Johnny Cash: The Life

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.

The book was a little long but by the end I had a good feeling for who Johnny Cash was. I’m not a huge country music fan, but I had recently bought a Cash greatest hits album, and I had just finished another good book by the author on Paul Simon—the reason I chose this book. The book spends a considerable amount of time on Cash’s childhood and beginnings, scrapping his way to being a country music star, the only thing he wanted do in life. We get a good feeling for who his first wife Vivian was and what their relationship was like, as well as who June Carter was and what their relationship was like. The kids often are mentioned. The credit section at the end of the book mentions the numerous people the author spoke with. I’m not sure I buy into the claim that 80% of the information contained in this book was new, but I think it’s the author’s reaching-out to interview people associated with Cash that made the book good. The author it seems had the blessings of the Cash family to do the book and good access to people and records. Cash had died before the author wrote this book. Another good aspect of the book was learning about the constant themes in Cash’s life—his love of music and his desire to do well, his deep religious feelings throughout his life despite having a lifelong problem with drug addiction and marital fidelity (especially in the first half of his life), his deep empathy with people whose life didn’t turn out as hoped, especially imprisoned criminals. After spending so much time learning about Cash and his very long music career, the last sections of the book on the end of his life were very moving and probably the section I had the hardest time stopping the audiobook. The narrator had a Southern drawl, not enough to be annoying but enough to almost sound like Cash. Additionally, I frequently stopped the audiobook to listen to the songs being talked about. This was a very memorable aspect of doing this audiobook. I liked Cash’s first few Sun Records albums and the Fulsome Prison concert recording. One Piece at a Time is a riot. Hilburn, the author, a long-time music critic for the LA Times, also did a bio on Randy Newman that is on my short list.

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.

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've read Robert Hilburn for more than 35 years, and have always found his writing to be accurate, fair, and passionate. While I've never been a big fan of country music, I've come to appreciate Johnny Cash more and more over the years - especially his American Recordings albums with Rick Rubin. I learned so much about the origins of Sun Records, Cash's passion for underdogs, his battle with addictions, his need for affirmation, and his physical ailments at the end of his life. As a Christian, I was interested to see how Hilburn handled Cash's faith, which was quickly glossed over in the film Walk the Line. In my view, Hilburn bent over backwards to represent Cash's faith and love for gospel songs in a way that would have pleased Cash no end. I didn't sense one syllable of ridicule for Cash's beliefs. Hilburn's extensive interviews with Cash's family members, friends, and females were enlightening and contributed toward a well-rounded portrait of the man. Their commentaries on key events in Cash's life added emotion and insight to his sometimes erratic behavior. But what I appreciated most about this book is that Hilburn continually focused on Cash's music, quoting Cash's lyrics at key junctures and letting Cash explain why he wrote and played certain songs. Cash was always at its best when he was authentic, which is why I love the American Recordings albums so much ... usually just the man and his guitar. Since there are hundreds of Johnny Cash albums available on CD - many of them compilations - Hilburn's recommended purchases at the end of the book will save readers much time as they seek to delve into his music. I appreciated Hilburn's previous book Cornflakes with John Lennon and love this book as well. Because Hilburn respects both his subject and his audience, this book deserves a wide readership. I tried, but couldn't put it down ... and most likely, I'll pick it up again soon. Like its subject, this book is a winner.

Robert Hilburn's Johnny Cash: The Life is an exhaustive look at the life of this legendary country artist. Few contemporary musicians are worthy of a biography of this depth, but Cash is definitely one of them. Johnny Cash's tale is the stuff of legend with the man's larger-than-life addictions, talents, and sprawling, messy, often-contradictory life. Hilburn wisely focuses on Cash's music and vision, providing an overview of Cash's recordings, praising his innovation and integrity, but not shying away from pointing out when Cash had lost his muse and was merely phoning it in. The book's final section deals with Cash's triumphal American Recordings sessions with Rick Rubin. This was a period of great physical pain and loss of loved ones in Cash's life; what is amazing is how he persevered and created some of his finest songs and interpretations during this time. Hilburn's expertise as a music writer serves him well; the story is masterfully told and provides a deeper insights into Cash's life and music - both for longtime Cash fans and those who are new to his life and work. I had the privilege of seeing Cash perform four times - 1973 at the height of his fame, the late 1980's with the Highwaymen, the early 90's after his first American Recording CD (this was great since he did a solo acoustic set and was fully engaged during the entire show), and one of his final appearances in Minnesota at the Medina Ballroom in 1995. I'll always remember these glimpses of a legend.

I adore the music of Johnny Cash. His voice has a totally unique quality that is simply heart-wrenching. Even his "funny" songs are filled with feeling. But this biography is one long story of his drug addiction, his driving ambition to "be" somebody, his poor relationship with his father, and his ultra-intense religious views. Obviously there is something not quite normal about someone who gets high on handfuls of pills, then spends hours discussing Jesus with Billy Graham. Both men come off looking like morons, or at least as if they are turning a blind eye. Graham assures Cash that he (Cash) has a special calling to touch the world with his music; this is sweet music to Johnny's ears, because from boyhood he wanted to be a singer. So we embark on a journey of poverty, a sad home life, a misunderstanding father, a doting mom, a boy who sings while walking along the starry road at night... and the drugs. Pills (speed) nearly kills Johnny Cash numerous times, but he always bounces back just in the nick of time, to conquer some musical mountaintop and restore his faith. Thus empowered, he drives off to score more pills. This, plus his ultra-passionate devotion to several women (how many time can you tearfully say, "Darlin' you're the one"?), not to mention his roadie girlfriends ("it gets lonely,") make you wonder how this greatly talented man lived with himself. Well, he almost didn't. His life has more twists and turns than a soap opera. He wants, he gets. He squanders, he makes more. He is rich and poor at the same time. He talks and walks with world leaders, and then trashes his hotel rooms. If you can make sense of these contradictions, go for it! They left me confused, angry, and disillusioned. Maybe that's the point of the book, I don't know. But Johnny Cash comes across as a memorable mix of everything noble and vile about the human personality, and somewhere in that thick stew of gold and garbage, a man waits for salvation. Perhaps now he's found it, but I can't help but wonder if his first question to St. Peter was, "Have you heard my latest recording yet?"

This was a totally enjoyable book. No, all of Cash's life wasn't a joy to read. He was, as most people know, a troubled giant of talent. But this man revolutionized music. And (for those not familiar with him) not just country music. He stands as a towering figure in early rock and roll, in gospel and folk music, in the music of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest country artists of all time. Robert Hilburn digs deep into the life of Mr. Cash, warts and all. As I finished reading this book, I realized that this might have been one of the best biographies that I have ever read, and I read many, both in and out of the entertainment field. Mr. Hilburn knew Cash for many years, and knew of his struggles against drugs. But, he also knew of the great kindness that Cash would show towards those who were unfortunate. The great depth of his empathy to the prisoners he met, the poor on the street, and the average people is not generally known to the public. As I said, this book is a joy to read. It also describes a man who was there shortly after the birth of rock and roll, who worked to keep country music from becoming overly slick, but who wasn't afraid to fight to record what he wanted, whether it was gospel music or songs from the newer rock artists of the 90s. A man who I wish I'd had the pleasure to know.

A fascinating life, well written and easy to read. The chronology is easy to follow and is jam-packed with information. I particularly liked the material on the origin of literally hundreds of songs recorded by JR. I did however find the book somewhat repetitive in content and probably unnecessarily long. Overall, a recommended read.

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