1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:23,806 --> 00:00:24,937 [crewman] We're rolling. 4 00:00:25,416 --> 00:00:26,591 [Johnny Cash] Today is Sunday morning. 5 00:00:27,897 --> 00:00:30,334 Okay, I-I'm gonna have to think about it, 6 00:00:30,508 --> 00:00:33,468 see what I can think of to say that hasn't been said before. 7 00:00:43,347 --> 00:00:45,001 I sing because I'm happy 8 00:00:45,219 --> 00:00:47,221 I sing because I'm free 9 00:00:47,395 --> 00:00:49,571 His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. 10 00:00:51,486 --> 00:00:54,967 I guess probably the lessons of life is what brings humility, 11 00:00:55,185 --> 00:00:59,146 and that's the lessons of pain and suffering. 12 00:01:05,456 --> 00:01:08,024 In that cave in Chattanooga, 13 00:01:08,242 --> 00:01:10,200 I was as far away from God 14 00:01:10,374 --> 00:01:13,116 that I had ever been, could ever be. 15 00:01:13,290 --> 00:01:15,379 [announcer] One of the truly great names in music, 16 00:01:15,553 --> 00:01:18,165 a stylist, a legend in his own time, 17 00:01:18,339 --> 00:01:19,905 Mr. Johnny Cash. 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,430 - [cheers] - Hello. Well, I'm Johnny Cash. 19 00:01:25,824 --> 00:01:27,826 [Cash] I don't know what the Seven Deadly Sins are, 20 00:01:28,044 --> 00:01:31,482 but I've been guilty of all of 'em. 21 00:01:34,094 --> 00:01:35,965 [audience cheering] 22 00:01:37,053 --> 00:01:39,403 [Cash] And I got so... 23 00:01:39,621 --> 00:01:41,797 strung out on the amphetamines that, uh... 24 00:01:43,668 --> 00:01:45,931 that nothing really mattered anymore. 25 00:01:51,459 --> 00:01:55,854 There's no lonelier place on Earth for a man to be 26 00:01:56,072 --> 00:01:58,030 than separated from God. 27 00:02:00,468 --> 00:02:03,035 I went into this cave, 28 00:02:03,253 --> 00:02:06,082 and kept walkin', and crawlin', and climbin' 'til my light had run out. 29 00:02:09,651 --> 00:02:13,524 Every fiber of my being totally exhausted. 30 00:02:13,742 --> 00:02:16,179 And I lay there in the darkness... 31 00:02:17,659 --> 00:02:18,964 the end of the line. 32 00:02:23,926 --> 00:02:25,319 I lay there to die... 33 00:02:27,669 --> 00:02:29,410 [machine clacks, whirs] 34 00:02:40,508 --> 00:02:41,683 [echoing thud] 35 00:03:48,315 --> 00:03:49,925 [Marty Stuart] Johnny Cash was my hero. 36 00:03:51,405 --> 00:03:52,797 The world called him "Johnny." 37 00:03:54,190 --> 00:03:55,844 June called him "John." 38 00:03:56,018 --> 00:03:59,151 His mama and daddy called him "J.R." 39 00:03:59,369 --> 00:04:01,850 And that's who he was to me, J.R. 40 00:04:03,373 --> 00:04:05,419 Some viewed him as a rebel. 41 00:04:05,593 --> 00:04:07,595 To others, he was a saint. 42 00:04:07,812 --> 00:04:10,162 And that's the story here. 43 00:04:10,380 --> 00:04:12,034 But to truly know the man, 44 00:04:12,252 --> 00:04:14,384 we need to go back to the beginning. 45 00:04:19,694 --> 00:04:21,130 Arkansas was the end of the world-- 46 00:04:22,392 --> 00:04:25,787 rural, untamed, empty. 47 00:04:27,136 --> 00:04:29,791 This is where people came at the end of the line. 48 00:04:30,008 --> 00:04:32,576 This was their final ground. 49 00:04:34,448 --> 00:04:36,928 [John Carter Cash] My father was born in 1932, 50 00:04:37,102 --> 00:04:38,887 down in south central Arkansas. 51 00:04:39,061 --> 00:04:42,020 He came from a land where people were tough 52 00:04:42,194 --> 00:04:44,675 and life was hard. 53 00:04:44,849 --> 00:04:47,635 [Joanne Cash Yates] Walking back in this home... 54 00:04:47,809 --> 00:04:49,898 is so bittersweet for me. 55 00:04:51,073 --> 00:04:53,510 There was such love in this house, 56 00:04:53,684 --> 00:04:55,904 and tears, 57 00:04:56,078 --> 00:04:57,558 and hard work. 58 00:04:57,732 --> 00:04:59,951 Remembering is, uh... 59 00:05:00,125 --> 00:05:03,651 sweet and it's very heartbreaking. 60 00:05:03,825 --> 00:05:06,044 Very emotional for me. 61 00:05:06,218 --> 00:05:08,612 They were given the house, 62 00:05:08,786 --> 00:05:11,180 and the land, and a mule, 63 00:05:11,354 --> 00:05:13,965 and 40 acres to farm. 64 00:05:14,139 --> 00:05:16,620 [Stuart] Arkansas summers were brutal. 65 00:05:16,838 --> 00:05:19,188 There was not only no air conditioning, 66 00:05:19,362 --> 00:05:23,018 there was no electricity, there was no running water. 