The Man In Black English Literature Essay

Most of us know of Johnny Cash, the Man in Black. But do we truly know who he is, the legend in the darkness? Not many are able to answer with a solid yes. Some can say he was a great country performer, being completely unaware of how his music, as well as his image, had a tremendous impact on their own lives, including the music they listen to. Johnny Cash was an influential person in American history because his ¿½Man in Black¿½ image helped solidify his place as a music writer and performer, he was able to rebound from the depths of drug addiction, and he pioneered many different genres of music although he was a country singer.¿½

Johnny Cash¿½s main reason why he and his band wore black is quite laughable. Of all the clothing options they had, black was the only common color. It also became a well-known stage standard once the song, ¿½Man in Black,¿½ became extremely popular in 1971. Wearing black, to Cash, is a method of conveying a message, a sign. This message was for the weak, the downtrodden, the sick, the hopeless, the lonely, and those that just deserve more in life. Was it hope? Only Cash would know. Unfortunately, the message was stolen by the powerful clutch of Death.¿½

Johnny Cash¿½s household image in the United States, and eventually, the world, was that of an outlaw, a criminal. This is a very common misconception about Cash¿½s life. Interestingly, he never served a prison sentence. Additionally, as well as ironically, most of Cash¿½s fan mail came from those in prison. His seven one-night stays in jail lasted only that, one night at a time. Rumors about Johnny actually doing time were simply rumors. Another example that works against Johnny¿½s image is his songwriting. The song ¿½Folsom Prison Blues,¿½ for example, has lines stating Cash shot a man only to watch him die, but this is purely imaginative, not biographical.¿½

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From the 1980¿½s to today, there has been a reputation with hard rock bands, like M¿½tley Cr¿½e, and hotels. These reputations aren¿½t what most would call pleasant. Cash is linked to the beginning of such antics, and therefore blames himself:¿½

¿½I¿½ve done no direct physical violence to people, but I certainly hurt many of them, particularly those closest to me, and I was hard on things. I kicked them, I punched them, I smashed them, I chopped them, I shot them, I stuck them with my bowie knife. When I got high I didn¿½t care. If I wanted to let out some of my rage, I just did it. The value of whatever I destroyed, the money it cost, or its meaning to whoever owned it or used it didn¿½t matter one bit to me, such was the depth of my selfishness. All it cost to me was cash (if that) hands off. Somebody else, usually Marshall Grant, had to actually face the people and do the paying¿½ ¿½ It¿½s disturbing, too, to confront the fact that, in many eyes, the kind of motel vandalism I pioneered is now a kind of totem of rock and roll rebellion, a harmless and even admirable mixture of youthful exuberance and contempt for convention. That¿½s not what it was for me. It was darker and deeper. It was violence.¿½ (Cash, and Carr, 154-155)¿½

To think that Johnny Cash would link himself, as a performer, to the atrocities that come along with the rock star mentality, is demeaning to his image. Many of the greater known hotel destroying fiascos seems to have some kind of nasty undertone to it. What does it consist of? The simplest answer would be drugs and alcohol.¿½

Johnny Cash flirted with disaster. He slept with the law, and Death itself, though the latter was guised in pleasure. Cash was heavily addicted to amphetamines, barbiturates, and alcohol. The amphetamines helped him wake up and stay awake; while the barbiturates and booze helped bring him down if the stimulants put him over the top. If Cash couldn¿½t get them illegally, he would visit the nearest doctor and get his fix prescribed. Sometimes this method wouldn¿½t work. In cases like that, Cash had friends and connections all over the United States while touring. He could have pills shipped in anywhere, at any time, by the hundreds.¿½

One of Cash¿½s first nights in jail also showed signs of dependency on the drugs. In 1959, he was arrested for attempting to break into a closed club in Nashville, Tennessee, to steal alcohol. Another crazy drug-induced stupor involves Cash¿½s truck burning down half of a national forest. He blamed the truck, and said that the court could not question it because it was dead. He did pay for the damages, however.¿½

Not all of Cash¿½s arrests turned out dreadful, though. An overnight stay in Carson City, Nevada had Cash locked in a cell with an enormous man who was constantly having mood swings. The man had threatened to break Cash¿½s neck, eventually attempting to do so. Johnny had now sobered up from whatever he was doing earlier that evening, and started singing ¿½Folsom Prison Blues¿½ and ¿½I Walk the Line.¿½ The man began to calm down, putting two and two together. Alas, he was suspicious, still thinking Cash isn¿½t who he said he is. Johnny continues to sing, and the man is blasted back by the beauty before him, and cries himself to sleep.¿½

As pleasant as that night turned out, it can be equally terrible. On a crossover from Dallas to Los Angeles, Cash makes a stop in El Paso, Texas, and crosses over into Mexico to replenish his supply of Dexedrine. He hails a taxi and asks the driver to get all he can from anywhere. Back in El Paso, Cash pops a few pills, and then buys an antique pistol at a pawn shop. Later, he is stopped by what looks like a fan, but Cash knows it¿½s really a plainclothes officer. Cash thinks he was stopped because of the gun, and said that he collected antiques, presumably to throw the officer off. The officer asked what time the flight to Los Angeles left, and Cash said that it would leave at around 9:00 that evening.¿½

Just before the flight is scheduled to leave, the plane¿½s door opened and Johnny was asked to step off the plane. One of the men arresting Cash was the plainclothes officer he had talked with earlier that day. Cash was believed to be possessing heroin, when all he had were his pills. They, however, were sealed in hidden compartments in his suitcase and guitar case. Cash comes to a realization that he could ultimately destroy his life, his career, and his family by living the way he was. The media quickly jumped on this arrest story, and Johnny was faced with constant humiliation. This, coupled with the usual pressure on a performer while touring led Johnny back to his safe haven, the drugs and alcohol.¿½

