the tune “The Wanderer” on U2’s 1993 album Zooropa during his stay. And later that same month, Cash met with Rick Rubin of American Recordings in Santa Anna, California.
The two events set in motion Cash’s late-career resurgence. U2’s Zooropa stayed on the charts for months and was also a hit with the critics – and “The Wanderer” was a big part of that. Next, Cash’s first two albums on Rubin’s American Recordings label were critically acclaimed (even if not as successful on the charts as U2’s smash).
In fact, both of Cash’s first two albums with Rubin (1994’s “American Recordings” and 1996’s “Unchained”) received Grammy Awards. The former received the Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary Folk Recording” for 1994; the latter received the Grammy Award for “Best Country Album” for 1997.
Still: there was a problem. Cash’s new American Recordings albums – though critically acclaimed – just weren’t getting much airplay. Most of mainstream country radio simply wouldn’t play Cash’s new material; the Nashville country music establishment didn’t seem to care about it, either. Both appeared to consider Cash’s music, and Cash, “passé” and not worth airtime.
So in early 1998, Rick Rubin decided to see what he could do to change the situation. He chose to do so by thanking the Nashville music establishment on Cash’s behalf. But first, a bit of background is in order.
. . .
During his heyday, Cash developed a rather well-deserved reputation as a rebellious and somewhat unpredictable individual. He also was perceived as identifying strongly with the outcast elements of society – which appears to have been an accurate reading of his personality. Cash recorded a Grammy-nominated (it didn’t win) album titled Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian that highlighted historical wrongs done to Native Americans. Further, two of his most famous (and most critically-acclaimed) albums were recorded at shows performed for prison inmates in California prisons: Folsom and San Quentin.
While at San Quentin in 1969, during pre-concert activities noted popular music photographer Jim Marshall took a series of photographs of Cash documenting the visit. One of those photos has become famous – but only after it had remained virtually unknown for close to 20 years.
Marshall has stated that the photograph in question was taken in response to Marshall telling Cash, “John, let’s do a shot for the warden,” during a photo shoot prior to the show. Other accounts indicate it was taken when a fed-up Cash’s vented his frustration with a TV crew that had accompanied him and his party to film the concert for a BBC TV documentary. Either account is consistent with the photo’s content.
Assuming Marshall’s account is correct, if you know anything about Cash’s history you can probably guess what happened. Cash complied, non-verbally showing just what he thought of authority figures in general.
Given the sensibilities of the day (late 1960s), the photo remained mostly under wraps for years. Bootleg copies appeared on occasion (as did unauthorized merchandise featuring it without Marshall’s permission as copyright holder). But it doesn’t appear to have ever been officially released until publication of the first book covering Marshall’s work in 1997.
In any case, Rubin learned of the photo and obtained a copy. In early 1998 Rubin created an ad based on the photo as a way to “thank” the Nashville music establishment for their support of Cash’s recent work.
Ruben then told Cash that he wanted to run the ad in a major trade publication, and showed the ad to Cash. He asked Cash’s permission to do this.
Cash reputedly had misgivings about the proposed ad, as did some in his family. By one account, Cash even approached Billy Graham – with whom he was friends – for his take on the matter. (Graham reportedly didn’t tell Cash what he should do, saying only that he wouldn’t judge Cash either way.)
Cash eventually gave his go-ahead. And in Billboard Magazine’s March 14, 1998 issue, Rubin’s full-page ad appeared.
A Bowderized version of the ad appears below. (The original might be considered NSFW at some places, and I don’t want to get anyone viewing this article in trouble accidentally.) However, a scan of the uncensored original may be viewed here).
Running the ad cost $20,000. The publicity it created for Rubin and Cash – as well as he satisfaction I’m sure they got from running it? Priceless. (smile)
If there’s ever been a better sarcastic “Thank you for your support” in history, I’d love to hear of it. IMO this one’s damn near impossible to top.
. . .
That’s all for today. Walkabout complete; enjoy the rest of your day/weekend.
Category: Pointless blather, Who knows, YGBSM!!
There is a fairly large piece of the story missing. Cash underwent a personal religious revival and found Jesus in the 70s. This played a huge influence on his later work. HE credits this with helping him with drug addiction and saving his life.
This was in the era before Christian Adult Contemporary music was popular and was why radio mostly refused to play his stuff. This is also why he consulted Graham prior to the ad being published.
Like a lot of music U2 makes the Wanderer has strong Christian undertones reflecting the beliefs of the band. This was a huge negative at the time it was released.