67 00:05:23,192 --> 00:05:25,629 And so this was the lot 68 00:05:25,803 --> 00:05:28,850 that the Cash family was in the middle of, 69 00:05:29,024 --> 00:05:31,069 throughout the Depression, and after. 70 00:05:32,636 --> 00:05:36,814 [Joanne] Life on the cotton farm was hard, hard work. 71 00:05:38,425 --> 00:05:39,904 We would pick cotton 72 00:05:40,078 --> 00:05:43,430 with long canvas cotton sacks, 73 00:05:43,604 --> 00:05:47,303 day by day, exhaustion at night. 74 00:05:49,261 --> 00:05:51,176 [Stuart] Every member of the Cash family worked, 75 00:05:51,351 --> 00:05:52,700 including Mother Carrie. 76 00:05:52,917 --> 00:05:54,658 Old or young, 77 00:05:54,876 --> 00:05:56,660 the family was often out there ten hours a day 78 00:05:56,878 --> 00:05:59,794 working the cotton fields, day after day after day. 79 00:05:59,968 --> 00:06:02,449 [Joanne] And we'd sing all day to pass the time away. 80 00:06:02,623 --> 00:06:05,713 Before we knew it, the day'd be over. 81 00:06:05,930 --> 00:06:09,847 [group singing] ♪ Jesus is calling... ♪ 82 00:06:10,021 --> 00:06:11,719 [Joanne] And then we'd come home at night, 83 00:06:11,893 --> 00:06:14,983 and my mother would sing gospel music around the piano. 84 00:06:16,767 --> 00:06:19,204 Johnny would lead and we'd all join in. 85 00:06:21,163 --> 00:06:24,209 We went to bed, get up the next day and do it all over again. 86 00:06:26,473 --> 00:06:27,952 [John] Through that all, 87 00:06:28,126 --> 00:06:32,653 singing the songs of his mother's hymnal 88 00:06:32,827 --> 00:06:34,568 with his family in those fields, 89 00:06:34,742 --> 00:06:36,744 my father fell in love with music. 90 00:06:38,572 --> 00:06:40,182 [Greg Laurie] The Biblesays, 91 00:06:40,356 --> 00:06:42,619 "Train up a child in the way that they should go, 92 00:06:42,793 --> 00:06:45,230 and when they're old, they'll not depart from it." 93 00:06:45,405 --> 00:06:47,929 That doesn't mean that we won't veer off the path at times, 94 00:06:48,103 --> 00:06:50,105 or make some bad decisions, 95 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,151 but it means, there's a spiritual foundation in our life. 96 00:06:53,325 --> 00:06:57,765 Carrie Cash laid that foundation in the life of Johnny Cash. 97 00:06:57,939 --> 00:07:01,029 And those were the seeds his mother sowed into his life. 98 00:07:03,945 --> 00:07:06,338 [Joanne] We'd lay on Mama's linoleum floor. 99 00:07:06,513 --> 00:07:08,602 Jack would read The Bible, 100 00:07:08,776 --> 00:07:12,736 and Johnny would write songs and sing. 101 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:15,304 [Stuart] The story goes that he would lay in bed at night 102 00:07:15,478 --> 00:07:17,132 and listen to the radio. 103 00:07:17,349 --> 00:07:19,743 Music was the young boy's escape. 104 00:07:19,961 --> 00:07:23,791 J.R. was a dreamer. And he was artful. 105 00:07:24,008 --> 00:07:26,402 [Cash] My father always told me I was wasting my time 106 00:07:26,576 --> 00:07:28,970 listening to them ol' records on the radio. 107 00:07:31,189 --> 00:07:33,409 I said, "But it sounds good. I like it." 108 00:07:35,585 --> 00:07:37,979 He said, "It's gonna keep you from making a living. 109 00:07:38,196 --> 00:07:39,894 You'll never do any good 110 00:07:40,111 --> 00:07:41,417 so long as you got that music on your mind." 111 00:07:43,027 --> 00:07:45,290 [Stuart] Family patriarch Ray Cash 112 00:07:45,465 --> 00:07:49,991 was the portrait of a hard-hit, struggling farming man. 113 00:07:50,208 --> 00:07:52,559 As with so many artful kids, 114 00:07:52,776 --> 00:07:56,084 the relationship that J.R. shared with his father, Ray Cash, 115 00:07:56,258 --> 00:07:58,695 was difficult, to say the least. 116 00:07:58,913 --> 00:08:02,438 He had to live up to what his father's expectations were. 117 00:08:02,612 --> 00:08:06,007 His father would believe in him, sometimes, 118 00:08:06,181 --> 00:08:07,704 and then he would fall short. 119 00:08:07,878 --> 00:08:10,141 [Laurie] And I think when you have a father 120 00:08:10,315 --> 00:08:12,317 who is not communicative, 121 00:08:12,492 --> 00:08:15,059 and is not embracing, and is not affirming, 122 00:08:15,233 --> 00:08:17,192 it affects you. 123 00:08:17,409 --> 00:08:20,891 [Cash] It's strange that my dad never hit me a lick. 124 00:08:21,109 --> 00:08:23,546 On the other hand, he never hugged us. 125 00:08:23,764 --> 00:08:26,636 He never, ever came close to even telling us he loved us. 126 00:08:28,986 --> 00:08:32,120 [Stuart] Ray would not give him any affirmation or affection. 