Q&A with John Carter Cash
March 27, 2014 8:16 PM   Subscribe

In this reddit music thread, John Carter Cash talks in some detail about what it was like to grow up with his father, Johnny Cash (1932-2003).

Videos of a few songs that come up in the discussion:

Walk the Line

The Man Comes Around

Hurt (a cover of NIN's version)
posted by SpacemanStix (15 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Aww, truly best of the Web. John Carter Cash sounds just like someone would if he were raised by those two people—godly (I hadn't thought of that word in a long time, but it seems exactly right here), with an earnest disposition, musical talent, storytelling ability, and a sense of humor. My favorite stories in the thread are the Star Wars one, the flowerbed one, and the credit-card one. Also, he loves (basically) the classic Jersey breakfast!
posted by limeonaire at 8:59 PM on March 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


I like this story:

I apologize for bursting in, as I have no question for you. I have long owed your family a thank you for the kindness your mother and father once showed me. Just so happened that I randomly crossed paths with your family many years ago in Tennessee, I was a small child.

I was in the company of my step-monster, or the part of my childhood I survived. We were attending something or another related to the music industry, as my "step" was a midnight to morning DJ.

I looked pretty much like what I was, a battered little shadow of a kid. I was normally kept hidden, but in the excitement of Johhny Cash's arrival, I was forgotten to mill around. Your father "borrowed" me for a time, and recognizing my painful situation, he told me something that set me free. "When things are the darkest, son, just know that you must be walking towards the light."

It was a welcome break, and a kindness I've held closely to re-affirm my faith in humanity. Maybe even in myself. I've never imagined a way I could repay such a gift, but please let me express my gratitude to you and yours. Thank you! Your love changed my life.

posted by Sebmojo at 9:13 PM on March 27, 2014 [27 favorites]


John Carter Cash is so eloquent in this, and he answered so many questions so openly - this isn't how AMAs normally go, so I loved this. Truly best of the web.
posted by SkylitDrawl at 9:23 PM on March 27, 2014


"And here's a picture of my dad with a kitten"

This man is good at the internet.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:37 PM on March 27, 2014 [16 favorites]


Quite often, someone will see my name on a credit card and say John Cash, not Johnny? They will laugh and say I bet you get that all the time.

They may say Your family must have been fans.

If they say this, my immediate reaction is Yes my mother loved him her whole life.

And then I'll never tell them that I'm their son.
He seems like a great guy. Gotta go listen to some of his music (once I'm done binge-listening to Johnny's stuff).
posted by Lexica at 9:51 PM on March 27, 2014 [6 favorites]


The latest Johnny Cash release, Out Among the Stars, is pretty good, even though it dates from his wilderness years in the '80s.
posted by Rangeboy at 10:47 PM on March 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


I believe an artist should be judged on their own integrity and what they stand for. I think most people would be a little surprised at some of the artists that my dad reached out to offer support to. He wrote a long letter to Billy Ray Cyrus and had it publicly printed supporting him, standing up for him, after people were making fun of his music.

"36 years ago, I was working with Elvis and saw him take the same kind of flak you’re taking now. Congratulations on the way you’re handling it all. In your case, as in Elvis’, the good outweighs the bad. Let ‘em have it. I’m in your corner."

Carter Cash displays all of the same admirable qualities in the answers he's giving. The apple didn't land far from the tree - which says even more about Johnny Cash.
posted by three blind mice at 1:21 AM on March 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


More videos of covers from the thread link
posted by Spumante at 1:47 AM on March 28, 2014


Ok, between posting the picture of his dad with a kitten and this exchange, I am totally won over:
I loved the recent Disney movie about your life 'John Carter,' were you disappointed in box office sales? What is Mars like?
John Carter: I worked out for WEEKS to get that role. The gravity on Mars is quite challenging. Actually I wear the t-shirt I got quite often.

What a good sport.
posted by TwoStride at 5:52 AM on March 28, 2014 [4 favorites]


Why did I think that John Carter Cash had died?
posted by Billiken at 6:32 AM on March 28, 2014


There was a recent death in the Cash family - Johnny Cash's great-niece was found dead recently, murdered in what looks like something drug-related.
posted by jquinby at 6:47 AM on March 28, 2014


I heard part of an interview with him recently and at first I kept wondering why the interviewer was talking about John Cash instead of Johnny. Duh. He sounds like an excellent person.
posted by rtha at 8:40 AM on March 28, 2014


I recently have been working with Loretta Lynn producing in the studio music for her with her daughter Patsy as co-producer. Since 2007 we have recorded 93 songs, these will be coming out over the next few years as a series of records.

OMG. /sits down to wait
posted by rtha at 8:45 AM on March 28, 2014


There were a lot of things that I loved about this interview, but one thing that struck me (as a father who doesn't always feel like I'm doing it quite right), is that you don't have to be a perfect person to raise some pretty excellent children. There are other variables that weigh in, too, other than the vices we sometimes struggle with.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:47 AM on March 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


Additionally, that we don't have to be defined by our struggles, while still being able to incorporate them honestly into our life history. There is a lot of grace built into a notion like that that can be healing, I think.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:56 AM on March 28, 2014 [3 favorites]


« Older We are personally affected by his actions   |   M. Bison Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments