Even though his record sales were not stacking up to his past achievements, Johnny Cash was still sought after entertainment personality in the mid- to late-1970s. He had dabbled in acting in the late ‘50s with the film Five Minutes To Live, but in the ‘70s he began to make more guest appearances on networks staples like Columbo and Little House on the Prairie. It was during this time that he also made a series of Christmas Specials for CBS, beginning in 1976.

Through the joint agreement between Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Archive Series, the first two Christmas specials, from 1976 and 1977, were released in 2007. This year the venture brings us the specials from 1978 and 1979.

Breaking from the pattern established in the two previous years, the 1978 Christmas Special was filmed in California rather than Nashville. Guests for the show include long time Cash friend and associate Kris Kristofferson and his then-wife Rita Coolidge. Comic relief for the show was provided by Steve Martin who had had his own television special earlier in the year on which Cash had guested.

In 1979 the Christmas Specials return to Nashville. Also returning is the biographical portion of the show featuring clips of Cash’s father Ray and brother Roy visiting their old Dyess, Arkansas home and reminiscing about the 1937 flood as Cash performs “Five Feet High and Rising” on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House.

The shows musical guests are the popular Anne Murray and singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall who joins Cash for a medley of his hits. The role of comic relief for 1979 is filled by Andy Kaufman, who inexplicably stays in his Taxi character of Latka Gravas (except for his Elvis impersonation) for the entirety of the show.

Both shows follow nearly the same format. Although they are Christmas shows, they include only three or four Christmas songs with the rest of the set lists being made up of the current or past hits of the guests. On the ’78 Special, Cash revisits “Ballad of a Teenage Queen,” a song he didn’t perform often, but was one of his biggest early hits. He also performs “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” as a duet with the songs co-writer. He performs two gospel oriented songs (“Fourth Man” and “The Greatest Cowboy of Them All”) and a new song, “I Will Rock and Roll With You,” released on 1978’s Gone Girl. He ends the Special joined by his daughters for “Silent Night.”

The ’79 Special sees Cash include the recitation “The Ballad Of The Harp Weaver” and joined by wife June to reprise their 1970 hit “If I Were A Carpenter.” June takes the spotlight on the bluegrass classic “Back Up And Push,” joined by Marty Stuart on mandolin and Vassar Clements on fiddle.

These shows come at an interesting time in the life of Johnny Cash. The family had lost Mother Maybelle earlier in 1978 and was facing their first Christmas without her. While his concerts were still selling well and his work with Billy Graham was growing, Cash’s record sales were waning and Columbia’s support was weakening.

According to Marshall Grant, Cash’s long time bass player, Cash began using drugs again around 1976 after over five years clean. His addiction worsened as the years progressed. Watching these two Specials back to back it is easy to see subtle changes in Cash’s movements and demeanor.

It would be easy to dismiss these DVD releases as trying to capitalize on the name of Cash in the name of cash, but they fulfill the mission of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s agreement with Shout! Factory in releasing rarely seen archival footage from the vaults of the Hall of Fame. These Specials (the previously released 1976 and 1977 Specials are also being re-released in a boxed set that also includes the two newly released Specials) show Cash reminiscing about his past, interacting with stars of the time and using his platform to write his own biography and speak on his faith. While they may not be essential purchases, like the recently released At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition, they are great additions to the library of Cash fans.

Johnny Cash’s 1968 concert recording At Folsom Prison was a turning point in the Man in Black’s career, his own ’68 comeback special, if you will.

The original At Folsom Prison album was released in May 1968 with modest expectations from Columbia. Its lead single, “Folsom Prison Blues,” surprised the company by charting on the Billboard Pop charts a week before it charted on the Billboard Country chart, eventually charting #32 and #1, respectively, and netting Cash a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

In October 1999 Columbia re-released the album expanding the original 16 tracks to 19. They followed suit in 2000 by re-releasing Cash’s second most well-known prison recording, 1969’s At San Quentin. In 2006 Sony’s Legacy division released the Legacy Edition including the entire concert and including on DVD the 1969 documentary shot by Britain’s Granada TV. At Folsom Prison – Legacy Edition follows the same format.