127 00:08:32,294 --> 00:08:35,427 And so when Ray would sink into the oblivion that he would, 128 00:08:35,602 --> 00:08:38,996 it would be J.R.'s brother, Jack, who stepped up. 129 00:08:39,214 --> 00:08:41,521 [Cash] Jack was my best friend, 130 00:08:41,738 --> 00:08:43,305 and my big buddy, 131 00:08:43,479 --> 00:08:45,873 my protector, my mentor. 132 00:08:47,265 --> 00:08:48,658 I really admired him. 133 00:08:50,225 --> 00:08:52,096 [Joanne] They were inseparable. 134 00:08:52,270 --> 00:08:54,185 Went swimming together. 135 00:08:54,359 --> 00:08:57,362 They'd fish together. They'd work hard together. 136 00:08:57,537 --> 00:08:59,887 Him and Johnny would get into scuffles 137 00:09:00,061 --> 00:09:03,847 and then they'd hug each other. True brothers. 138 00:09:04,021 --> 00:09:05,719 It was a friendship. It was a kinship. 139 00:09:05,893 --> 00:09:07,982 But my dad aspired to be like him. 140 00:09:09,853 --> 00:09:12,464 [Stuart] Jack was the Golden Child of Dyess 141 00:09:12,639 --> 00:09:14,597 that everyone aspired to be. 142 00:09:17,078 --> 00:09:18,732 [Stielper] He would go to school. 143 00:09:18,906 --> 00:09:21,778 After school he would stay and pick up a few cents 144 00:09:21,952 --> 00:09:25,739 working odd jobs to help pay the bills. 145 00:09:25,913 --> 00:09:28,437 He was kind. He was gentle. 146 00:09:28,611 --> 00:09:31,962 He read his Bible every day and was very godly. 147 00:09:32,180 --> 00:09:36,750 [Cash] He'd already told us that he'd been "called to preach," you know? 148 00:09:36,924 --> 00:09:39,666 It was that faith that Jack had 149 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,581 that my father looked up to. 150 00:09:43,583 --> 00:09:46,586 [Cash] Jack, he'd love to hear me sing. 151 00:09:46,803 --> 00:09:50,720 He told me that I was supposed to do that with my life. 152 00:09:50,894 --> 00:09:54,071 Johnny said, "I'm gonna sing. I know I'm gonna sing." 153 00:09:54,245 --> 00:09:57,553 And Jack said, "I know I'm gonna be a pastor." 154 00:10:01,339 --> 00:10:03,907 [interviewer] Okay, so let's talk about Jack's accident. 155 00:10:08,651 --> 00:10:11,436 [Stuart] It was a Saturday morning in 1944. 156 00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:13,569 Johnny and Jack woke up in their shared bed, 157 00:10:13,787 --> 00:10:15,397 like they did every other morning, 158 00:10:15,615 --> 00:10:17,747 not knowing that this would be their last. 159 00:10:19,401 --> 00:10:21,708 Jack worked part-time after school and on weekends 160 00:10:21,925 --> 00:10:25,407 at a local wood mill, cutting fence posts. 161 00:10:25,625 --> 00:10:27,496 He happily volunteered to make a few cents 162 00:10:27,714 --> 00:10:29,193 to help pay the family bills. 163 00:10:30,586 --> 00:10:34,024 He said, "Mama, I have a feeling I shouldn't go today." 164 00:10:34,198 --> 00:10:35,547 And Mama said, "Well, don't go. 165 00:10:35,722 --> 00:10:37,985 Go fishing with J.R." 166 00:10:38,159 --> 00:10:42,859 [John] My father was begging Jack to stay with him and to go fishing. 167 00:10:43,033 --> 00:10:44,469 "Please stay with me. Go fishing." 168 00:10:46,515 --> 00:10:50,345 [Joanne] And he said, "No, I'm gonna go make $3. We need it for the groceries." 169 00:10:50,519 --> 00:10:53,217 So he told Johnny, "I'll meet you at the blue hold 170 00:10:53,391 --> 00:10:55,393 and we'll fish when I get through." 171 00:10:58,701 --> 00:11:01,008 And so they both went their separate ways 172 00:11:01,182 --> 00:11:03,401 and Jack went to the sawmill. 173 00:11:04,838 --> 00:11:06,666 And he was sawing some fence posts... 174 00:11:08,058 --> 00:11:10,365 and as he pushed the fence post, 175 00:11:10,539 --> 00:11:12,193 it jerked him into the saw. 176 00:11:20,027 --> 00:11:24,814 [Cash] Here comes my father in a car with a preacher. 177 00:11:24,988 --> 00:11:26,947 Daddy took a bloody brown sack, 178 00:11:28,862 --> 00:11:31,255 he pulled Jack's clothes out of that bag, 179 00:11:33,475 --> 00:11:36,130 and showed me where the table saw had cut him 180 00:11:36,304 --> 00:11:39,350 from his ribs down all through his stomach. 