Johnny Cash poses for a portrait in Memphis in 1957. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. In three of the last four years (as I explained in one of them, I was a bit preoccupied in 2020) I’ve attempted to find secular Easter songs that were appropriate but not…

Inside the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville on Feb. 12, 2022. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. As you read this (assuming, as usual, that you’re reading it as soon as it’s published) I am on a ranch to see a rodeo. No, really. I know that’s not usually my scene, but I’m…

Johnny Cash poses for a portrait in Memphis in 1957. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. This Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so it’s worth taking some time to remember the man and his legacy rather than just treating it like whatever President’s Day is supposed to…

Eminem (or MC Chris in disguise) Well, it finally happened. After doing 35 of these columns I got to a year where I couldn’t find five songs for the list. There were three locks, and a couple under-appreciated deep cuts in “Smoke & Mirrors” and “Days Go By” (or its…

Ah, 1968. So long ago, so different. Back then tensions were rising with North Korea, the United States was losing more and more troops in an unwinnable war, and black athletes were taking a controversial stand at major athletic events. Wait…huh… Anyway, the music was definitely better. Like last week’s…

Twelve years following the release of Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, Craft Recordings is re-releasing the film’s Grammy Award-winning soundtrack on vinyl. Walk the Line re-release Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, others July 21 The soundtrack, which features the film’s actors recording and…

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, and Paul McCartney all on the same stage? It has happened, though perhaps not in a normal festival timeframe. They are just a few artists who’ve performed live at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies…

Josh Rosenthal’s daughters Emma (L) and Hazel with William Faulkner; not interested in ice cream. Oxford, Miss. In June, I took my daughters on a musical journey to New Orleans, all around Mississippi, Memphis and Nashville. We ate praline bacon, went to Preservation Hall, saw Degas’ house, Fats Domino’s Katrina-waterlogged piano,…

Johnny Cash, courtesy. In the ’80s, Johnny Cash recorded an album that was never released. That’s happening this year, and it will include some new mixes, including this song, which was remixed by Elvis Costello. Check it out below.