Last night, I got on Amazon and ordered a 16-CD set of Johnny Cash reading the New Testament. Once I get it, I'll let you know what I think. The samples I heard were amazing, but that's a biased opinion — I've been enthralled with his voice for as long as I can remember, at least since 1991. I just learned that in 1986 Cash wrote a novel about the life of the Apostle Paul, called The Man in White. It's out of print, but maybe, I can track a copy down sometime.
I'm leery of what the media has told us about the faith of Johnny Cash. I don't know if they have hyped it or underplayed it. I wonder if I will get a more personal sense of it listening to him read the Word. Whatever the depth of his faith, he certainly seems to have been cut from a different cloth than so many in the music industry who name Jesus when it's popular or profitable (or awards ceremony time). Regardless, the life of the Man in Black remains intriguing to me.
Here is the whole set of NPR stories on Johnny Cash, including an extended 36-minute interview. Read the obituary from the New York Times.
Read the obituary from the BBC News.
Read the obituary from the BBC News.
1 comment:
I really like the last statement made on the BBC's obituary...
"If country tended towards the sentimental, Johnny Cash, in both his music and his life, sounded a note of gritty realism."
A true summary of what set him apart as being so unique...
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