181 00:11:41,483 --> 00:11:44,442 And that was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. 182 00:11:44,616 --> 00:11:48,272 [Stielper] He was cut from his neck to his groin. 183 00:11:48,446 --> 00:11:51,885 And survived, 184 00:11:52,059 --> 00:11:54,322 even though it tore him open very badly. 185 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,893 [Joanne] And Johnny was sitting at his bedside, holding his hand, 186 00:12:00,067 --> 00:12:02,286 and he looked at Daddy, and he said, 187 00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:05,812 "Daddy, will you meet me in Heaven?" 188 00:12:07,552 --> 00:12:11,643 Daddy dropped down on his knees and gave his heart to the Lord, 189 00:12:11,818 --> 00:12:13,820 and so did the doctor. 190 00:12:15,256 --> 00:12:17,911 [Stuart] As Jack lay in his hospital bed, 191 00:12:18,085 --> 00:12:21,392 he had clear visions of the other side. 192 00:12:21,566 --> 00:12:25,309 He said, "Mama, do you hear the angels? 193 00:12:25,483 --> 00:12:27,572 Do you hear them singing?" 194 00:12:27,790 --> 00:12:30,793 And Miss Carrie Cash said, "No, son, I don't hear them." 195 00:12:31,011 --> 00:12:34,144 He said, "They are so beautiful. 196 00:12:34,362 --> 00:12:36,103 Heaven is so beautiful." 197 00:12:37,321 --> 00:12:39,323 [Joanne] Jack called me "Janna." 198 00:12:39,497 --> 00:12:41,108 He said, "Janna, tell me bye." 199 00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:45,590 And I was scared. 200 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:48,637 And I said, "No, I don't want you to go anywhere." 201 00:12:51,118 --> 00:12:52,467 [voice breaking] I wish I had. 202 00:12:53,729 --> 00:12:54,861 But I couldn't. 203 00:12:57,385 --> 00:12:59,822 And that's when he left us. He went to Heaven. 204 00:13:02,825 --> 00:13:05,654 My father lost his best friend that day. 205 00:13:05,828 --> 00:13:10,790 [Laurie] Having experienced the loss of a son in a tragic accident, 206 00:13:10,964 --> 00:13:13,140 I can understand the devastating grief 207 00:13:13,314 --> 00:13:16,404 that comes at you like a tidal wave. 208 00:13:16,578 --> 00:13:21,235 When you lose someone and they die unexpectedly, 209 00:13:21,409 --> 00:13:24,281 it impacts your life in such a significant way, 210 00:13:24,455 --> 00:13:29,373 you can actually measure your life from before and after 211 00:13:29,547 --> 00:13:31,288 that traumatic event happened. 212 00:13:32,333 --> 00:13:34,074 [thunder rolling] 213 00:13:36,424 --> 00:13:38,948 [Stuart] Jack was buried on a Sunday. 214 00:13:39,122 --> 00:13:40,732 The next day, the entire family 215 00:13:40,950 --> 00:13:42,647 was back out in the fields, picking cotton. 216 00:13:44,388 --> 00:13:46,826 [Joanne] We didn't take days off. 217 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,740 You just didn't have time to grieve. 218 00:13:51,134 --> 00:13:54,485 My mother would work behind us, 219 00:13:54,659 --> 00:13:58,185 and I'd look back and she'd be down on her knees, 220 00:13:58,359 --> 00:14:02,406 weeping, saying, "Why? Why?" 221 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,802 [Stielper] On her worst day, 222 00:14:06,976 --> 00:14:09,849 in the mud, on her knees, 223 00:14:10,806 --> 00:14:12,764 after burying her son. 224 00:14:15,158 --> 00:14:18,640 And we'd go help her up and try to console her. 225 00:14:20,381 --> 00:14:21,904 [Stielper] And Carrie said, 226 00:14:22,078 --> 00:14:24,428 "I'll get up when God tells me to get up." 227 00:14:29,433 --> 00:14:32,872 [Stuart] That is what J.R. took with him, as he grew up. 228 00:14:36,527 --> 00:14:39,574 When Jack died, there was an enormous void. 229 00:14:41,271 --> 00:14:43,621 And J.R. seemed more determined than ever 230 00:14:43,839 --> 00:14:46,276 to do something important with his life, 231 00:14:46,494 --> 00:14:50,715 almost in tribute to his hero, his brother, Jack. 232 00:14:50,890 --> 00:14:54,806 When times were tough, Johnny knew what his roots were. 233 00:14:54,981 --> 00:14:57,635 He started out wanting to be a gospel singer. 234 00:14:59,420 --> 00:15:00,943 [Joanne] I was standing here with Mama, 235 00:15:01,117 --> 00:15:03,424 and Johnny was standing right out there, 236 00:15:03,598 --> 00:15:05,817 by that iron hand pump. 237 00:15:05,992 --> 00:15:08,777 And all of a sudden, his voice lowered. 