Staying Fit
This essay is part of a series on country music as AARP salutes America.
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
Why do my father’s life and music have such a durable impact today? In the year he would have turned 90 years old, why is his image still so much in the minds and hearts of faithful fans worldwide?
Celebrating Country Music
Johnny Cash began making music in 1955 upon returning from West Germany after a three-year enlistment in the Air Force. His first records had a lasting impact on the whole of American music and culture. He was there for the foundation of rock ’n’ roll and became one of the top-selling country music artists of all time. He performed for millions during his more than 40-year traveling career, selling out shows from Western Australia to western Ohio, from Fairbanks to Singapore.
In all walks of life, music fans love his work. He sang songs of the ordinary person, sang of inner truth, songs that told stories, songs that told of his faith in God, love songs and story songs. Unlike some of his peers, he was the consummate poet and wrote much of his recorded music. But it is not only the music that still draws people to my father after all these years. It is his image, his allure and mystery. It is the paradoxes that made up who he was.
Dad was known for wearing black. My mother said he wore it to cover the truth that his clothes were dirty. Of course, there was more to it. His song “Man in Black” gives us a hint at some of his reasoning for such a shadowy image:
I wear the black for the poor and beaten down
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
More on Entertainment
The Greatest Dolly Parton Quotes, Explained
Plus, how to watch the megastar (and new novelist) live in conversation with AARP on March 25!Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: It’s Been a Long Time
Stars of rock and bluegrass finally team up again with new albumLoretta Lynn Is Far More Than Woman Enough
At 88, the country legend talks with AARP about her 50th studio album and why she never stops dreaming