On January 13, 1968, Cash, The Tennessee Three, Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers and Cash’s soon-to-be wife June Carter, along with a small entourage, made their way behind the walls of Folsom Prison very early that morning. Around 9 a.m. 1,000 inmates took their seats in the cafeteria ready for the 9:40 show. It is predominately from that show that the original LP release of At Folsom Prison was culled (only “Give My Love To Rose” with June Carter and “I Got Stripes” were used from the second show). At 12:40 the second show began in front of a new audience (except for one man who had been cleared to watch both shows).

This new Legacy Edition presents for the first time both shows in their entirety, including introductions and announcements from disc jockey Hugh Cherry. Also included are three performances by Carl Perkins, four by the Statler Brothers and two more duets between Cash and Carter. With the exception of the songs by the supporting acts, the second show duplicates the first in song list, but weariness can be heard in Cash’s voice and much of the fire from the first show is tempered.

In addition to the two-CDs, this edition also includes a DVD containing a new documentary looking at the importance of the At Folsom Prison record. Written by Michael Streissguth, author of Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison: The Making Of A Masterpiece and Johnny Cash: The Biography, the documentary includes new interviews with Marty Stuart, Rosanne Cash, Merle Haggard, Marshall Grant and W. S. “Fluke” Holland.

Two of the most interesting aspects of the new documentary are the inclusion of the stories of two inmates that were present at the concert recording. The first is Millard Dedmon who was sentenced to Folsom in the early 1960s and paroled in 1978. It is through his eyes that we see what an event it was for the prisoners to have someone like Johnny Cash come to them and treat them as people.

The second story is that of the man who was cleared to see both shows, Glen Sherley. Sherley had bounced around different prisons throughout his adult life finally landing in Folsom in 1967. He was an amateur songwriter and while behind bars tried to funnel his energy into creating. Through a series of mutual friends a tape of one of Sherley’s songs made it Cash the night before the Folsom recording. Cash introduces the song on the recording and it is the first time Sherley knew his song would be sang by his hero.

Sherley got the opportunity to meet Cash after the show and he became a sort of project for Cash. The first step was to give Sherley an outlet for his talent and in 1971 he released his self-titled album, Glen Sherley, recorded live in Vacaville Prison. Sherley was released from prison in 1972 and joined Cash’s road shows opening the show with a couple of songs. The documentary gives us new interviews with Sherley’s son and daughter as they tell about what that experience meant to their family.

In 1978, as Millard Dedmon was being released from Folsom, Sherley, unable to cope with life on the outside, took his own life. The stories of these two inmates, one who couldn’t cope with life in society and one that worked hard to redeem himself in the eyes of others, illustrate one of the reasons that Cash wanted to bring this recording to his audience.

The addition of this gripping documentary elevates this package from something only for Cash completeists to a package that presents a better rounded picture of the making of this classic album.