238 00:15:08,951 --> 00:15:11,127 And she said, "What is that?" 239 00:15:11,301 --> 00:15:15,262 I said, "That's J.R." And she called him in, 240 00:15:15,436 --> 00:15:17,177 and she asked, "Was that you singing?" 241 00:15:17,351 --> 00:15:18,830 And he said, "Yes, Mama." 242 00:15:19,005 --> 00:15:20,658 He said, "I'm gonna sing." 243 00:15:20,832 --> 00:15:24,401 And I saw Mama put her hand on Johnny and she said, 244 00:15:24,575 --> 00:15:26,577 "You have a calling of God." 245 00:15:27,883 --> 00:15:31,278 And so Mama took Johnny to a voice teacher, 246 00:15:32,975 --> 00:15:35,064 and she listened very intently. 247 00:15:35,238 --> 00:15:38,763 And she said, "Well, you can leave now." 248 00:15:38,938 --> 00:15:41,853 And Johnny said, "You mean I'm no good?" 249 00:15:42,028 --> 00:15:43,812 And the voice teacher said, 250 00:15:43,986 --> 00:15:47,816 "You have a gift from God that I wouldn't dare touch." 251 00:15:48,034 --> 00:15:51,515 [Stuart] The biggest goal of a dreamer from Dyess, Arkansas 252 00:15:51,689 --> 00:15:53,474 was to get out. 253 00:15:53,691 --> 00:15:55,824 And so J.R. ended up doing 254 00:15:55,998 --> 00:15:58,958 what many young men from the South and elsewhere did. 255 00:15:59,175 --> 00:16:00,698 [Cash] I joined the Air Force. 256 00:16:02,918 --> 00:16:05,399 College was another hope that was almost unattainable 257 00:16:05,573 --> 00:16:07,879 for a cotton farm boy. 258 00:16:10,491 --> 00:16:12,580 [Joanne] He was a Morse Code interceptor, 259 00:16:12,754 --> 00:16:15,148 and would take in the Morse Code from the enemy 260 00:16:15,322 --> 00:16:17,324 and make it into English, 261 00:16:17,498 --> 00:16:21,241 so our forces could find out what to do. 262 00:16:21,458 --> 00:16:23,939 [Cash] I think it's during that three years 263 00:16:24,157 --> 00:16:26,637 that I really began seriously thinking 264 00:16:26,855 --> 00:16:29,597 about a career in the music business, 265 00:16:29,814 --> 00:16:32,034 'cause it's really all I lived for. 266 00:16:32,208 --> 00:16:35,907 [Stuart] J.R. was briefly stationed in San Antonio, Texas. 267 00:16:36,125 --> 00:16:40,651 And it's there he fell deeply and totally in love 268 00:16:40,869 --> 00:16:43,002 with a pretty girl named Vivian Liberto. 269 00:16:44,568 --> 00:16:47,136 They spent a couple of weeks dating 270 00:16:47,310 --> 00:16:50,270 and then the next three years, while he's in Germany in the Air Force, 271 00:16:50,444 --> 00:16:53,360 the two of them exchanged countless letters. 272 00:16:53,534 --> 00:16:57,625 Those letters show a man so hopelessly in love. 273 00:16:57,842 --> 00:17:00,454 Much of his poetry and his gift with lyrics 274 00:17:00,628 --> 00:17:03,631 is refined in these letters. 275 00:17:03,848 --> 00:17:07,504 He poured his heart out to Vivian, and she to him. 276 00:17:07,722 --> 00:17:09,289 [Cash] We got married right away. 277 00:17:09,463 --> 00:17:11,334 Got a very cheap car, 278 00:17:11,508 --> 00:17:15,251 and a old apartment in a rundown part of Memphis. 279 00:17:15,425 --> 00:17:17,732 [Stuart] To some, Memphis was the Promised Land. 280 00:17:17,949 --> 00:17:21,040 Memphis was just over the Mississippi River bridge, 281 00:17:21,257 --> 00:17:23,042 but it was another world. 282 00:17:24,347 --> 00:17:26,828 [lively country music playing] 283 00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:30,136 ♪ The Mighty Mississippi gonna take me down... ♪ 284 00:17:30,310 --> 00:17:33,443 [Stuart] There were so many cultures all colliding in that town. 285 00:17:33,661 --> 00:17:36,185 It was wild. It was exciting. 286 00:17:36,403 --> 00:17:39,841 It was a landscape filled with creativity and diversity. 287 00:17:40,059 --> 00:17:42,583 [Cash] I started trying to get on the radio, 288 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,020 but I had to go to work and make a living, 289 00:17:45,238 --> 00:17:47,849 trying to sell appliances and home improvements. 290 00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:50,156 [Stuart] And the next thing you know, Elvis has recorded 291 00:17:50,330 --> 00:17:53,550 for Mr. Sam Phillips down at Sun Studios. 