Yes, Cash’s re-dedication to Christianity in the late 1960s/early 1970s (it had happened before his TV show ended and was causing problems with the show’s producers even then) may have been a part of the reason for Cash’s career decline in the mid/late 1970s and early 1980s. But by the mid-1980s, Christian country music had a substantial following. That’s only part of the reason. The roots of the downturn run deeper.
Cash had been an outsider in the country music community for years before his career began to decline. First: he’d started out in the Memphis rockabilly world with Sun Records and Sam Phillips. From the beginning, his music had influences outside the traditional C&W field – specifically, blues, early rock&roll, and Gospel.
Second: Cash had previously called out country radio and the Nashville music establishment as gutless. Research the controversy over his 1964 album “Bitter Tears”. (cont)
Part II
But the album got little promotion from Columbia, and country DJs – and Nashville record execs – had long memories.
Third: when Cash began devoting more time to Gospel and religious music, his secular songwriting simply suffered. And at the time, secular music sold better. It’s also thought that after a few commercial flops Cash began to doubt his abilities as a songwriter.
Fourth, during most of this period (mid 1970s thru early 1990s) Cash had neither a strong producer willing to level with and push him or management willing to do so. Cash parted ways with Saul Holiff about that time. Holiff was willing to level with – and disagree with – Cash about his career and musical choices. Later management seemed to be less inclined to do either. The fact that he was still successful on-tour also helped hide the issue of his declining recording success.
Part III
Cash also had a son with his second wife early during this period (1973, I believe). Couple that with his loss of custody of his daughters during his earlier divorce, and Cash appeared to be willing to spend more time with family as well.
Also, Cash’s drug habit recurred periodically during the 1970s and 1980s, and he ended up with some other health issues as well due to hard living. These began to affect him in the 1980 – likely sapping his energy – and he ended up having coronary bypass surgery in late 1988.
I also wouldn’t say that U2’s Christian orientation exactly hurt their career. It was blatantly obvious from The Joshua Tree forward that U2 had strong Christian themes in their music, and perceptive listeners saw it in their earlier works as well. And if that orientation hurt Zooropa’s sales, it didn’t hurt it very much; IMO that album wasn’t one of U2’s better works, yet it still spent 40 weeks (close to 9 months) on the charts.
Part IV
Bottom line: Cash’s Christian orientation explains some of his career downturn from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. But it only explains a part of that decline. Health issues (including addiction relapses), lack of input and guidance from production and management, long memories on the part of Nashville execs and country DJs, and less attention on Cash’s part to his songwriting and/or song choices IMO played a far larger part in that decline. Management and producers that weren’t strong enough to level with him also IMO played a part.
The recording industry simply doesn’t drop a well-known and established artist from two different labels (Columbia and Mercury) unless they just aren’t selling. And good music – containing Christian themes or not – that captures and holds the public’s attention sells; U2’s career proves that. From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, much of Cash’s music simply wasn’t selling. IMO that’s because much of it just wasn’t as good as before or after.
My dad had a stack of Johnny Cash albums, including “Bitter Tears”. All on orange vinyl, 1960’s Thai bootleg copies. I think they were like a nickel apiece. Great copies but very short lived. So soft they’d droop if you held the edge. Dad bought hundreds of them and immediately put them on reel-to-reel.
Really liked the ’70s Cash stuff like Ragged Old Flag, John R. Cash, etc. but I frequently cite seeing him as my worst concert disappointment. I did read in his autobiography he checked back in to rehab a couple of days later.
Yeah, Cash had substance abuse issues dating back to the late 1950s – most accounts say with amphetamines and barbiturates. The former really did a number on him when he was using; check out his mug photos from his El Paso arrest. (Not positive if that was the occasion, but at one point while he was using his weight dropped to around 125 lbs – and he was around 6′ tall.) He’d use the latter to come down, and on more than one occasion reportedly nearly used too much and offed himself.
He could often rise to the occasion and still perform well. But not always. Sounds like you attended one of the “not always” performances.
FIRST it makes me a bit blue to think folks have to have Johnny Cash’s life explained to them – but the youngsters may not know it.
One of the things that always attracted me to him (after I got old enough to pay attention) was his blunt honesty, about his struggles, his beliefs, his failures and successes.
His autobiography Man in Black is on my shelf (along with several others’) and is, IMHO, worth the read.
