He was a first generation Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, and the youngest living artist ever inducted into the Country Music Association Hall Of Fame – yet no music ever meant more to Johnny Cash for his entire life and recording career than the gospel upon which he was raised.
“I am thrilled that recordings of some of Johnny’s favorite Gospel songs have been put together in a new CD. Johnny and June both loved to sing those old songs, which expressed so well the deep personal faith which was very important in their lives, and which has been so often overlooked in stories about them.” - Billy Graham
For the first time in the digital era, a single CD – containing 24 tracks (three of which are previously unreleased) and over 67 minutes of music – is devoted entirely to the music that was nearest and dearest to Johnny Cash’s heart, the sanctified hymns and traditional folk spirituals, contemporary church ballads, and evangelical evergreens that were the cornerstone of every show he ever performed, and nearly every album he ever recorded.
‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel’ will arrive in stores March 6th on Columbia/ Legacy, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, in conjunction with the re-launch of the companion single CD collection, ‘Elvis Presley – Ultimate Gospel.’
‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel’ was compiled and produced by Gregg Geller, who compiled and produced 2005’s RIAA gold, Grammy Award-winning six-disc Columbia/Legacy box set, Johnny Cash – The Legend, and 2006’s Grammy-nominated Personal File. Geller is responsible for dozens of country music collections in the Legacy catalog, by artists ranging from Flatt & Scruggs to Willie Nelson. Geller’s credits include volumes in the Essential Series on George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, Kris Kristofferson, Rodney Crowell, and others, as well as the deluxe two-CD set, ‘Keep On The Sunny Side: June Carter Cash – Her Life In Music,’ released in tandem with ‘The Legend.’
‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel’ spans the first four decades of the Man In Black’s prolific recording career:
The 1950s: The earliest tracks date from 1957, Johnny’s last complete year at Sun Records in Memphis – which belies the music history axiom that Sun mastermind Sam Phillips forbade him to record gospel. Working with the Tennessee Two (guitarist Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant on bass) and producer Jack Clement, Johnny slipped in a cover of “I Was There When It Happened” (written by Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis, of “You Are My Sunshine” fame) and a Cash original, “Belshazzar,” based on the Book Of Daniel’s legend of the ill-fated Babylonian despot, son of the evil tyrant Nebuchadnezzar.
These two are followed in turn by five songs from Johnny’s first three Columbia LPs, in which producer Don Law wisely gave free rein to Johnny’s gospel roots. From his Columbia debut, 1958’s ‘The Fabulous Johnny Cash,’ comes “That’s Enough,” from the repertoire of African-American gospel great Dorothy Love Coates. The second LP, a full program of ‘Hymns By Johnny Cash,’ included the Cash original “It Was Jesus” and many traditional numbers adapted by the singer, among them “The Old Account” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Johnny’s final album of the decade was ‘Songs Of Our Soil,’ the 1959 ‘concept’ LP in which his years as a Dyess, Arkansas farmboy at the knee of his mother Carrie Rivers Cash opened him up to many musical sources, among them homage to Roy Acuff on “The Great Speckle Bird.”
The 1960s: Five albums later, 1962’s ‘Hymns From The Heart’ presented Johnny’s second all-gospel program at Columbia. “He’ll Understand And Say Well Done” is a traditional song adapted by Johnny, featuring the Tennessee Three (Perkins, Grant and drummer W.S. ‘Fluke’ Holland) and various Hollywood session singers and musicians, among them guitarist Johnny Western.
The 1970s: Not surprisingly, this is the decade that is most represented with the bulk of tracks (a total of nine) on ‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel,’ beginning with the opening two tracks. “Here Was A Man” was written by Johnny Bond and Tex Ritter (of “Theme From High Noon” renown), from 1970’s The Johnny Cash Show, recorded live at the Grand Ole Opry. “The Preacher Said ‘Jesus Said’,” a showcase duet with the Rev. Billy Graham, opened 1971’s ‘Man In Black,’ Johnny’s first self-produced LP.
The 1980s: The two final (chronological) entries on ‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel’ were recorded at a Nashville session with Clement in February 1981, among whose players were long-time band members Wootton and Holland, plus guests Marty Stuart on guitar and Earl Poole Ball on piano. “How Great Thou Art,” composed by British evangelist Stuart K. Hine and considered the all-time greatest American hymn, was a warhorse for everyone from Mahalia Jackson to Elvis Presley. “It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)” is one of the memorable compositions from radio’s first singing cowboy Stuart Hamblen (who wrote “Let The Sun Shine In,” “This Ole House,” and other hits), and has likewise been recorded by Mahalia, Elvis, Willie Nelson, and countless others.
‘Cash – Ultimate Gospel’ is now available at Amazon . Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.
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