292 00:17:53,724 --> 00:17:57,989 This little nondescript, squat building at 706 Union Avenue 293 00:17:58,164 --> 00:18:02,603 - was fast becoming the center of a new style of music. - [phone ringing] 294 00:18:02,777 --> 00:18:04,257 [Cash] I started calling Sam Phillips. 295 00:18:04,431 --> 00:18:06,650 I never could get him. 296 00:18:06,868 --> 00:18:08,652 Called once, I said, "I'm John Cash, I'm a gospel singer." 297 00:18:08,826 --> 00:18:10,176 He couldn't see me. 298 00:18:10,350 --> 00:18:11,916 [Stielper] Mr. Phillips puts him off. 299 00:18:12,091 --> 00:18:15,137 He calls, leaves messages, he sits on the curb. 300 00:18:16,660 --> 00:18:20,142 [Cash] So one morning, I found out what time the man went to work. 301 00:18:20,316 --> 00:18:23,841 I went down with my guitar and sat on his steps until he got there. 302 00:18:24,015 --> 00:18:28,629 Sam is walking into the office and he accosts the man. 303 00:18:28,846 --> 00:18:31,980 [Cash] I said, "I'm John Cash. I'm the one who's been calling. 304 00:18:32,154 --> 00:18:35,897 And if you'd listen to me, I believe you'll be glad you did." 305 00:18:36,115 --> 00:18:38,029 And he said, "Come on in." 306 00:18:38,247 --> 00:18:42,904 [Stielper] And he started singing some covers of gospel songs. 307 00:18:43,078 --> 00:18:47,474 Sam said, "I'm just as saved as the rest of you boys are. 308 00:18:47,648 --> 00:18:51,304 But I can't sell gospel music. 309 00:18:51,478 --> 00:18:54,524 I wanna hear you in your voice." 310 00:18:55,656 --> 00:18:58,572 [Cash] He said, "Come back tomorrow and bring some musicians." 311 00:18:58,789 --> 00:19:03,142 So I went down to a garage where my brother, Roy, worked. 312 00:19:03,316 --> 00:19:05,187 [John] He met Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, 313 00:19:05,361 --> 00:19:07,711 two amateur musicians, just as my dad was. 314 00:19:07,929 --> 00:19:10,453 [Cash] The next day was our first session. 315 00:19:10,627 --> 00:19:14,631 We went in, and he turned on the recorder the whole time I was there. 316 00:19:14,805 --> 00:19:16,590 [microphone connecting] 317 00:19:16,764 --> 00:19:19,419 [John] The music that he made with The Tennessee Two 318 00:19:19,593 --> 00:19:21,769 was this brilliant, beautiful racket. 319 00:19:21,943 --> 00:19:23,684 [music playing] 320 00:19:23,858 --> 00:19:26,034 [Stuart] The sound was unique, 321 00:19:26,252 --> 00:19:28,558 and it was something that people had just never heard before. 322 00:19:28,732 --> 00:19:31,518 [Cash] I developed a pretty unusual style, I think. 323 00:19:31,735 --> 00:19:33,215 If I'm anything, 324 00:19:33,476 --> 00:19:35,174 I'm not a singer, but I'm a song stylist. 325 00:19:37,350 --> 00:19:39,743 My music had to be simple and stay simple, 326 00:19:39,917 --> 00:19:41,963 and uncomplicated and unadorned. 327 00:19:42,181 --> 00:19:44,183 I thought it was fabulous. 328 00:19:44,357 --> 00:19:46,446 [John] Dad, he wanted to have a drummer in the band, 329 00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:48,665 but he didn't wanna hire a drummer. 330 00:19:48,839 --> 00:19:53,583 [Joanne] Johnny put a dollar bill in the strings of the guitar 331 00:19:53,757 --> 00:19:56,978 and made that boom-chicka-boom sound. 332 00:19:57,152 --> 00:20:00,329 You listen to what sounds like a snare drum that's not. 333 00:20:00,503 --> 00:20:02,984 - That's my dad. - [imitates sound] 334 00:20:03,158 --> 00:20:05,900 [Rick Scott] No, they were not over-schooled or over-taught, 335 00:20:06,074 --> 00:20:11,427 and so naturally it was gonna come out raw and beautiful. 336 00:20:11,645 --> 00:20:13,255 [Cash] I think Sam Phillips 337 00:20:13,429 --> 00:20:16,998 saw the originality in my difference, 338 00:20:17,216 --> 00:20:18,608 and he'd had a lot of success 339 00:20:18,826 --> 00:20:20,480 recording people that sounded different. 340 00:20:20,654 --> 00:20:22,264 [song ends] 341 00:20:22,525 --> 00:20:26,137 I never gave up my dream to sing on the radio. 342 00:20:26,312 --> 00:20:29,358 And that dream came true in 1955. 343 00:20:30,794 --> 00:20:33,536 ♪ Hey porter! Hey porter! ♪ 344 00:20:33,710 --> 00:20:35,669 My first introduction to Johnny Cash was through my dad. 345 00:20:35,843 --> 00:20:39,107 I was a little girl, and this Johnny Cash comes along 346 00:20:39,281 --> 00:20:42,197 and puts out the song, "A Boy Named Sue". 