Country legend Johnny Cash dies

[Shadow, Thief of the Sun]

Damn, i just woke up this morning to find this ):

I remember that i recently saw him performing "Hurt" originally written by NIN and it was good..... Not that i was his biggest fan, but its sad, since he was quite talented ):

Warren Zevon died recently and now we have this:

"Country legend Johnny Cash dies

Man in Black” who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” and “A Boy Named Sue,” died Friday. He was 71

“JOHNNY DIED due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure,” said Cash’s manager, Lou Robin, in a press release issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville.
He said Cash died at the hospital at 3 a.m. EDT.
“I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time,” Robin said.
Cash had been released from the hospital Wednesday after a two-week stay for treatment of an unspecified stomach ailment. The illness caused him to miss last month’s MTV Music awards, where he had been nominated in seven categories.
He had battled a disease of the nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and pneumonia in recent years.
“Johnny Cash was not only a giant in our business, but he was one of those guys who had grown to become a cultural icon in American,” Ed Benson, executive director of the Country Music Association, told WTVF-TV in Nashville. “People associated him with values that I think they held near and dear to their hearts.”
Cash’s deeply lined face fit well with his unsteady voice, which was limited in range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches, and tales of everyday life. He wrote much of his own material, and was among the first to record the songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson."



http://www.msnbc.com/news/965586.asp

[jonnymnemonic]

John Ritter keeled over and died too, at age 54. Not a good day if you're named John. Luckily I lack that 'h', or I'd be really worried about getting through the day!

[RACKnRAIL]

I woke up to the same news. A huge loss to the music world. He was and always will be a legend, in the true sence of the word. He will live on in his music for an eternity.

John Ritter, quite untimely, only 54. Another tragic loss to the entertainment business...although, I was not a huge fan of his.

[g-smooth2k]

Johnny Cash

RIP

1932-2003

Age 71

:heart :love :angel

[aqlo]

an old cowboy went ridin out one dark and windy day
upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
when all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
plowin through the ragid skies and up a cloudy draw

their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
a bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
for he saw the riders comin hard and he heard their mournful cries

their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred
their shirts all soaked with sweat
he's ridin hard to catch that herd
but he aint caught em yet
cause they got to ride forever in that range up in the sky
on horses snortin fire as they ride on hear their cries

as the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name
''if you wanna save your soul from hell a-ridin on our range
then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
tryin to catch the devil's herd across these endless skies

yippie i ohhh oh oh
yippie i aye ye ye
ghost riders in the sky
ghost riders in the sky
ghost riders in the sky


Happy trails Johnny, save some steaks for me

[g-smooth2k]

Johnny Cash, a towering figure in U.S. music spanning country, rock and folk and known world-wide as "The Man in Black," has died, according to hospital officials in Nashville, Tenn. He was 71.

"Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," said Mr. Cash's manager, Lou Robin, in a press release issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. The release said Mr. Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. He was released from Baptist on Wednesday where he had spent two weeks being treated for an unspecified stomach ailment.

Mr. Cash had battled a disease of the nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and pneumonia in recent years and was once diagnosed with a disease called Shy-Drager's syndrome, a diagnosis that was later deemed to be erroneous.

Dozens of hit records like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" defined Mr. Cash's persona: a haunted, dignified, resilient spokesman for the working man and downtrodden.

Mr. Cash's deeply lined face fit well with his unsteady voice, which was limited in range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches, and tales of everyday life. He wrote much of his own material, and was among the first to record the songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson.

"One Piece at a Time" was about an assembly line worker who built a car out of parts stolen from his factory. "A Boy Named Sue" was a comical story of a father who gives his son a girl's name to make him tough. "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" told of the drunken death of an American Indian soldier who helped raised the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima during World War II, but returned to harsh racism in the U.S..

Mr. Cash said in his 1997 autobiography "Cash" that he tried to speak for "voices that were ignored or even suppressed in the entertainment media, not to mention the political and educational establishments."

Mr. Cash's career spanned generations, with each finding something of value in his simple records, many of which used his trademark "boom-chicka-boom" rhythm.

Mr. Cash was a peer of Elvis Presley when rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis in the 1950s, and he scored hits like "Cry! Cry! Cry!" during that era. He had a longtime friendship and recorded with Dylan, who has cited Cash as a major influence.

He won 11 Grammys -- most recently in 2003, when "Give My Love To Rose" earned him honors as best male country vocal performance -- and numerous Country Music Association awards. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

His second wife, June Carter Cash, and daughter Roseanne Cash also were successful singers. June Carter Cash, who co-wrote Cash's hit "Ring of Fire" and partnered with her husband in hits such as "Jackson," died in May.

The late 1960s and '70s were Cash's peak commercial years, and he was host of his own ABC variety show from 1969-71. In later years, he was part of the Highwayman supergroup with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kristofferson.

In the 1990s, he found a new artistic life recording with rap and hard rock producer Rick Rubin on the label American Recordings. And he was back on the charts in with the 2002 album "American IV: the Man Comes Around."

He also wrote books including two autobiographies, and acted in films and television shows.

In his 1971 hit "Man in Black," Mr. Cash said his black clothing symbolized the downtrodden people in the world. Cash had been "The Man in Black" since he joined the Grand Ole Opry at age 25.

"Everybody was wearing rhinestones, all those sparkle clothes and cowboy boots," he said in 1986. "I decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if I could get by with it. I did and I've worn black clothes ever since."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-12-03 0754ET

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Musi...bit/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97140,00.html

[Kooperman]

Originally posted by aqlo
an old cowboy went ridin out one dark and windy day
upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
when all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
plowin through the ragid skies and up a cloudy draw

their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
a bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
for he saw the riders comin hard and he heard their mournful cries

their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred
their shirts all soaked with sweat
he's ridin hard to catch that herd
but he aint caught em yet
cause they got to ride forever in that range up in the sky
on horses snortin fire as they ride on hear their cries

as the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name
''if you wanna save your soul from hell a-ridin on our range
then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
tryin to catch the devil's herd across these endless skies

yippie i ohhh oh oh
yippie i aye ye ye
ghost riders in the sky
ghost riders in the sky
ghost riders in the sky


Happy trails Johnny, save some steaks for me

I can just hear Bob Nolan and Johnny Cash sittin' around on a cloud singing that one right now.....with Roy harmonizing.

[Aaron73153]

We lost Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon in the same week. It is a sad week for american music, becuase with the trend in the industry we will never have such poets as these two ever again.

[cheapprick]

I can't think of a damn thing to say.

Johnny Cash was The Man. In black or otherwise. I doubt many of his hardcore fans expected him to go much longer since June passed away.

Thanks for the true music Johnny.

[mojo-ris-in]

A true legend that was never afraid to push the envelope of contemporary music. In the world of country, rock, folk, and alternative he truly did walk the line. R.I.P.

[CTC Command]

As a kid growing up force fed C&W music, I turned vehemently against most of it as soon as I discovered there was something else out there. But I have always maintained a deep respect and admiration for Johnny Cash--was kind of freaked out by his treatment of NIN's Hurt, (reminded me of Lost Highways for some reason...) but this one is a favorite of mine--I still sing this one to my kids when we hear the trains going by down the foot of the hill.

Folsom Prison Blues

I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine,
Since, I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison,
And time keeps draggin' on,
But that train keeps a-rollin',
On down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby,
My Mama told me, "Son,
Always be a good boy,
Don't ever play with guns,"
But I shot a man in Reno,
Just to watch him die,
When I hear that whistle blowin',
I hang my head and cry.

I bet there's rich folks eatin',
In a fancy dining car,
They're probably drinkin' coffee,
And smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin',
I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a-movin',
And that's what tortures me.

Well, if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine,
I bet I'd move out over a little,
Farther down the line,
Far from Folsom Prison,
That's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle,
Blow my Blues away.

RIP OGMIBJC... (I hope this is the last time I have to type the acronym for "rest in peace" for a long while)

[Winphuk]

Great man.
Did more for American Pop Culture than anyone that I can think of.
RIP Johnny.. you will always be remembered.

[HimAgain!]

Damn shame, guess we will be pelted with his greatest hits compilations for years to come :(

[BlueLieu]

Early one morning
making my rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down.

Shot her down cause she made me slow.
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more.

[Rickio]

First time i ever really payed attention and heard Johnny Cash was on Dylans Nashville Skyline album and after seeing how Dylan respected him I was basicly a new fan after that and discovered a new world of music.

peace