The Best Question That I Asked Johnny Cash

Mr. Cash was kind enough to give me his autograph!

This was one of the first Johnny Cash albums that I ever owned. A few years after being given this record, I met the man himself.

The first albums by Johnny Cash that I ever owned were vinyl copies of Johnny Cash the Legend and Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, both given to me by a relative (on the same day that I saw Proctor & Bergman on a public-TV special, my first encounter with performances by any members of the Firesign Theatre). I loved these albums and played them over and over. Of course, I had no idea that a few years later I would be meeting the man (in black) himself.

Meeting the Man in White

Johnny Cash’s birth chart. Was meeting him Destiny?

Although he was dressed in black when I met him, Johnny Cash was doing a book-signing for his novel “The Man in White.” This event was held at the independent bookstore where I was working at the time. There was a huge turn-out, and I remember that one guy brought his guitar for Mr. Cash to autograph by scratching his name into the surface (with a screwdriver the fan had provided, if memory serves). I myself had remained a huge fan, having recently seen Johnny Cash perform live at the beautiful local concert hall. After the event was over, I and the other members of the bookstore staff had the opportunity to meet the legendary artist.

The Second-Best Question That I Asked Johnny Cash

Mr.Cash was fighting off a cold and looked exhausted, but he was unfailingly patient and attentive to each person of the many who wanted to speak with him. When my time came, I had two questions for Johnny Cash. My second question first: I looked up at the imposing yet kindly figure of the musical legend and asked him, “Do you think you’ll ever cover a song by Elvis Costello?” Mr. Cash answered, “As it happens, I’m singing ‘The Big Light’ on my upcoming album.” (I was obsessed with EC’s album “King of America” at this time.) I mentioned something about members of Elvis Presley’s T.C.B. band playing on “King of America,“ and while walking away I was thrilled to overhear Mr. Cash’s road manager say, “That guy knows what he’s talking about.” And while my second question (about his covering EC) was pretty good, it was the first question that turned out to be…

The Best Question That I Asked Johnny Cash.

“I won’t release the album until I am satisfied that it’s an absolute killer. And I don’t care how long that takes.”—Nick Lowe.

When I met Johnny Cash, his stepdaughter Carlene Carter was married to iconic musician and producer Nick Lowe. Knowing this, and knowing him as the producer of EC’s first five LP’s, and having been fascinated with Mr. Lowe’s album “Pure Pop for Now People” (which I had first heard by checking it out from a local public library), I asked Johnny Cash: “What is Nick Lowe really like?”

In the Studio

Nick Lowe’s brilliant version of a song by Jim Ford.

And it was Johnny Cash’s reply that made this the best question I asked him. What is Nick Lowe really like?

“He’s an incredibly hard worker. He spends hours and hours in the studio.”

And that answer has stuck with me through the years. Whenever I think of how to proceed as an artist, I recall Johnny Cash telling me what most stood out for him about the brilliant Nick Lowe: that he was “an incredibly hard worker” who spent “hours and hours in the studio.”

A glimpse of my drawing board. Some tools of the trade.

I’m not going to be a dilettante…or someone who waits around for a visitation by some mythical Muse…I intend to be an artist who works “incredibly hard” and spends “hours and hours in the studio.” And that was the best answer that I got from Johnny Cash.