I can totally see why Billy Graham withheld advice. He probably knew Cash was being blackballed because of his faith and convictions (among other factors listed by Hondo which, realistically, were probably equally influential.) Graham could not, as the world’s best-known evangelist, put his “seal of approval” on such a photo, but he undoubtedly understood the sentiment.
Spot on Graybeard. I always had much respect, admiration, and appreciation of “The Man in Black”, warts and all. Nashville Record Execs? Not so much. Most of them rank right down there with lawers, used car salesmen, military phonies, and whale poop. And that whole Country/Pop BS that took over back yonder? PHHTTTTT! *spit* Sadly, a number of radio stations that call themselves “Classic Country” are calling that genre Classic Country. And it’s not. And most of today’s “Country Music” is not either. As Possum Jones said so eloquently… “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”
I don’t think we are going to find many fans of record company execs.
Fans of record company execs are to be found along with fans of:
You might also like Johnny Cash: The Life by Robert Hilburn, Greybeard. My understanding is that it’s considered the most definitive bio of Cash to date.
Though Cash was fairly candid and told most in his two autobiographies, he apparently withheld some info out of concern for those still living that might be hurt by disclosing same. By the time Hilburn published his bio, that was largely no longer a concern – and Cash’s estate reputedly gave the go-ahead for fuller disclosure.
If you look around on places like eBay, a good used copy can be found in the $8-$10 range, including shipping. eBay is where I recently got a copy.
It’s not perfect and may get a few details wrong (like most every bio), but it’s fascinating reading.
Thanks Hondo. I’d not seen that one before.
Have you ever looked at abebooks.com ?
They are a kind of clearing house for used bookstores in the USA and overseas (to some extent).
They list it for $5.44 including shipping, used.
(I sort by lowest total price. A nice feature I wish others had.)
I’m pretty sure they also list on eBay. I think that’s the eBay vendor I bought my copy from; that price sounds very familiar.
I may have confused the price of Hilburn’s book with another book I bought at the same time. The other might have been the one that was around $8 with shipping.
IMO it’s well worth that price if they still have a copy. Mine wasn’t pristine, but it was in very good used condition – one or two sentences on a single page highlighted and a couple of pages (and the back cover) slightly creased, otherwise no damage.
As absurd as this will sound it is true:
There is a clause in the Johnny Cash estate that there is one song that can never be licensed to be used for hemorrhoid creme…
… “Ring of Fire.”
Look it up O Ye of Little Doubt.
Do you remember who wrote Ring of Fire?
June Carter – about their relationship. She said Johnny sang it differently than she had envisioned it.
Close, DC, but not exactly correct.
Merle Kilgore and June Carter shared writing credit for the song “Ring of Fire”. Kilgore would on occasion play it himself in concert, and would jokingly dedicate the song to the makers of Preparation H when he did so.
In early 2004, a production company in Florida approached Kilgore regarding licensing his version of the song for use in an ad for Preparation H or a similar product. Kilgore gave the deal the thumbs-up. However, since June Carter shared writing credit and had passed away in 2003 (as had her husband, Johnny Cash) their heirs also had to OK the deal. The heirs refused to go along – and that killed the deal.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/story/cash-family-draws-line-around-ring-of-fire
That was what was put forth on an episode of the game show “The Chase” – that there is a clause with the estate (not Johnny Cash, but his estate) where the clause specifies that the song is not to be used for hemorrhoid creme. Perhaps it came about as a result of what happened? We may be saying the same thing, but that is how the question and answer were stated on the game show.
Due to recent personal experience as “Personal Representative of the Deceased” (the current preferred term for what used to be called an Estate’s Executor), I’m reasonably certain that the game show garbled the facts here.
Estates do not have “clauses”. A deceased individual’s estate is simply the collection of property they owned at time of death. The deceased’s will could have clauses relating to distribution of property IAW their wishes, but the estate itself would not.
The Personal Representative/Executor is the individual appointed by the probate court having jurisdiction over the estate that takes necessary actions regarding the distribution of property, pays debts owed by the deceased, etc . . . . The estate is managed by this individual until he/she is satisfied all estate business is completed. At that point, and after a certain minimum time is passed (6 mo in many jurisdictions), the Personal Representative can ask the probate court to close the estate. (cont)
Part II
After the estate has been closed, the estate of the deceased no longer exists. The deceased’s heirs then own whatever was granted them by the deceased’s will or transferred to them by the estate’s executor. Further claims against the estate are typically barred by law (malfeasance on the part of the Personal Representative/Executor or a fraudulent will may be exceptions). Estates can also be reopened under some circumstances – such as the discovery of a previously-unknown relative entitled to a share of the estate – but lawyers who assist in such matters REALLY don’t like doing that.