347 00:20:42,371 --> 00:20:45,374 And we laughed and laughed and laughed over that song. 348 00:20:45,548 --> 00:20:48,725 One of my friend's older brother played me this song. 349 00:20:48,899 --> 00:20:52,251 I think I was, like, 15, 16, something like that. 350 00:20:52,425 --> 00:20:53,643 And I heard it for the first time, 351 00:20:53,817 --> 00:20:55,689 I said, "Yo, this dude fire!" 352 00:20:55,863 --> 00:20:58,300 I would listen to eight-tracks all the time with my stepdad 353 00:20:58,474 --> 00:21:01,042 of Merle Haggard and George Jones, 354 00:21:01,216 --> 00:21:04,088 and Johnny Cash was one of the eight-tracks that he had. 355 00:21:04,263 --> 00:21:05,960 So I heard a lot of that music growing up. 356 00:21:06,177 --> 00:21:08,789 ♪ And ask everybody that ain't asleep ♪ 357 00:21:08,963 --> 00:21:12,271 I remember specifically having a CD stuck 358 00:21:12,445 --> 00:21:14,708 in the CD player of one of my work trucks 359 00:21:14,882 --> 00:21:16,927 when I first got out of high school. 360 00:21:17,101 --> 00:21:18,625 And I couldn't switch to radio or anything. 361 00:21:18,799 --> 00:21:20,279 I just had to listen to Johnny Cash 362 00:21:20,453 --> 00:21:22,411 over and over and over again. 363 00:21:22,585 --> 00:21:24,457 And that's where I really fell in love with Johnny's music. 364 00:21:24,631 --> 00:21:26,633 [Don Reid] I'd listen to him on the radio when I was a kid. 365 00:21:26,807 --> 00:21:29,766 He was growing and developing 366 00:21:29,940 --> 00:21:32,160 and he was just a bigger-than-life character. 367 00:21:32,334 --> 00:21:34,249 I listened to Johnny Cash, 368 00:21:34,423 --> 00:21:36,991 and nobody would go, "Johnny Cash?" They'd go, "Cool." 369 00:21:37,165 --> 00:21:39,602 There was not one person that didn't respect Johnny Cash. 370 00:21:39,820 --> 00:21:42,170 ♪ 'Cause I smell frost on cotton leaves ♪ 371 00:21:42,344 --> 00:21:44,085 ♪ And I feel that Southern breeze ♪ 372 00:21:44,259 --> 00:21:47,175 [Wynonna Judd] My first experience, 1983, cassettes. 373 00:21:47,349 --> 00:21:50,047 Imagine me trying to take a drink from a fire hose. 374 00:21:50,221 --> 00:21:51,962 That's listening to Johnny Cash. 375 00:21:52,136 --> 00:21:56,010 This voice that I hear is memorable. 376 00:21:56,184 --> 00:21:57,838 I can't get it out of my head. 377 00:21:58,012 --> 00:21:59,405 It's a raw voice. 378 00:21:59,579 --> 00:22:00,971 It's almost like a rebel voice. 379 00:22:01,189 --> 00:22:02,625 ♪ I need nobody to tell me... ♪ 380 00:22:02,799 --> 00:22:04,975 [Stuart] I remember "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" 381 00:22:05,149 --> 00:22:07,456 comin' out of the speakers of my little record player in my bedroom, 382 00:22:07,630 --> 00:22:09,458 and I was mesmerized by that sound, 383 00:22:09,632 --> 00:22:11,808 and I didn't know what I was listening to. 384 00:22:11,982 --> 00:22:16,378 I just knew it had me and wouldn't let me go. 385 00:22:16,552 --> 00:22:20,382 [Joanne] And I remember one day "Hey Porter" and "Cry, Cry, Cry" came on. 386 00:22:20,556 --> 00:22:22,341 And Mama said, "That's J.R. 387 00:22:22,515 --> 00:22:26,040 J.R. singing on the radio. Isn't that wonderful?" 388 00:22:26,214 --> 00:22:27,694 And she had tears. 389 00:22:27,955 --> 00:22:29,435 - ♪ All right ♪ -We all did. 390 00:22:36,006 --> 00:22:38,139 [Cash] Along about three months later, 391 00:22:38,313 --> 00:22:40,707 Elvis Presley asked me to go on tour with him. 392 00:22:40,924 --> 00:22:43,231 And from that time on, I was on my way. 393 00:22:43,405 --> 00:22:45,668 And I knew it, I felt it, and I loved it. 394 00:22:48,758 --> 00:22:51,370 [John] Immediately he was thrust on the road, 395 00:22:51,544 --> 00:22:54,503 his young wife Vivian at home. 396 00:23:02,859 --> 00:23:06,602 [Joanne] They would travel in a big, long, black Cadillac. 397 00:23:06,776 --> 00:23:08,778 We did not let Johnny drive the car. 398 00:23:08,952 --> 00:23:11,172 Johnny was the world's worst driver. 399 00:23:11,346 --> 00:23:13,653 Even though he owns the car, he rides, we drive. 400 00:23:13,827 --> 00:23:15,481 [chuckling] That's the way that worked. 