CMT Blog: June Carter Cash

Rosanne Cash's music has remained one of the constants in my life as a young adult. I've always felt a connection to her songs, even though I've never felt that "Seven Year Ache" or escaped from a hectic life by "Sleeping in Paris." After reading her new memoir, Composed, it seems that we also share an inherent urgency to travel, an early love for language and a determination to build a life in music. Fortunately, Cash is further gifted with the ability to write concise lyrics with an interesting melody to match, plus her earthy singing voice is so revealing. All the while she remains rooted to country music through her father, Johnny Cash, and their intimate connections to the Carter Family, but continues the circle on her own terms.

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Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, two much-loved country singer-songwriters, will join together in holy matrimony after a very long courtship. It's just like in 1996, when Tim McGraw and Faith Hill became the new George and Tammy. Just like in 1969, when George and Tammy had become the new Johnny and June, who'd married in 1968. Shelton proposed on Mother's Day in the woods near Tishimingo, Okla., after asking Lambert's dad, Rick, for his blessing. After she said yes to the proposal and the diamond-and-platinum ring, they celebrated with rum and Diet Sprite. This will be Lambert's first marriage and Shelton's second. Lambert told People.com that she "can love him the rest of my life and be happy and make him happy." Sounds like a country song.

The Hulton Archive is regarded as one of the greatest collections of photojournalism, spanning the birth of photography to the present. Important snapshots of country music history are found among the extensive archive's engravings, maps, lithographs and other visual memorabilia. Starting with a portrait of the Carter Family in 1937, CMT.com's gallery of photos from the archive provides an example of how deep the roots of country music history run as they work their way through the decades. Eddy Arnold and Al Jolson look like they're having a blast while jamming in 1946 (No. 4). A young Willie Nelson may be unrecognizable to many in a studio shot from 1960 (No. 18.) Skeeter Davis sports a wild psychedelic ensemble in 1968 (No. 24), while Kris Kristofferson bares some skin and a fresh shave in 1970 (No. 28). Johnny Paycheck practices what he preaches, standing among bookbinders on strike in 1977 (No. 53). Later on, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash have some memorable country company while taping a TV special in 1978 (No. 56). Lots of interesting, historic moments are captured here; see for yourself.

Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

If you're like me, you couldn't wait to see the season premiere of HBO's noteworthy series, Big Love. Depicting a polygamist family's struggles for peace and acceptance in today's society, the series not only keeps me interested and watching, but forces me to listen as well. The musical selections -- often country songs -- are placed cleverly throughout the scenes. Take for example, Sunday's (Jan. 10) premiere that so appropriately placed Dolly Parton's "Love Is Like a Butterfly" in a scene when one of the characters, Alby, is riding in the back of a van having a conversation with his dead father, Roman -- whom he wanted dead. Yes, a lot of love there. In another scene, Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" can be heard while ex-lovers, Frank and Lois, meet up downtown and proceed to talk about how much they hate the other. This contradiction of the song's lyrics to what the viewer is actually seeing sets up a perfect paradox.

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Rosanne Cash insists that she never wanted to be famous, and over the years, she's done a respectable job of not capitalizing on her famous last name. And although she's allowed herself to be the subject of a new biography, Always Been There, she's not merely trying to squeeze a few bucks out of Johnny Cash fans. Instead, she allows author Michael Streissguth to witness the pre-production of her new album, The List, which was inspired by a list of 100 songs her father gave her in 1973. Cash hasn't seen the list itself in quite a few years, when she decided to hide it -- an action she can't fully explain. But by the last chapter, she says she's happy that the actual piece of paper never surfaced because it allowed her to explore her own thoughts about tradition, to preserve a dozen definitive American songs, and to consider her father's state of mind when he compiled the list.

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The day after Thanksgiving is typically the day when smart shoppers start their holiday shopping. But if you have any country fans on your list (like, say, yourself), you may want to wait until Dec. 3. That's the day that Christie's is starting their country music sale, which they describe as the first sale dedicated to the creation, history and evolution of country music. And it's not like you need to be there, paddle in hand, to get the auction going. You can bid on musical instruments, stage outfits and handwritten lyrics from legendary artists like Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Waylon Jennings, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Bill Monroe, Buddy Holly, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Luther Perkins and John Hartford. So if you want Johnny Cash's black Fender Malibu guitar with "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" hand-written on it, and frankly who doesn't, register to bid early and be ready to pay about $40,000 to $60,000. There's also an iconic Waylon Jennings Fender electric guitar (pictured), circa 1950, with a custom-made white and black, handtooled leather cover and a matching leather strap bearing the name Waylon. It's estimated bid is between $80,000 to $120,000. If you don't have that kind of cash, maybe the shirt Buck Owens wore on Hee Haw would be a better fit for around $300.

Photo credit: CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2009

If you're the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, it's only fitting that you take good care of the family legacy, right? When you're embedded in the sounds of traditional country music like that, and you've grown up with parents who had such an impact on the genre, it makes sense you'd want to share that story with children. Not just your own, but everybody's children. That's just what John Carter Cash has done, writing a children's book, Momma Loves Her Little Son.

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Heidi Newfield is perhaps the biggest dark horse candidate at this year's ACM awards. She surprised many with five nominations stemming from her single, "Johnny and June." While some might have been skeptical of her motivation when dropping Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's names, the former Trick Pony singer says it was out of complete reverence for the two. "It wasn't, 'Let's take two iconic people and use them in a song,'" she says. "It was very personal. And we scrutinized every word because I wanted it to transcend the big personalities it was about and become something everyone could relate to. Who doesn't want a love like that?" Tune in to CBS this Sunday (April 5) at 8 p.m. ET to see if Newfield wins, and check out our photo galleries and news on CMT's official ACM page.

When Reese Witherspoon acted all overjoyed at being back in her hometown of Nashville to present an award at the CMA Awards, I thought, "She's probably just acting." But then I read that she had taken her daughter, Ava, to a Carrie Underwood concert when she was at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles last week. So, clearly, it was not an act. Maybe growing up in Tennessee cemented her status as a true country girl. Or maybe it was immersing herself in the June Carter Cash character in Walk the Line. Whatever it is, though, she was the perfect choice as the CMA's token Hollywood celeb presenter who was born in the U.S.

Photo credit: Ed Rode

Wedding vows? Please. Those are so woefully shallow to me now. Things like "til death do us part" are no comparison to the lines of Randy Travis' newest single. "Dig Two Graves" is about devotion so deep, one can't even go on without the other. About how her love is the blood running through his veins. And how he will literally die without her.

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