Cash: The Autobiography

Rating:
Summary: Cash: The Autobiography
Review: Johnny Cash or the "Man in Black" was one of the most influential artists, period. He is the only musician in history to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Country Music. His second autobiography gives you an in depth look at his start at Sun Records and being on the road with other legends like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, the tragic death of his older brother Jack when Cash was only twelve, and living on Cinnamon Hill in Jamaica.
My favorite thing about Cash's book was the beginning when he talked about his humble beginnings in Arkansas picking cotton with his family, and his spiritual journey which saved him from his addiction to amphetamines early in his career. His autobiography shows you all the sides to the "man in black" good and bad, from his attempt to kill himself to being robbed on Christmas Day on Cinnamon Hill in Jamaica. He was a true artist who didn't stop growing musically even in his last months.
It's unlikely you'll find anything to not like about this book. With his tragic death last year his autobiography is a great way to remember the man in black; it gives you a greater appreciation for what he did for music. When I first began reading this book I didn't know much about his early life or career and soon I couldn't put it down. The book helps give you a better perspective on the man who broke all the rules with no apologies. With the help of Patrick Carr, Cash tells you his story as if he's right there telling it to you personally, intermingling life on the road and the loss of family and friends along the way. Cash's influence on music will be felt by everyone for decades to come.

Rating:
Summary: Cash is king
Review: Johnny Cash tells his life story in this book. It's not written in a linear style; he jumps all over the place to different times in his life. But it works; it comes across very conversationally, like Cash was in the room with you saying, "Oh, yeah, and then there was the time that this happened." It's a good read, and the Man in Black's fans should really enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: The Man Comes Around
Review: Johnny Cash was timeless. You always remembered where you were when you heard a Johnny Cash song for the first time. One warm spring day in late May, I drove 180 miles across East Texas (from Nacogdoches to Dallas) in one morning, surrounded by tall, tall trees, and towns with names like Gun Barrel City. The only three minutes of that drive I can still recall are the final three minutes of "One Piece at a Time", which played on AM radio and which I'd never heard before. It's a comical story song, but I was sitting there behind the wheel, really curious to find out if this guy was ever going to build his Cadillac. I've since heard the song at least a hundred times.

No, this didn't happen decades ago. I made that drive in May 2003.

The thing is, you could always discover Johnny Cash. For example, the only visit I've ever made to an adult toy store in my life was brightened by the sounds of the Johnny Cash box set emanating from the store speakers. I picked up his "American IV: The Man Comes Around" album just a week before he died, and was captivated equally by his old, defiant Westerns ("Sam Hall") and the thoughtful, late November covers by non-country artists ("Hurt", "In My Life"). The punchline of the album, though, was the final track: "We'll Meet Again".

"Cash: The Autobiography" is an audiobook in print. The Man narrates scenes from his life as he's writing (1996-1997): a concert in Santa Cruz, trying out his cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage"; afternoons at his homes in Tennessee, Florida and Jamaica; and cruising for Walmarts in rural Wisconsin.

Interspersed with those snapshots are the longer reminiscences of the people, places and songs in his life. These stories are told in no set order, but they're a good source of the anecdotes that are the raison d'etre of celeb bios. Cash spends a lot of time on the birth of rockabilly at Sun Records in Memphis; a lot more time on his battles with amphetamine addictions and rehab; a discussion of the significance of religion in his life (watch for the story about the boy in the church on Central Park South in New York City) and cataloguing his friendships with rock and country icons alike.

This all came out in 1997. One could be forgiven for hanging up his guitar at age 65. Cash, however, burned across the music scene right up through his final months. So "Cash: The Autobiography" is far from a final chapter. The video for "Hurt" is a fitting postscript, with its ghostly cameo by June Carter, and its black-and-white footage of Cash's boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas.

Johnny Cash truly was all things to all people. This book is not ideal as an introduction to his legacy -- you'll need to know his songs before he talks about them -- but it's certainly a good representation of what he was about. And he was about... everything.

Rating:
Summary: The Man Comes Around
Review: Johnny Cash was timeless. You always remembered where you were when you heard a Johnny Cash song for the first time. One warm spring day in late May, I drove 180 miles across East Texas (from Nacogdoches to Dallas) in one morning, surrounded by tall, tall trees, and towns with names like Gun Barrel City. The only three minutes of that drive I can still recall are the final three minutes of "One Piece at a Time", which played on AM radio and which I'd never heard before. It's a comical story song, but I was sitting there behind the wheel, really curious to find out if this guy was ever going to build his Cadillac. I've since heard the song at least a hundred times.

No, this didn't happen decades ago. I made that drive in May 2003.

