Johnny Cash: The Life Paperback – November 4, 2014

Johnny Cash: The Life by Robert Hilburn is a thorough, intimate look at the life of the late Johnny Cash. Hilburn manages to avoid rehashing the well-documented heights and slumps of Cash’s musical career and instead focuses on the man behind the legend. He depicts Cash as an intelligent, genuine person who careens through life at the mercy of many forces beyond his control, including the music business, family, and John’s deep Christian faith. More an honest man who loves music than a pure artist, John continually struggles with the demands of the public roles he is asked to play at the expense of the private ones he prefers.Taken from accounts of John given by friends, family, and folklore, Hilburn writes for those who are already generally familiar with the story of Johnny Cash and June Carter. He spends little to no time chronicling Cash’s success as an artist, avoiding any sanctimonious narratives about how John reshaped and influenced vast tracts of the musical landscape of the 1950s and 60s, and instead focuses on John’s personal struggles, seeking to dispel the myths which surround the man. John is a manic, anxious, divided man who struggles with addiction and infidelity, both to his first wife, Vivian Liberto, and better-known partner, June Carter. Throughout his life, it seems John is always trying to do better than he actually can, whether it be as an artist, father, or a Christian. He is foremost a man who struggles.Parallel to the primary narrative, and arguably as interesting, is Hilburn’s account of the musical climate throughout the course of John’s career. In an age when pop music acts have a shelf life of five years or less, Cash’s repeated swings between expansive international fame and near-obscurity over the course of five decades are nearly unfathomable in the modern world; on many occasions, particularly in the 1960s, John nearly slipped from the musical landscape entirely. Fans born after 1980 may be astonished by the many seasons of Cash’s professional life, which while varied, share thematic resonance as John progresses from a young man with a love of music, to international superstar, to a man whose interests and concerns evolve beyond music in his later years. In this age of independent music, where an artist can reach international audiences without ever entering a professional recording studio, it is easy to forget how important DJs and pop charts once were to an artist’s success. Indeed, much of John’s success and influence is described in terms of chart position. While it is easy to be cynical in a time when Nickleback was named the top rock band of the last decade, John’s position on the charts remains the foremost influence on his future prospects throughout his career. Equally distant from our own time was John’s capability to issue dozens of rehashed greatest hits compilations and junk albums which don’t contain any of the songs he is famous for. These days, one dud album is enough to knock a popular artist down a couple of tiers. His career embodies a strange alchemy of directionless artistic freedom and monumental success which seemingly allowed him to swing back into the public consciousness just before his artistic demise, time and time again.Hilburn also explores the darker side of the man in black, peppering the overarching narrative with small anecdotes largely based on hearsay and rumor. That being said, he avoids tabloid conjecture and is always very careful to qualify any of the outrageous stories which might defame John, and presents the most far-fetched of these accounts as such. These accounts range from funny (holding mock gunfights using blanks in hotel lobbies) to tragic (John’s willful aloofness at the deaths of dear friends, Luther Perkins and Johnny Horton) to disappointingly scandalous (John’s purported affairs with Anita Carter). He presents these stories as something for the reader to consider, and rather than trying to discredit what was plainly a remarkable individual; he frames them as a humanizing element for a man who achieved a legendary status before the age of forty.Younger readers and fans may be surprised by Cash’s relevance as a national icon beyond the musical arena. Courted by presidents, senators, and causes, there was a time in the 1960s and 70s when it seemed that just about anyone running for an office or trying to get a bill passed wanted to recruit Johnny Cash to support them. Fostering a healthy respect for the office of the presidency and great love of The United States, John never seemed quite comfortable in responding to these pressures. Hilburn shows Cash as a political entity beyond politics; he loved his country and yet faced times when it was hard to define what love for country really meant. His songs What is Truth? and Ragged Old Flag would seem to send contradictory messages in the modern political landscape, but Cash epitomizes his generation in that he held a great love for what had been, but cannot ignore the questions posed by his times.The ultimate feeling after reading these accounts is one of pity for Cash; he was a man with tremendous natural talent and a genuine heart, but he lacked the vision or presence of mind to really direct--or even cope--with his role in the greater society. By the 1970s, Hilburn portrays Cash as one who began to view commercial music as his “day job,” instead focusing on his spiritual and familial pursuits, turning out banal albums and touring just to make ends meet. At this time, Cash has reached a sort of artistic malaise, well past caring about his musical career but unable to abandon it. His thoughts at this time focus on family and God; his music and development as an artist are things set firmly in the past. There is no modern equivalent to this shift; no artist in modern times has forsaken a career that reached such heights to turn instead to the matters of the heart.Other reviewers of Johnny Cash: The Life have focused on Cash’s pill addiction, infidelity, and the tarnishing of his romantic image, all of which are well-chronicled in this book. The real beauty of The Life is that Cash was a man who achieved worldwide fame much through happenstance, dumb luck, and misdirected hunger for something more, rather than unbridled, boundless talent. He is far more human than most musical icons, far more humble than your boss, and far more helpless than most of the examples we have of “successful” people. He was a man with an amazing natural talent who was largely unable to contend with all of the trouble and temptations that his big baritone voice got him into.While the book is excellent throughout, the chapters detailing Cash’s later years under the direction of producer Rick Rubin deserve a special mention. By this point, Cash is old, his health is waning, and he has not had a real hit in twenty years. He regards music as a way to pay his bills, but has regrettably lost touch with the passion behind his early recordings--something that shames him greatly. Rubin, primarily known for his work with hip-hop artists, seemed at first an odd pairing with the enigmatic Cash. Gradually, through experimentation, long-distances calls, and a mutual passion for the project, they manage to rediscover what made Cash special. What makes these chapters so effective is Hilburn’s account of both the professional and personal relationship between Cash and Rubin. The two progress from awkward early meetings in Rubin’s living room, to mismatched friends, to close contacts who stay in touch and even take communion together over the phone (a practice suggested by Cash). The American albums are the result of this partnership, and in some ways they are Cash’s strongest works. It is a rare artist who gets to peak (or at least, recapture something close to their prime) in the twilight of their career.Hilburn takes his time with the major phases of John's’ life, but when he’s done telling a chapter he is quick to fast-forward to the next major arc of Cash’s career. We see John progress from a boy listening to the Louvin Brothers and the Carter Family on the radio, to an Air Force code-cracker in Germany, picking his way through old tunes for fun more than practice, to a young rockabilly sensation, touring as a an opening act while still working as a salesman…these phases fly by in Hilburn’s narrative, and the ultimate result, when John has died and all of the heights and depths have been explored, is one of sadness; we see Cash ascend through a dynamic life in less than seven-hundred pages, and the narrative, remarkably, feels over too soon. In the final chapters, John is nearly-blind, cannot walk, and has to stop in the middle of studio sessions to catch his breath. He can’t even finish a song, but his mind remains clear while his body gives up its last. We were all reading about a pill-popping rockstar only a few hundred pages before, and the effect is to remind us all of our mortality and how quickly the chapters of our own lives pass. John might have reminded us that our lives are as vapors.Final Verdict: Johnny Cash: The Life is an essential and enriching account of Cash’s life that every fan should read. It carries equal value for those interested and invested in the music industry of the past fifty years as it does for Cash music fans. While it may not provide the empirical validation that the most ardent biographers seek (and rarely find), it provides an unafraid look into the man behind some of the most influential music of the last fifty years. It maintains a respect for both the artist and the man while delving into his utterly fallible humanity, effectively removing all shine and glamor from the man in black. Cash’s range of appeal eclipses the artists of his day and those who came after him, and his story is one that any person who has ever struggled between their passions and the reality of their lives can relate to. He is an artist who both loved his country and devoted a large part of his life to extolling the virtues and telling the stories of those to whom it had given the least. Hilburn’s account is the most-thorough and accomplished of any that has been recorded.

