By the time Rick Rubin saw Johnny Cash & June Carter perform “It Ain’t Me, Babe” at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert in October 1992, Cash’s career was all but stalled. He had no record contract, following a 5 year deal with Mercury Records, his label following nearly 30 years on Columbia. Johnny made some fine albums for Mercury, with next to no commercial success whatsoever. He had resorted to re-recording some of his greatest hits so Mercury could release a compilation album for some extra sales. In his last few years on Columbia, things had gotten so bad that he’d record the infamous “The Chicken In Black,” along with an accompanying comic video, which prompted Waylon Jennings to tell Johnny that he looked a buffoon. He recorded several sessions with producer Billy Sherrill that were shelved until 2014 and released as the album Out Under the Stars. He recorded a gospel album for Columbia’s religious label Priority, but even that album ended up on an indie label when Priority was dissolved before it’s release. He was still good, could still draw a crowd, but nothing close to what he’d once commanded. He was a dinosaur.

For Dylan’s 30th Anniversary show, Bob had insisted on two specific acts to be part of the lineup: The Clancy Brothers and Johnny Cash. Rick Rubin came away feeling that Johnny was still a vibrant performer, unfairly dismissed by the music industry. He approached Johnny, who was skeptical at best, of an offer from a rap and metal producer. But Rubin offered Cash creative control, something Johnny hadn’t had in 20+ years. Johnny decided he wanted to record a totally solo album with no accompaniment whatsoever. When Sam Phillips signed Johnny to Sun, he had insisted that Johnny’s voice sounded best with minimal backing, and Cash embraced that philosophy for his album for Rubin’s American Recordings label. Cash recorded songs in his Tennessee cabin though only one of those tracks made the final album. Everything else (other than two live cuts included from a promotional gig at The Viper Room) was recorded in Rick Rubin’s living room in Los Angeles between December 3rd-7th, 1993. They created something magical together, the seminal American Recordings, released 30 years ago today on April 26, 1994.

Rick Rubin later said “sitting and talking and playing music… that was when we got to build up a friendship. My fondest memories are just of hanging out and hearing his stories. He didn’t speak much but, if you drew him out, he seemed to know everything. He was shy and quiet but a wise, wise man.”

The album contained 13 songs, 9 of which were covers of some contemporary and legacy artists. Among the Cash originals is the great “Drive On,” written from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran, haunted by his experiences, grateful for the love of his family though they can’t understand his torment:

Johnny’s career was completely rejuvenated, delivering his biggest sales in decades, hitting #23 on the Billboard Country chart (though the album only peaked at #111 on the Top 200). The critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. Rolling Stone called it one of his greatest albums, writing “American Recordings is at once monumental and viscerally intimate, fiercely true to the legend of Johnny Cash and entirely contemporary.” Johnny ended up headlining on the Legends Stage at Glastonbury and was awed by the response. He called it one of the highlights of his career. He’d go on to make several albums with Rick Rubin, Unchained and The Man Comes Around being the best of them. He was taken seriously again.

Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium of songs by the artists Johnny covered on American Recordings:

#JohnnyCash #BobDylan #RickRubin #WaylonJennings #BillySherrill #Billboard

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