johnny cash

[junkyard bennie]

not sure if wrote his songs

but for the most part they are very moving

 

 

did he hit on the magic touch of songwriting, yes

 

he simply knew how to tell a story that touched us within our feelings

[blue2blue]

Agreed!

 

Here's a valuable resource for quickly seeing an artist major songs and their authors, already dialed in to Johnny: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aifrxql5ldae~T3

 

 

By the way, I'm going to use my magical moderator powers to extend this discussion from just Johnny to other singer-songwriters who also did a fair portion of songs by others.

 

The reason is a provision in the Songwriting Forum rules banning 'fan threads' -- basically threads focused on a single artist.

 

It might seem like kind of a dumb rule but it's there for a few reasons: to give the moderator a tool to ward off label and PR interns -- assigned to "guerrilla market" by spamming this and other boards with fake fan threads -- and to keep the focus on writing and off individual personalities (to avoid those tiresome back-and-forths people get into, you know, the whole xxxx-is-the-best-band-in-the-world vs xxxx-is-the-worst-band-in-the-world business; not to pick on xxxx, but, you know, if you've been around the interwebs much, you know how just the mention of their name starts people lining up to argue.)

 

 

Anyhow, Cash always seemed open to other writers. In the late 60s, he shocked some elements in the country music establishment by his friendship with Bob Dylan. In the early part of this decade, the intimate recordings of mostly just Johnny and his guitar produced by rock and hip hop label figure, Rick Rubin, reached out wide looking for material that could reflect Cash's long and sometimes turbulent life. Just now, looking at the song list linked above, it was still bracing to see Trent Reznor's name in there with the country writing giants.

 

But, perhaps ironically, the broad field of country music has always been more open to artists performing others' works. The emphasis in lasting country and folk music on universal themes the human condition makes a lot of those songs more portable than the often highly idiosyncratic, personal, and sometimes just plain nonsensical-seeming writings of many from the post-singer-songwriter rock world where, by contemporary convention, a band or artist is typically seen as not being "legitimate" unless they write the bulk of their own material -- giving a big boost to ghostwriting-for-hire as well as "collaboration" where the well-known artist contributes little or nothing of significance, except maybe to get someone to rewrite a melody to make it easier to sing. (But the latter is, admittedly, all but moot with the introduction of digital vocal tuning that lets tin-ears like the current Grammy winner for best female country vocals sound -- to the rubes -- like they can sing.)

 

Some other country greats that wrote their own but also reached wide for tunes to cover are Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, who both started out as writers, working to supply songs to Nashville country artists in the 60s, but moved into the limelight eventually.

[Lee Knight]

In a little cabaret in a South Texas border town,

Sat a boy and his guitar, and the people came from all around.

And all the girls from there to Austin,

Were slippin' away from home and puttin' jewelery in hock.

To take the trip, to go and listen,

To the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.

 

And he would play...

 

Well, he couldn't ride or wrangle, and he never cared to make a dime.

But give him his guitar, and he'd be happy all the time.

And all the girls from nine to ninety,

Were snapping fingers, tapping toes, and begging him: "Don't stop."

And hypnotized and fascinated,

By the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.

 

And he would play...

 

Then one day he was gone, and no one ever saw him 'round,

He'd vanished like the breeze, they forgot him in the little town.

But all the girls still dreamed about him.

And hung around the cabaret until the doors were locked.

And then one day on the Hit Parade,

Was a little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.

 

And he would play...

[blue2blue]

I think we're allowed to excerpt portions of lyrics from copyrighted material for discussion (without the explicit permission/license normally required) under current copyright law -- but don't forget to include the songwriters' credits (not to mention the title ).

 

It appears that most sources credit Johnny Cash with this song, "Tennessee Flat Top Box," but at least one (a JC TV special DVD) lists it as traditional, ie, public domain.

[Lee Knight]

I believe Rosanne confirmed her daddy wrote it...

[rhino55]

 

Some other country greats that wrote their own but also reached wide for tunes to cover are Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, who both started out as writers, working to supply songs to Nashville country artists in the 60s, but moved into the limelight eventually.

 

 

I would like to think they are open to reaching wide for others tunes to play not just out of laziness or the country/folk tradition but more so to give other lesser known songwriters a chance to have their songs heard. In other words, they realize they got some breaks earlier and they want to give some to others. Maybe?

[blue2blue]

I would like to think they are open to reaching wide for others tunes to play not just out of laziness or the country/folk tradition but more so to give other lesser known songwriters a chance to have their songs heard. In other words, they realize they got some breaks earlier and they want to give some to others. Maybe?

It's a nice thought.

 

I actually suspect it's as much because there's just not the emphasis in that milieu on continually reasserting one's supposed auteur status -- and, because, as songwriters, themselves, they are quicker to recognize the merits of a really good song.

[Chicken Monkey]

 

I would like to think they are open to reaching wide for others tunes to play not just out of laziness or the country/folk tradition but more so to give other lesser known songwriters a chance to have their songs heard. In other words, they realize they got some breaks earlier and they want to give some to others. Maybe?

 

 

There's some of that. There's also lost bets, blackmail, and sheer dumb laziness.

[jovalin]

 

In a little cabaret in a South Texas border town, Sat a boy and his guitar, and the people came from all around. And all the girls from there to Austin, Were slippin' away from home and puttin' jewelery in hock. To take the trip, to go and listen, To the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box. And he would play... Well, he couldn't ride or wrangle, and he never cared to make a dime. But give him his guitar, and he'd be happy all the time. And all the girls from nine to ninety, Were snapping fingers, tapping toes, and begging him: "Don't stop." And hypnotized and fascinated, By the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box. And he would play... Then one day he was gone, and no one ever saw him 'round, He'd vanished like the breeze, they forgot him in the little town. But all the girls still dreamed about him. And hung around the cabaret until the doors were locked. And then one day on the Hit Parade, Was a little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box. And he would play...

 

More like the? great grandfather of my nuts