Johnny Cash: In His Own Words
10 years after his death, we look back on the life and times of The Man In Black in a special anniversary edition of MOJO.
From pioneering rock'n'roller to country outlaw, from the raging intensity of …At San Quentin and …At Folsom Prison to the spiritual succour of The Man In Black and the raw magnificence of American Recordings, Johnny Cash was an artist like no other. In the new issue of MOJO, Sylvie Simmons looks back on the five days she spent with Cash at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee just six weeks after the death of his beloved wife June Carter and only six weeks before his own death at the age of 71 on September 12, 2003. The discussions that took place during those days spanned the key vistas of Cash's life: God, the devil and family, his recording life from Sam Phillips to Rick Rubin, his songwriting and song-collecting, and ultimately his perseverance, his inspirations and his spirituality. "I think there's music in heaven," he told Simmons. "There's got to be music there, sure."
We're also joined by Rick Rubin, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Petty, Will Oldham and others to look back on the six volumes of American Recordings, arguably Cash's greatest body of work.
Elsewhere in the issue you'll find in-depth features on Janelle Monae, Roy Harper, Charles Bradley, Wilko Johnson and The Smiths and a jam-packed 141-review MOJO Filter containing albums from Arctic Monkeys, Bill Callahan, Factory Floor, Elvis Costello and The Roots, Haim, Elton John, King Krule, Manic Street Preachers and more.
The new issue of MOJO is on sale in the UK on Tuesday, August 27.
PHOTO: ALAMY