In memoriam: Johnny Cash

What can be said about "The Man In Black", Johnny Cash, that hasn't been said already?  Cash passed away nine years ago on September 12th, 2003, and two posthumous albums of his were subsequently released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label on which he spent the latter part of his career, making records.  But, it's his early work with Sun Records in Memphis, run by the late Sam Philips, and also his nearly three decade run with Columbia Records that will be remembered best.  He has so many great songs that it's impossible to just pick one out, and his bands, the Tennessee Two and Tennessee Three (with guitarist Luther Perkins, bassist Marshall Grant, and later, drummer, W.S. Holland), are both well known, as is his later guitarist, Bob Wootton.  He was a fan of Cash's, and became the lead guitarist after original band member, Luther Perkins died from burns suffered in a house fire in 1968.

Wootton played with Cash for nearly three decades from that point, until Cash's retirement from performing in 1997.  Here is an article found on Google Newspapers from the entertainment section of The Evening Independent, dated March 10th, 1982. 

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=exEuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wFkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3717,2489079&dq=bob-wooton+johnny-cash&hl=en

As a musician and a listener, Cash was one of the first country artists I gravitated to when I found out about the genre.  He is totally unique in every sense of the word and shared notoriety at Sun Records with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and to a lesser extent, Carl Perkins, who was also a part of his band at one point in time.
Plus, there is his whole stretch with Columbia/CBS between 1958 and 1986 which includes a myriad of records and singles.  In my record collection, I do have some greatest hits compilations and also, two of the releases from the American Recordings years.  American IV: "When The Man Comes Around", and American V: "A Hundred Highways".

The other albums in the series, are ones that need to be found.  The whole list of those recordings includes:

"American Recordings"  1994
"Unchained"                   1996
"American III: Solitary Man" 2000
"American IV: The Man Comes Around" 2002
"Unearthed" 2003
"American V: A Hundred Highways" 2006
"American VI: Ain't No Grave" 2010

Cash had a remarkable career in all it's phases.  I am not going to tell the entirety of the story here.  But, if you have not checked into his body of work as an artist in any period from the '50s to the 2000s, definitely take a look at it.  He is world renown for his music and also, his later ability, in a lot of ways from his own status as a music icon, and from being married to June Carter (an icon in her own right), to connect musically with anyone and everyone, no matter where they came from, what their political ideas were, etc.  He was and always will be a universal artist.

Rest In Peace, Johnny Cash.