Johnny Cash was a father figure to country music, but also a controversial man, who said he had two opposing personalities and they were fighting each other. The angel was sitting on his shoulder, and the devil himself was standing behind him. Cash hated lighthearted light music, June Carter recalled that Johnny in the 70s was depressed by the state of affairs and the fact that normal country musicians could not break into the airwaves. Actually, this musical crisis affected him too, from the late 70s until the beginning of his collaboration with Rick Rubin, Cash was practically forgotten and put on the shelf.
Johnny Cash was an odious figure and was not shy in his negative statements, and then, of course, did not apologize. Kris Kristofferson recalled that he once opened a Cash concert in Philadelphia and dedicated his song to Abu Jamal, and when he left the stage, he was told that the police were furious and that he would have to come back to apologize. Johnny heard this and said:
“You don’t have to apologize to anyone on my show!”
5. The Monkees
After watching the Monkees TV show in 1966, Cash told his bass player, “This is not a band, it’s a marketing scam with hairstyles.” And summed it up:
“It’s not just a copy of the Beatles, it’s a copy of a copy. There is nothing of America here.”
For him, the Mankiz group represented the commercialization of show business. June recalled that in 1967, the songs from the Monkees album were pushed out of the charts by musicians with more traditional music, Cash bitterly remarked that this album “… embodies everything that went wrong with music. Cute boys are singing Make Believe on TV, while real musicians have no place.” When Monkees member Mike Nesmith released a new country rock album, Cash quipped: “Well, finally, years later, he realized that you need to make normal music, not what a TV producer tells you!”
Johnny Cash also disliked the Beach Boys, talking about how stupid it is when grown-up guys have fun singing about boating (apparently after hearing the Surfin’ USA song).
4. Kiss
Cash was talking about the band Kiss:
“It’s not music, it’s a fucking Halloween party with amplifiers. When you have to spit fire and make up to attract people’s attention, you admit that you clearly have nothing to say.”
And also, “Kids spend money to watch these costumed characters when real songwriters can’t get on-air time.”
3. Fleetwood Mac
Cash was clearly not indifferent to Fleetwood Mac: “This is what happens when rich hippies make music about their own divorce dramas, when most of the country’s population is barely making ends meet, unable to pay the bills.”
Their successful music career caused nothing but annoyance in Cash.:
“I fought my demons without showing off and sang about my struggle honestly. These people flaunt their weaknesses as achievements and earn millions from it. They have the attention of the whole world, and they can only think of talking about how they got lost in the sheets. What a shameful drain on success!”
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd
Cash disliked Lynerd Skinerd for commercializing southern music: “They sell a cartoon version of the South that doesn’t reflect its complexity and pain.” He also criticized them for using the Confederate flag.:
“They wrap themselves in a flag that symbolizes the pain and division of an entire nation in half, this is not rebellion, this is deliberate bad manners.”
And again: “…They sell a caricature of the South that turns people away from thinking about the real South with its contradictions and trials.” – in 2015, Gary Rossington, the only remaining member of the original band, announced that Lynyrd Skynyrd would no longer use the flag as an element of the show, as it carries offensive and racist overtones)
1. The Eagles
Johnny Cash hated the Eagles the most, with their polished sound. He did not consider the Iglovsky California country rock to be root music: “It’s not country music – that’s what happens when rock musicians hang a bolo tie around their necks and think they understand the real American countryside.”
“They took the cream off the surface of country music, taking the sound, but forgetting about the soul and heart, and making millions on it.”
John Fogerty agreed with him, in addition to the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen also got from him: “He’s one of those sweet city boys who have never been to a farm. He steals people’s stories and turns them into Broadway shows.”
Fogerty, considering the Eagles to be fake, spoke about them like this:
“…stole the music of real America and made it boring!”