After viewing the movie on Amazon I enjoyed it so much I bought the extended cut which is the same as Amazon showing, but glad I did. I was a kid when Johnny Cash, June Carter, Elvis and other greats were on the radio and we purchased 45's for $1. to play on our portable record players which also played 33's albums. in my early to mid teens. So this movie and book was very impressive to read and see as Johnny Cash was great and also a mysterious talent. I always thought he had been in jail which back then he had not served but did his famous "I walk the line" live concert at Folsom Prison which he wrote while serving in the military and courting his 1st wife. He and his big brother listened to June on the radio and loved her, then Jake was killed by a sawmill blade he operated on to earn $1 for the entire wood stack each day. It's all in the beginning of the movie and I often wondered about his brother's death and their closeness and the hatred his father put him through all his life. So much is revealed about this good man portrayed as a criminal and bad person. He lived through a lot of heartache then grew up to be a star and the problems therein. Good read, good movie. So glad he and June got married and lived till death for 35 happy years, they died 3 months apart. I believe people and animals/birds do grieve to death after the loss of their loved ones, they lose the will to live without their mates as history reveals to us. Get the book and the movie if you ever loved Johnny Cash and other greats of this era of early stardom.

I loved Johnny Cash so it was fabulous reading a good-sized book covering his life. Only knowing the basics of his life before reading his son's book and this one, I previously thought from watching Walk the Line that he kicked drugs for good early in life. I appreciated finding it was a life-long struggle. Pills are hard to quit, I know from experience. He was such a fascinating person, aside from his artistry--which, of course, was amazing. He must have felt so torn all his life between following the tenets of his Christian faith and living the life of a legend on tour with the constant temptations of women and drugs. Add to that losing his brother so young and his father's criticism and...well, it wasn't easy. But life isn't easy. It's a struggle and I like knowing someone like Johnny Cash was as human as me.I found the beginning and end of the book compelling reading. The end was particularly evocative, beautiful and sad. In between, I found myself skimming a fair amount, particularly quoted reviews of Johnny Cash albums and quoted song lyrics--which I didn't think advanced the life story much. I liked the details of how his classic songs were put together, but I wasn't too much interested in the details of the songs that were lesser known. I think if the author would have gotten rid of 20% of the manuscript, always asking himself if what he was writing significantly added to or was necessary to our knowledge and understanding of Johnny Cash's life, this would have been a excellent book versus very good.I recommend this if you are a fan. You will get plenty of details.

I finished this book a few days ago and am still thinking about it.Like others, I grew up listening to plenty of Johnny Cash at home as my Dad absolutely loved him and was of similar vintage. I knew a little of him, a kind of sketch - from the raw early days, to June Carter, Folsom Prison, Gospel Road, U2, Hurt. But this book is such an utter warts-and-all telling of the JR Cash story that it blows you away. It's so human and yet so electric. Good and bad, dreadful and yet utterly inspiring. I can't quite get my arms around enough words to do it justice - except to say that this is all of us, in our bleakest moments, the light and blackness of life, sin and saviour.I'll be thinking about it all for some time to come. I urge you to read it.

Excelent book for those who are interested in Johnny Cash legacy!!

Must have for all Johnny Cash fans

Fabuloso