Many of the products released trade on the rugged, outlaw Man in Black image.  Take, for example, the recently released Man in Black: Johnny Cash, Live in Denmark 1971.  The cover is, of course, black showing a dimly lit Cash looking somber and pensive.  The man on the cover is nowhere to be found on the DVD enclosed.  The Johnny Cash there is in very good spirits on a brightly lit, colorful Denmark television sound stage.
But, I suppose, one follows the money when in the business of selling CDs and DVDs.
Two books were recently released and both strive to show a more human side of the Legend we know as Johnny Cash.
Touted as the �first critical, independent biography� of Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash: The Biography covers Cashs life in detail from birth to death without covering the warts and peeking behind the media hype of certain aspects of the Man in Black.
Author Michael Streissguth is considered one of the foremost authorities on Cash, having also written an earlier book on the making of the classic Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison album and also serving as editor for a Cash reader.  In this biography he does not attempt to cater to a particular aspect of Cashs� image painting him as saint or sinner, but rather he lays the facts bear and lets the reader decide.  By the same token, when discussing Cash�s drug use (which, Streissguth points out, continued all of his life, even after most people think he was clean) he never sensationalizes the issue, but gives us the facts as told to him by people close to Cash such as his daughters and friends.
Comparing Johnny Cash: The Biography to past books on Cash, including two autobiographies and biographies from the 1970�s up to Steve Turners� 2004 The Man Called Cash, it nearly lives up to the claim that it �may prove to be the definitive biography,� although omissions such as the story of the robbers who threatened the lives of Johnny and his family at their Jamaican retreat Cinnamon Hill keep it just shy of the goal.  But that might be nit-picking in the face of the sheer amount of details Streissguth uncovers on the early days of Cash�s career through very personal details of his 2003 death.
Drawing from interviews of those closely associated with Cash such as former managers, musicians, family members and friends, Streissguth divides the book into five sections each dealing with a different phase of Cash�s career, beginning with previously unpublished information on the history of Cash�s parents, the first section covers his birth and childhood to his move to Memphis (1932-1955).  Other sections cover his rise to fame (1956-1967), his commercial peak (1968-1972), the fallow period of struggle (1973-1993) and his final triumphant return (1994-2003).
In his book, I Was There When It Happened: My Life With Johnny Cash, Marshall Grant, one half of the original Tennessee Two, covers from the beginning of his association with Johnny right up to Johnny�s memorial service in 2003.  Supplying rich details of those early days, the book is a very entertaining and informative read and serves as a fantastic document of their celebrated career.
Grant starts in the early 1950�s with his introduction to Cash by Cash�s brother Roy, who worked with Grant and guitarist Luther Perkins.  The stories of the early years read like wonderful reminiscences of a young friendship that produced a sound that became the foundation for a legend.  The details add to the picture and supply interesting bits of trivia as it develops.  For instance, did you know that it was almost a three piece band in the beginning, but once arriving at Sun studios, steel guitarist Red Kernodle, a friend who had been there since the first jam sessions, got too nervous to play and bowed out of the group for fear of holding them back?
Moving through the Fifties, Grant outlines the beginnings of Cash�s well publicized battle with drug addiction.  He takes us through Cash�s introduction to the pills that would come to consume his life and ultimately, as Grant believes, cost both he and June their lives.
The Sixties was a time of immense popularity for the group, but within the organization the turmoil of Cash�s drug use was starting to tear them apart.  Missed shows and poorly performed shows were just a couple of the obstacles that Grant had to move the group through.  Acting as road manager and general go-between, he often had the unpleasant task of explaining to a promoter or even a crowd that the star would not be appearing that night as scheduled.
In the wake of Cash�s drug use we see the toll it took on those around him.  When he missed a show or was too high to appear, this often led to the shows cancellation and in turn, Grant and Perkins missing a paycheck.  While Cash traveled the country making his path as only he desired, using royalty monies that belong to the group, his bandmates were at home trying to feed hungry children.
The biopic Walk the Line, as well as books and many articles and television interviews note Cash as drug free since around 1968, but Grant (as well as Streissguth) tell us that the drug use continued to some extent beyond that.  Grant notes that the day John Carter Cash was born, Cash went completely drug free.  He would remain this way for 6 years before it began to creep back into his life.
Cash�s drug use eventually lead to a series of events that ended with Cash firing Grant after nearly 30 years of being together.  In his drug induced state, Cash publicly laid out false accusations which prompted Grant to file a lawsuit against his former friend to gain the back royalties he was owed since the groups signing.
But in the end, this is a story of two friends that were as close as brothers.  The lawsuit was settled and a few years later, as health problems caused Cash�s drug use to ebb, the two rekindled their friendship.
Throughout the book Grant makes it clear that he did not blame any of these events on Cash, but rather the drugs that now controlled his every action.  He notes that many poor business decisions, decisions for which the consequences were paid by others in the organization, would not have taken place had it not been for the drugs.
These books are filled with wonderful details from the beginning of Cash�s career to his final days.  The portrait they paint is not always the one we choose to remember of the musical icon, but they nonetheless speak the truth.  If you are a Johnny Cash fan, these books should be in your library.

My granddad wrote a note in a bible he gave me when I graduated from high school. It said: Upon reaching the mantle of life, one�s effectiveness does not diminish, but grows and grows, while loving God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost with faith, hope, and charity. Then the world is yours. My Granddad was old and nearing death when he wrote those words.
 
