Johnny Cash, and what a bitch he was

After watching the movie “walk the line” with a friend of mine, I’ve been thinking. Wow, what a bitch Johnny Cash was. God forbid, he’s a good man, by all means, he fitted perfect for the time period, but what would he be if he grew up in the world of today? He’d be just like the Norwegian singer “Sissel Kyrkjebø”.

Which is a person well famous in certain groups of people, but she’s just for particularly interested beings. 

Thus, it’s rightful to say that he does not deserve his fame. Especially after his death. He would have been labeled as emo, partially due to his depressing and dark themes in his songs, but mostly because of his “life is worthless” attitude and/or constantly black clothing.

He started playing in a band back in Memphis (since all great music comes from Memphis; Ref: Elvis), Tennessee, the man in black signed for the same label Elivs had signed for years before him. But before he could sign for Sun, the music label, he presented gospel music. Tragically enough, rumor have it that the producer: Sam Phillips told him to go home and sin, then come back with a song he could sell. But Cash refused to confirm the allegations against his old producer in the interview in 2002.

Even before this, he married Vivian Liberto in Santi Anne’s catholic church, only to file for divorce 12 years and 4 kids later, due to Mr Black’s constant alcohol and amphetamine abuse, constant touring and affairs with other women. It seems that he’s a really good guy, or is it just me? Let us backtrack, the year is 1950’s early 1960’s, where Christianity (conservatively) ruled as a general “moral code” in USA.

By the time he released his most famous songs; he was 27, married, 4 kids, and soon to be divorced. As he carried on into the 60’s he got an even worsening image, during the late 50’s his addiction started to spiral out of control into a problem that he soon could not keep hidden. Publicly notice came in 1965 where he were arrested in El Paso, Texas for trafficking narcotics, but the charges was laid of as the nature of the drugs was prescription amphetamines hidden inside his guitar.

He went on to driving his career into a halt around the 1960’s where his drug addiction was at his worst, creating a few “concept albums”, but nothing that really matter in the general opinion. The same period he parted with his Vivian Liberto, due to his worsening addiction and destructive behavior. Thus, after a highly (drug induced) Christian experience in the Nickajack Cave where Mr. Black wanted to “just lay down and die”, he came out a new man, throwing his addictions behind him and begin a new life.

In 1968, two years after divorcing his former wife, he remarried with his career long companion June Carter, co writer on the song Ring of Fire.

After following years, he began the 70’s with a world that was moving to fast for him and people began to loose interest after the song “Man in Black” aired and found it’s place with the number one badge for over 20 weeks on the top twenty in the country.

After this there’s just not been much to say about Mr Black, other than what I think; What an ass. After this brief  explanation of his career, it’s obvious that this is not what we would like to show our kids as one of the greatest people in history, is it? It’s like putting Lady Gaga’s Love Game on a “Hits for kids”.

Oh wait. We have…
(Ref; Hits for kids 22, if I remember right.)
But that’s for another post.

Point is, I don’t understand that we wanted this much moral decay in a time that stood for the Christian values that should provide a deep moral ground for the youth at the time? Since it’s pretty much the same story with both Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. Sadly.

Sincerely
Ole H. Berg