The title track of Johnny Cash’s 1971 album Man in Black, today’s random SOTD offers an explanation for Cash’s drab wardrobe.
While the song paints an evocative picture of a man who has seen too much injustice in the world and made a sartorial choice to reflect his disapproval, Cash has reportedly said that he started wearing black because it was easy to keep clean on tour.
I often stumble across the website songfacts.com when doing research for the blog. If you have the right song, you’ll find a treasure trove of illuminating information.
Today’s Random Song of the Day, ‘Big River’ by Johnny Cash, features a few such nuggets, including the following quotes about the track by Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.
Today’s Random Weekend selection had twice the chance of showing up because I have it on two different albums. Originally released as the final track of U2’s 1993 album Zooropa, it was later selected for Johnny Cash’s compilation album The Legend of Johnny Cash.
It’s the Cash album version that popped up when I spun the old iTunes wheel, but the two are identical (save for a minute of silence tacked on to the end of the U2 track).
Day 17 of the 30 Day Music Challenge calls for a rather strange offering: ‘A Song That Features Your Favorite Artist.’
First of all, this requires me to have a favorite artist, which I think is an impossibility. My favorite artist at any given moment depends on what I’m listening to, my mood and a dozen other factors. Second, what exactly does “features” mean in this context? Is it the same as ‘A Song By Your Favorite Artist,’ in which case why not just say that? Or does my favorite artist have to be featured on somebody else’s track (in the now ubiquitous “feat.” sense)?
It’s funny that this iconic Johnny Cash song, his first #1 hit and the one that inspired the title of the celebrated biopic, was written not about June Cash but Johnny’s first wife, Vivian.
I guess he didn’t find it so easy to be true after he met June.
Meet Me In Montauk 