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Johnny Cash

The Life

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Johnny Cash

By: Robert Hilburn
Narrated by: Charles Pittard
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About this listen

 People don't just listen to Johnny Cash: they believe in him. But no one has told the Man in Black's full story, until now.

In Johnny Cash: The Life, Robert Hilburn conveys the unvarnished truth about a musical icon, whose colourful career stretched from his days at Sun Records with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to his remarkable, brave and deeply moving 'Hurt' video, aged sixty-nine. As music critic for the Los Angeles Times, Hilburn knew Cash well throughout his life: he was the only music journalist at the legendary Folsom Prison concert in 1968, and he interviewed Cash and his wife June Carter for the final time just months before their deaths in 2003. Hilburn's rich reporting shows the remarkable highs and deep lows that followed and haunted Cash in equal measure. A man of great faith and humbling addiction, Cash aimed for more than another hit for the jukebox; he wanted his music to lift people's spirits.

Drawing upon his personal experience with Cash and a trove of never-before-seen material from the singer's inner circle, Hilburn creates an utterly compelling, deeply human portrait of one of the most iconic figures in modern popular culture - not only a towering figure in country music, but also a seminal influence in rock, whose personal life was far more troubled, and whose musical and lyrical artistry much more profound, than even his most devoted fans ever realised.

Read by Charles Pittard

(p) 2013 Hachette Audio©2013 Robert Hilburn Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity

Critic Reviews

Johnny Cash was a man both extraordinary and ordinary. Every man could relate to him, no man could be him, and only one man could get inside his head: Robert Hilburn (Bono)
Robert Hilburn displays a deeply felt affinity with his subject, illuminating Johnny Cash as the moral compass of country music (Patti Smith)
A great story requires great storytelling, and that's exactly what it receives here. Ultimately, Robert Hilburn's biography uncannily resembles its subject: massive and stolid, but with a dangerous glint in its eye (Charles Shaar Murray)
Johnny Cash and Robert Hilburn are two of the true blessings of my life. Both the best at what they do and each a gifted artist. It's a killer combination (Kris Kristofferson)
[T]he most authoritative and revealing portrait to date of the most chronicled figure in country-music history ... [a] finely wrought biography (Eddie Dean)
Hilburn's biography has the sort of immense scope and tremendous insight that comes from years of interviewing such a truthful, troubling subject (Rob Fitzpatrick)
A warts-and-all biography follows Johnny Cash, a rebel and outsider, from one drama to the next. It's a must-read (Will Hodgkinson)
Rock biographies can feel like they are ten-a-penny so it is a refreshing change to read a meaty no-holds barred, non-sycophantic record of legendary Man in Black Johnny Cash ... The wealth of detail on every page, in ever incident of Cash's life (1932-2002) is both impressive and a joy to read. Unlike so many biographies that are reported incidents jigsawed together, this is almost an eyewitness account with not always favourable opinions, perfecting its colour and gravitas (Nicole Carmichael)
How do you write an interesting biography of such a beloved figure? First, hire Robert Hilburn. He is a prodigious researcher, but keeps a steady hand on the tiller, and never allows his research to swamp his narrative. He knows his music and music history, but unlike far too many music critics, he avoids the temptation to show off
Hilburn has pulled off the rare feat of making the dispassionate truth more extraordinary than the myth (Andy Fyfe)
With straightforward prose, and through years of meticulous research, Robert Hilburn unravels the sometimes dark and magical life of one of music's greatest legends. Oftentimes this is a chronicle of pain, whether Hilburn is detailing Cash's early loss of his beloved brother, or the anguish he talked to Rick Rubin about feeling upon the death of wife June, but Hilburn gives much insight into what drove Cash's work. This is a harrowing story of addiction, musical genius, and enduring faith that goes far deeper than any film biopic ever will. In the end, Hilburn has achieved what is most certainly the definitive Johnny Cash biography (Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain)
Robert Hilburn has written a magnificent biography
All stars
Most relevant
This book goes deep into Cash. You feel like you are there the whole time.

What a ride

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this book has made me respect Johnny Cash so much more than I already did. I both laughed and cried right thru out the book. honestly the very best book I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I wish it never stopped. honestly best read ever. never felt so many different emotions thru out a book. really feel so much stronger about the man and his life and family and had no idea just how much he shaped the music industry until now. thankyou so much for such an exiting biography.

Inspiring,emotional and exellent.

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I knew bits and pieces of Johnny Cash's story but this book was a rollercoaster of emotions. As the career of the man in black starts and blossom I found myself smiling and feeling good then the drug years and bad decisions which sounded more hellish than I ever imagined. Then it goes to June and Johnny's final years and there were times there that I was tearing up. There's no doubt that Johnny Cash lived one hell of a life and this book does an amazing job retelling it in fine details.

At first I thought the narrator was a bit monotone and not into it but the more you listen (only takes a few chapters) you realise that no. His voice actually works really well for this type of story.

true story of the man in black

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Great story about a complex artist. Not for the casual fan, and probably best suited to those with at least a passing interest in the process of making records, touring and country music. Narrator was good, although there were some minor issues with some sentences and some obvious re-recorded sections which was a tad jarring. However that's understandable for a 30-plus hour story. Overall, a great story that is well told.

Great insights for the true Cash fan

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Loved this from start to finish,it's refreshing to hear the full story, not just the usual fan fair but the entirety of the facts no matter how dark.

What a fantastic story

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