I took the bible and assumed I was close to reaching that mantle he described. But as years went by, the mantle proved an ever-illusive place. I have come to believe the mantle was territory my granddad occupied at the time, not me, a place where his body was weak and little more than a source of pain and suffering, a hollow shell hardly resembling the strong house it had once been.
 
But in weakness of the flesh, strength of spirit can be found. Little did I know, but my granddad left a blessing upon me that survived in spite of my reckless ways, a spiritual seed of sorts.
 
Johnny Cash completed American V just hours and days before his death. He stood squarely upon the mantle of life and his words carry the weight of centuries of collective wisdom. In places his voice sounds weak, in other places it�s strong, but everywhere it testifies to the strength of the spirit that lived in Johnny. A few are songs he wrote, others were written by others, but when Johnny sings them, I hear songs I�ve never before heard.
 
John R. Cash withstood a trial by fire and was not consumed, but instead was perfected by the flames. While wild and reckless as a young man, he redefined dignity and honor in his later days and saved his best and most effective work for last. John stands among the great that walked this earth.
 
He left a piece of his spirit in this cd. Buy the cd. Open your heart. Open your ears. Find your blessing.

Personal File, in my mind, is a historical document.  It illuminates several aspects of Cash’s personality and is a must have set for die-hard fans as well as fans of music history.The two-disc set contains 49 tracks recorded from 1973 -1982 and feature Cash alone with his guitar, which is what brought him much acclaim with his later American Recordings.  And this to me is the first aspect of his personality to show through.  In 1973, Cash had a few albums out (including the Gospel Road soundtrack and Any Old Wind That Blows) and he had produced the Gospel Road film.  The early- to mid-70’s was a second wave of popularity for Cash and he parlayed that into a platform for both his Christian outreach and his political interests, including speaking out on prison reform.  It was during all of this that he retreated to his studio and recorded many of these songs, songs from his youth and songs from artists of which he was a fan.  He then put the tape reels into boxes, which he marked Personal File, and stored them away.  Twenty-one years later, Cash sat in a studio with producer Rick Rubin and did the exact same thing – only this time the result was released to much critical praise, a Grammy and the discovering of Cash by a new generation.  Rubin deserves the respect for signing Cash after he had been released from Columbia and for producing American Recordings.  It is often lauded on him the praise for taking Cash back to basics, but Personal File tells me that it might not have been completely Rubin’s idea.  That Cash, who at times in his life was not known for his humility, didn’t balk at the claim shows how much he respected Rubin and his friendship.The songs on Personal File are divided into two parts: disc one contains songs on various themes which Cash, or artists whom he admired, wrote.  Many of these songs feature spoken introductions in which Cash describes how he came to write them (such as “Tiger Whitehead” from his Children’s album which was recently released on CD for the first time), or more often where and when he learned many of the older songs he sings.  Many will write this off as sentimentalism, but Cash was actually very interested in the history of music.  In The Man Called Cash, Steve Turner tells the story of Cash quizzing people on the originals of songs, such as whether they were of English or Celtic descent, for example.  He perhaps put these recollections on tape as a reminder – to himself or others – where these songs came from and their importance to the development of Cash as an artist.The second disc is made up of mainly Gospel songs, including old standards, songs written by Cash and songs written by others such as the Louvin Brothers.  When Cash became a Christian he, like many new converts, hungered for more knowledge and became something of a Bible scholar throughout his life.  It is easy to see how much these songs meant to him.  Some of the songs were released in other forms, such as “Matthew 24 (Is Knocking at the Door)”, also from 1973 and included on the Johnny Cash and His Woman album.  Other songs such as “One of These Days I’m Gonna Sit Down and Talk to Paul” are released here for the first time.  You can hear the searching in songs like the enigmatic, uncredited “If Jesus Ever Loved a Woman”.  Although Cash released other sets of Gospel songs and hymns, none are as intimate as these.Intimacy is really what this set boils down to.  It hear these songs with just Cash’s voice, which was in excellent form, and guitar accompaniment makes you feel as if you were there, that you are sitting directly in front of him as he recounts various points in his life.  Even though many compilations and sets have been, and probably will continue to be, released since his death, Personal File is a truly deserving release.  Credit is to be given to John Carter Cash for allowing such a release to be shared with the rest of us.