In this case, it sounds like the proposed deal occurred less than 6 months after Cash’s death (Cash died in Sep 2003, and the deal was proposed about 5 months later). That means his estate was likely still open, so that the individual(s) appointed as Personal Representative/Executor would have had the authority to block the deal. IMO that’s what likely happened. (cont)
Part III
This assumes that Cash inherited the rights to the song from his wife on her demise in May 2003. If she instead bequeathed it in her will to someone else, that other individual would have had ownership and would have been the one making the decision. Since the decision was apparently made by one of Johnny Cash’s surviving children, it’s more likely that his wife June left it to him and that it passed to his estate on his death. Her estate may well have been fully settled by January 2004.
Bottom line: unless Cash’s will had a specific clause in it relating to future commercial use of “Ring of Fire” (assuming he’d updated his will after his wife’s death to so read), I can’t see how the “estate clause” contention can be accurate. But it’s entirely possible that Johnny Cash’s or (June Carter Cash’s, if her estate were still open) Personal Representative could have given the deal the thumbs down.
Not “bustin’ yer chops”. Just “been there done that” fairly recently.
Addition to Previous Comments:
Did a bit more checking, and it appears that Tennessee has a 12-month window for claims against estates vice 6 months. This means that both Johnny Cash’s and June Carter Cash’s estates were likely open in Jan 2004. It thus may well have been the Personal Representative/Executor of June Carter Cash’s estate that blocked the deal instead of Johnny Cash’s estate.
Hondo – thanks for the breakdown. A few thoughts:
(…)
… I dunno. I have no emotional investment either way.
My intent was to point to something humorous and that humor was “Ring of Fire” and hemorrhoids causing a burning sensation around the anus. Jokes lose their punch when they need explaining but the humor I found in this was it was a song about love and it was an attempt to attach it to something about an anus.
Extremely rudimentary attempt at humor. Probably very litte.
Sort of like “So, an elephant walks into a bar…”
Let me stop you right there. An elephant cannot walk into a bar. The door is too small and they’d have to be in Africa…
(creative license… the focus is on the humor)
(…)
(…) I do, however, concede that this opens up an opportunity to legally explore what happened in the case of the Carter-Cash hemorrhoid dustup. We may need a thorough legal analysis, and I sincerely would find the results interesting but it does go beyond my simple quip.
Some years back they did an excellent segment on “60 Minutes” talking about celebrities that died and how the financial management of their brand is fiercely protected. They may have mentioned “estate” but it was more closely tied to the licensing of their brand – music, films, etc. If that is “estate” then so be it. Too far back for me to remember. Some of these celebrities make more in death than they did while they were alive. Highly lucrative business for an attorney to oversee the brands/estates of the deceased.
“No harm/no foul”, amigo. Understand you were just pointing out a humorous situation. I just like to run things to ground for accuracy.
My money’s on “the game show garbled the facts” – but I’d also love to see the details and know for sure. But since both Johnny’s and June’s estates are now almost certainly long closed, the relevant info may not be releasable to the public. I also can’t see the Cash family making any further public statements about the matter.
Personally, I think Johnny would have gotten a big laugh from the idea; he was a bit of a rogue and rebel. But IMO there’s no way June would have ever given the OK – and she was the one who had writing credit.
Wasn’t exactly how I remember it, but here it is:
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/chase-haemorrhoids-question-bradley-walsh-17252989
(NOTE: The version I saw was on the American version of “The Chase” but I suspect it was the same question. Suspect I was wrong about the term “estate” and maybe assumed that from the family and after his death. Definitely not a clause so were referring to a singular event, but reason to believe they would never license it for use in a hemorrhoid commercial.)
Johnny Cash does a better rendition of hurt by. Nine inch nails than they did.
Give it a listen if you have not heard it.
Better yet, find the video on Youtube and watch that while listening with good headphones. The audio on the authorized copy provided to Youtube appears to be CD quality.
Alone, the audio is excellent. Add the video and the combo is stunning.
If you watch the video, you might want to have a tissue handy. You may need it.
I’ve seen that video. It is powerful.
Well, 50 years of hard living and seeing your friends die off one by one will lead to the depth of emotion that you see and hear in Johnny Cash’s version. I agree with Hondo, the video makes this song. It’s tough to watch sometimes, especially the scenes with June.