The thing is, you could always discover Johnny Cash. For example, the only visit I've ever made to an adult toy store in my life was brightened by the sounds of the Johnny Cash box set emanating from the store speakers. I picked up his "American IV: The Man Comes Around" album just a week before he died, and was captivated equally by his old, defiant Westerns ("Sam Hall") and the thoughtful, late November covers by non-country artists ("Hurt", "In My Life"). The punchline of the album, though, was the final track: "We'll Meet Again".

"Cash: The Autobiography" is an audiobook in print. The Man narrates scenes from his life as he's writing (1996-1997): a concert in Santa Cruz, trying out his cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage"; afternoons at his homes in Tennessee, Florida and Jamaica; and cruising for Walmarts in rural Wisconsin.

Interspersed with those snapshots are the longer reminiscences of the people, places and songs in his life. These stories are told in no set order, but they're a good source of the anecdotes that are the raison d'etre of celeb bios. Cash spends a lot of time on the birth of rockabilly at Sun Records in Memphis; a lot more time on his battles with amphetamine addictions and rehab; a discussion of the significance of religion in his life (watch for the story about the boy in the church on Central Park South in New York City) and cataloguing his friendships with rock and country icons alike.

This all came out in 1997. One could be forgiven for hanging up his guitar at age 65. Cash, however, burned across the music scene right up through his final months. So "Cash: The Autobiography" is far from a final chapter. The video for "Hurt" is a fitting postscript, with its ghostly cameo by June Carter, and its black-and-white footage of Cash's boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas.

Johnny Cash truly was all things to all people. This book is not ideal as an introduction to his legacy -- you'll need to know his songs before he talks about them -- but it's certainly a good representation of what he was about. And he was about... everything.

Rating:
Summary: A great artist and an original American icon
Review: Johnny was very candid and open in discussing his roots and the paths he crossed with other notable popular figures of historical relevance. His childhood mirrored that of Tom Joad's yet he was guided out of the obscurity of the cotton fields to fame by his talented voice and love of music. This book really opened my eyes to the genuine nature of Johnny Cash, a man who has lived a life without boundries and crossed over into a variety of diverse cultures and genres. Through the shameful dark times to the triumphant glory of the good times, this is one autobiography that I will no doubt read again.

He wrote this book as an old man reflecting on the life experiences that molded his persona. From it there are stories, lessons, and an understanding of Cash's openminded outlook on life. You can fall or fail but you can also recover and triumph on your own terms.

Rating:
Summary: This is Cash up front.
Review: The legendary "Man in Black" puts it all down in black and white. But that's no analogy for this book. "Cash: The Autobiography" has plenty of color, texture and rhythm. Cash speaks poetically about not only events in his life, but feelings, sensations and memories.

Cash can drop names like few others. He has known Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis. He recorded for Sun Records in the 1950's. Marty Stuart earned his chops as Cash's one-time lead guitarist. Even close friend Waylon Jennings played in Cash's band (for five nights, in Canada, when Cash's regular guitarist couldn't go).

Johnny Cash is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. But underneath it all is a complex man with a keen eye for detail and a marvelous sense of history. The opening pages of the autobiography reveal the beginnings of the Cash name in Scotland. And have you ever wondered what "fair to middling" really means? It's a grade of cotton, as Cash explains. And he should know, having grown up picking cotton with his family on a humble Arkansas farm. What is it like to be an American living legend? To hear Johnny Cash tell it, it's a lot like being a human being. But it's a wild, hard, unforgettable ride.

Rating:
Summary: This is Cash up front.
Review: The legendary "Man in Black" puts it all down in black and white. But that's no analogy for this book. "Cash: The Autobiography" has plenty of color, texture and rhythm. Cash speaks poetically about not only events in his life, but feelings, sensations and memories.

Cash can drop names like few others. He has known Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis. He recorded for Sun Records in the 1950's. Marty Stuart earned his chops as Cash's one-time lead guitarist. Even close friend Waylon Jennings played in Cash's band (for five nights, in Canada, when Cash's regular guitarist couldn't go).

Johnny Cash is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. But underneath it all is a complex man with a keen eye for detail and a marvelous sense of history. The opening pages of the autobiography reveal the beginnings of the Cash name in Scotland. And have you ever wondered what "fair to middling" really means? It's a grade of cotton, as Cash explains. And he should know, having grown up picking cotton with his family on a humble Arkansas farm. What is it like to be an American living legend? To hear Johnny Cash tell it, it's a lot like being a human being. But it's a wild, hard, unforgettable ride.

Rating:
Summary: Like reading a prayer
Review: This book is an inspiration and it reads like a prayer for mankind, for Johnny Cash and for music. The prose washed over me and made me feel so calm and peaceful. He never has a bad word to say about anybody (which admittedly can get a bit tiresome at points) and every negative in his life is turned round into a positive. It moves at a loving conversational pace and has great humour and wit as well as touching insights. It is impossible to read without feeling great respect for JC as a man, a musician and as a spiritual being. In short, it has soul.