The 12th September 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Johnny Cash's death and I wanted to pay tribute to a man and artist whose music meant so much to me and was a major influence in my own career as a writer, journalist and consultant. For twenty-five years I ran the Johnny Cash Fanzine and during that time was fortunate to meet and interview many people associated with his career as well as become friends with many of those who subscribed to the magazine. It is a time I will never forget.
I considered many different articles to remember him and could have written about his early career at Sun Records, his Columbia albums, the prison concerts, his work with Rick Rubin or any number of other aspects of his career. However, I have decided to look back at his final concert here in the United Kingdom and meeting him backstage.
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| American Press Photo |
Back in May 1995 Carole and I were given complimentary tickets to Cash's show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. There was also a chance we could go backstage after the show and meet him. A great show although, as was mentioned in a later press release from American Records, he performed the show in great discomfort from a damaged facial nerve. Following the show he returned to America and the remaining dates of the tour were cancelled.
Although we were disappointed we didn't get the opportunity to meet him after the show, we still went backstage and met up with a few of the band members.
In September 1995 Cash returned to fulfill the cancelled European dates although none were scheduled for the UK. It would be another nineteen months before he would return to the UK for a concert.
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His only UK date was a return to the Royal Albert Hall on 25 April 1997, which would be his last live appearance in the UK. Carole and I were fortunate to have been given complimentary tickets by Joe O'Neil, the UK representative of American Recordings at the time, who also arranged a meeting with Cash before the show.
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| Ticket Stub and Guest Pass |
The support act was American singer-songwriter Jewel whose debut album, Pieces Of You, released in 1995, became one of the biggest selling debut albums of all time. Her debut single, Who Will Save Your Soul, reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, while her next two singles, You Were Meant For Me and Foolish Games, both peaked at #2.
In 2018 she would appear on the Forever Words album, a collection of poetry and lyrics by Johnny Cash set to music. Jewel performed the song Body On Body.
I wasn't aware of her music but enjoyed her solo acoustic selection of alternate-folk songs. She closed her set with the old-time Chime Bells, written by Elton Britt and Bob Miller and first recorded in 1934 by Britt and Ezra Ford, which she dedicated to Cash, a nice gesture to end her part of the evening.
A short interval and then it was time for the main event. Dressed in his signature black, Johnny Cash strode onto the stage and introduced himself with his customary, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
The two-hour show opened with Folsom Prison Blues and followed the familiar pattern of hits, duets with June Carter-Cash and recently recorded material.
Backing Cash were regulars Bob Wootton (guitar), Dave Roe (bass), W. S. Holland (drums), Earl Poole Ball (piano) and John Carter-Cash (guitar).
There was a surprise midway through the show when Cash introduced Nick Lowe who joined him on stage to sing Without Love, a song written by Lowe and which Cash had included on his 1980 album Rockabilly Blues.
A Cowboy's Prayer was the only track performed from Cash's American Recordings album while Unchained, his latest release, was represented by strong versions of Country Boy, I Never Picked Cotton, Unchained, Southern Accents and Soundgarden's Rusty Cage. The show ended with I Got Stripes before Cash returned to take his final bows.
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Reviews were excellent with Douglas McPherson writing in Country Music People, "What do you expect of Johnny Cash these days? A tired cabaret routine? A tragic parody of former glories? A wrinkly shell living on his name? Forget it. From the moment JC sauntered on stage it was clear he Man in Black was far from ready for retirement." He went on to say, " He has seen his share of ill health but his step had the spring of a man who, in his own words, was 'feeling good' again."
In his review Chris Marlowe wrote, "Watch and learn, aspiring musicians everywhere, because this is how it should be done. Johnny Cash has it all - paternal gravitas, songs that capture essential truths in less than five minutes, a voice as dark and sweet as molasses, and a glint in his eye that promises his demons aren't quite tamed."
The concert was one of the best I had ever seen, and I had been to more than ten Johnny Cash concerts since my first in March 1979.
But what happened before the show will remain one of the highlights of my career. Arriving early to the Royal Albert Hall we were met by Joe O'Neil, from American Recordings, who took us backstage where we met Johnny Cash. I thought I would be more nervous but from the moment he first said hello any worries I had disappeared. We chatted for a few minutes before he had to head back to prepare for the show.
One of the kindest and sincerest artists I have ever met and his comments about the Fanzine. my work and his kindness shown to both Carole and I will stay with me forever.
He was kind enough to not only sign a photo for Carole and I but also pose for a photo holding a copy of the Fanzine. Both of these take pride of place in my home office.
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We also had the chance to meet up with Bob Wootton and Earl Poole Ball, both of whom I had previously interviewed for the Fanzine. Once again they were so kind and happy to take time to chat and have a photo taken with us.
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Although we didn't get the opportunity to have a photo taken with them, we did get the chance to say a brief hello to June Carter-Cash and John Carter-Cash.
An incredible night and meeting John, June, Bob and Earl only made the evening even more special.
As I mentioned in my opening paragraph I ran the Johnny Cash Fanzine for twenty-five years between 1994 and 2019 and covered every aspect of his incredible career including interviews with family members and those who worked with him over the years. All 93 issues are still available in PDF format and for more details please message me here or email me at peter.lewry@ntlworld.com
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