Johnny Cash and the Paradox of American Identity

257 Pages·2009·1.65 MB·English

by  Leigh Edwards

JOHNNY
CASH
a n d t h e parad o x
o f a m e r i c a n
i d e n t i t y
åå
å
å
Profiles in Popular Music
Glenn Gass and Jeffrey Magee, editors
JOHNNY
a n d t h e p a r a d o x
o f a m e r i c a n
i d e n t i t y
åå
l e i g h h. e d w a r d s
Indiana University Press
Bloomington (cid:1)(cid:114) Indianapolis
This book is a
publication of
Indiana
University
Press
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Morton Street
Bloomington, IN
47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
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© 2009 by
Leigh H. Edwards
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including
Library of Congress
photocopying and recording, or by any information
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher. The Association of Edwards, Leigh H., date
American University Presses’ Resolution on Johnny Cash and the paradox of
Permissions constitutes the only American identity / Leigh H. Edwards.
exception to this prohibition. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The paper used in this ISBN 978-0-253-35292-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN
978-0-253-22061-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
publication meets the minimum
1. Cash, Johnny—Criticism and interpretation.
requirements of American National
2. Country music—History and criticism.
Standard for Information Sciences— 3. Country musicians—United States.
Permanence of Paper for Printed I. Title.
Library Materials, ANSI Z ML420.C265E48 2009
39.48-1984. 781.642092—dc22
2008033364
Manufactured in the
United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
å
for my family
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . ix
Introduction
Cash as Contradiction . . . . 1
1
“What Is Truth?”
Authenticity and Persona . . . . 27
2
“A Boy Named Sue”
American Manhood . . . . 65
3
Gender and “The Beast in Me”
Ramblers and Rockabillies Authenticity and Persona . . . . 83
4
Race and Identity Politics
. . . . 107
5
Man in Black
Class and National Mythologies . . . . 127
6
The Gospel Road
Cash as Saint and Sinner . . . . 157
Conclusion
“God’s Gonna Cut You Down”: Cultural Legacies . . . . 185
Notes . . . . 191
Works Cited . . . . 215
Index . . . . 227

Acknowledgments
During the course of writing this book, I had the pleasure of conferring with
fellow travelers who believe, like me, in the power and importance of popular
culture and popular music. First and foremost, many thanks, of course, to all the
good people at Indiana University Press, especially Jane Behnken. When I made
my pilgrimage to the Country Music Foundation archives at the Country Music
Hall of Fame and Museum, the historian John Rumble was incredibly gracious,
helping me track down a wealth of Johnny Cash materials.
Fellow panelists and conference-goers were receptive and enlightening in their
feedback as I presented this research at academic conferences over several years. I
wish to thank, in particular, the popular music scholars who were kind enough to
speak on the Johnny Cash panel I organized for the American Studies Association
in 2004: Cecelia Tichi, David Sanjek, and Barry Shank. At the International As-
sociation for the Study of Popular Music, U.S. Branch events, Cynthia Fuchs was
especially incisive in her feedback, as she has been as my editor at PopMatters (the
online journal of cultural criticism), where she has allowed me to write numerous
articles about Cash and country music. I have also presented from this research
at the Popular Culture Association, the Popular Culture/American Culture As-
sociation in the South, the Southern American Studies Association and Living
Blues Symposium, the Conference on Literature and Film, the American Men’s
Studies Association, and the Film and History League of the American Historical
Association conferences.