Cash¿½s last one night stand with the law happened in October of 1961, in Lafayette, Georgia. After Cash finishes the night, the sheriff releases him, and gives him two things, his money and his pills. Cash asks why, stating that what the sheriff was doing is illegal. The sheriff gives him two options: throw the pills away, and save yourself, or take the pills and die. It broke the sheriff¿½s heart to see Cash in jail, and he even had thoughts of retiring. Leaving the police station, Cash thought that God had sent the sheriff to him, or vice versa. Because of this, Cash realized that what he was about to kill himself with these drugs, and that he needed to get himself on the right path. He began to do so by throwing away the drugs.¿½

It would take far worse than this realization to scare Cash off drugs. He needed to see Death face to face. While under the illusion that he could, Cash visited Nickajack Cave in Marion County, Tennessee, with a flashlight and attempted to go as far in the cave as he could. When the batteries ran out, he would stop crawling, and just sit there and starve to death. However, Cash claims to have seen God through this suicide attempt, and was able to find his way out of the cave. Cash has been a believer in the word of God, and has also abstained from drugs from that day forth, until his death.¿½

Cash has a message for his readers in his 1977 autobiography, Man in Black. ¿½To any and all who can be saved from the death of drugs, if only one person turns to God through the story which I tell, it will all have been worthwhile.¿½ (Cash, 13) He also has a message for those already serving God. ¿½To fellow Christians who feel they have failed and fear there is no hope; it is my promise that this book will show you there is hope.¿½ (Cash, 13)¿½

As a child, Cash went by his birth name, J. R. This was due to a disagreement between Johnny¿½s parents, who couldn¿½t decide between John or Ray for his name. When enlisting for the military, he submitted John R. Cash as his name, because initials were not allowed to be submitted. When signing onto Sun Records, Cash adopted the stage name, Johnny.¿½

Cash¿½s youth played out like a clich¿½d tragedy. The young J. R. had a close relationship with his older brother, Jack. Jack was two years older than J. R. However, Jack being the older brother was short lived, quite literally. Jack died at age fourteen due to a freak accident at their job. He was nearly chopped in half by a table saw. Whether or not this actually was an accident is still a mystery. The whole incident could have been avoided. Both boys could have had a day off and gone fishing, but Jack insisted that they work, since the family didn¿½t have much money.¿½

Even decades after Jack¿½s death, Johnny always had a place in his heart for his brother. Cash often spoke of seeing his brother in dreams, and hoped to see his brother in heaven when he died. Johnny recalls being on a plane that had just gone through some turbulence. He looked out the window, and happens to be flying over a general area where Jack was laid to rest. Johnny felt that this was God¿½s way of telling him that he was on the right track. He¿½s doing what he is supposed to be doing, which is entertaining. It was a reminder to be a role model, be strong, stay respectful, honest, and be a positive influence.¿½

Not everything behind Cash¿½s

life is pain and suffering, although most of it is, unfortunately. Johnny Cash left behind an immense legacy, with its rocky start, golden age, downfall, and climb back to fame. For instance, once Johnny hit puberty, his voice plummeted to the deep and rich baritone the world knows today. Once he learned to play and use his voice to his advantage, he auditioned for Sam Phillips who was representing Sun Records. Johnny was rejected for singing gospel tunes, and was told by Phillips to go home, sin, and come back with a song that actually could sell. Sun Records was used to having higher profile artists, like Elvis Presley.¿½

Cash went and sinned, and he came out with masterpieces. He wrote down whatever came to mind, put an insane amount of feeling into it, and whenever sung, it seemed that he was singing directly to the person listening. The meaning of the song was unique to that person as well, as there is no clear and concise meaning that many people can agree on. This was a key factor in having a large and diverse fan base.¿½

Some of Cash¿½s songs were written about the lives and struggles of Native Americans, primarily the Cherokee Indians. He believed that Cherokee Indian blood resided in his veins. Upon researching his family history, however, Johnny found that he was one hundred percent Scottish. This didn¿½t stop him writing about the Natives, or writing in general.¿½

One of Cash¿½s most famous songs, ¿½Folsom Prison Blues,¿½ was not actually written by Johnny Cash. The original song, called ¿½Crescent City Blues,¿½ was written by Gordon Jenkins. Cash plagiarized most of the song, changing some of the words and writing only a few parts. There was no lawsuit, but the two settled out of court.¿½

Although Johnny Cash¿½s legacy is long gone, and he has passed away almost seven years ago, he is remembered throughout today¿½s culture through distribution of his music and image throughout new media. Examples include television specials, news articles, etc. Even video games are part of this. The popular music simulation game, Guitar Hero 5, features ¿½Ring of Fire¿½ as a playable track, as well as a digital reincarnation of Johnny, dressed in black. Also, online music retailer iTunes recently sold their ten millionth song, with the song of honor being Cash¿½s ¿½Things Happen That Way.¿½¿½

J. R., John, Johnny Cash lived the much sought after, almost never attainable American Dream. His life definitely had its ups and downs, but because of the different paths he had been down in his life, he could relate to anyone and everyone. Johnny Cash was an influential person in American history because his ¿½Man in Black¿½ image helped solidify his place as a music writer and performer, he was able to rebound from the depths of drug addiction, and he pioneered many different genres of music although he was a country singer. If Johnny Cash were still alive today, he would still be living his American Dream. He wouldn¿½t be sitting around doing nothing. He would probably, ¿½¿½ go to work, or if you like, to go play. That¿½s what we musicians call it, after all. I¿½ll put on this black shirt, buckle up the black belt on my black pants, tie my black shoes, pick up my black guitar, and go put on a show for the people in this town.¿½ (Cash, and Carr, 292)¿½