401 00:23:22,183 --> 00:23:24,098 [Cash] We were really having fun with our music, 402 00:23:24,272 --> 00:23:27,318 and every day was a gold mine. 403 00:23:27,493 --> 00:23:31,061 [Stielper] It was real, it was raw. 404 00:23:31,235 --> 00:23:32,846 And this was the Johnny Cash 405 00:23:33,020 --> 00:23:34,587 that people were falling in love with. 406 00:23:35,979 --> 00:23:38,982 There's two kinds of people, those that know and love Johnny Cash, 407 00:23:39,156 --> 00:23:40,462 and those that will. 408 00:23:41,768 --> 00:23:45,162 His style was, he would write conversationally. 409 00:23:45,336 --> 00:23:46,860 He would write the way people talk. 410 00:23:48,209 --> 00:23:50,951 [Judd] He just spoke of common, everyday life. 411 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:53,040 Real words for real people in the real world. 412 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,001 [Cash] I was kinda stunned when I would see the record sales. 413 00:23:58,175 --> 00:24:01,527 I thought at first it was all hype, but then every record I released, 414 00:24:01,701 --> 00:24:04,443 I knew I was gonna sell a quarter of a million. 415 00:24:04,617 --> 00:24:06,227 Poetry. It was poetry, man. 416 00:24:10,623 --> 00:24:13,060 Let's welcome Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two! 417 00:24:13,234 --> 00:24:15,889 [cheers and applause] 418 00:24:16,063 --> 00:24:18,065 ["I Walk the Line" begins] 419 00:24:20,676 --> 00:24:24,550 ♪ I keep a close watch on this heart of mine ♪ 420 00:24:24,724 --> 00:24:27,770 [Stuart] When Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two were on tour, 421 00:24:27,988 --> 00:24:30,338 working shows with all the other bands, 422 00:24:30,512 --> 00:24:33,080 musicians were talking about their latest conquests, 423 00:24:33,254 --> 00:24:35,430 their girlfriends on the side. 424 00:24:35,648 --> 00:24:38,868 J.R. said, "Not me. I walk the line." 425 00:24:39,086 --> 00:24:41,828 ♪ I keep my eyes wide open all the time ♪ 426 00:24:42,002 --> 00:24:44,352 [Stuart] "I Walk the Line" is a song of steadfastness, 427 00:24:44,526 --> 00:24:47,877 and fidelity, of love to his wife, Vivian. 428 00:24:48,095 --> 00:24:51,577 ♪ Because you're mine, I walk the line ♪ 429 00:24:53,230 --> 00:24:55,015 [rhythmic clapping] 430 00:24:55,189 --> 00:24:57,234 [Joanne] And he was telling her that it didn't matter. 431 00:24:57,408 --> 00:24:58,888 Those were just fans. 432 00:25:01,891 --> 00:25:05,547 'Course it didn't turn out right, but that's what he told her. 433 00:25:05,765 --> 00:25:08,637 [Stuart] When Vivian saw the effect John's singing had 434 00:25:08,855 --> 00:25:11,292 on his audience of adoring girls, 435 00:25:11,466 --> 00:25:13,947 it was not what she had signed up for. 436 00:25:14,121 --> 00:25:17,820 He was embarking on this life where the audiences were craving him. 437 00:25:18,038 --> 00:25:22,042 In simple terms, he was fast becoming a superstar. 438 00:25:22,216 --> 00:25:23,739 [Western] She was a housewife. 439 00:25:23,913 --> 00:25:26,263 She wanted her husband. She wanted her family. 440 00:25:26,437 --> 00:25:28,701 Vivian had seen the rise of Elvis Presley 441 00:25:28,875 --> 00:25:30,920 with all the girls and all the accolades. 442 00:25:31,094 --> 00:25:33,227 She didn't want that. 443 00:25:33,488 --> 00:25:37,231 [Stielper] While she absolutely loved Johnny Cash until the day she died, 444 00:25:37,405 --> 00:25:39,842 she's got four children. 445 00:25:40,016 --> 00:25:41,888 He's out on the road. 446 00:25:42,062 --> 00:25:43,672 [John] And Dad wanted to be on the radio. 447 00:25:43,846 --> 00:25:45,848 He said when he got into music, it never occurred to him 448 00:25:46,022 --> 00:25:49,286 that he was gonna have to be traveling day after day for years, 449 00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:52,594 that that was going to become his life, was the road life. 450 00:25:55,684 --> 00:25:57,425 [Stuart] Being "Johnny Cash" 451 00:25:57,773 --> 00:26:00,341 was something that he really never thought about or planned, 452 00:26:00,515 --> 00:26:01,908 but it was inevitable. 453 00:26:04,737 --> 00:26:06,956 [honking, traffic noises] 454 00:26:09,524 --> 00:26:12,614 As the song says, "The road is crushing, 455 00:26:12,832 --> 00:26:15,182 and it goes on forever. It's endless." 456 00:26:17,053 --> 00:26:20,535 [Cooper] The thing about it is, when you're in a garage with your friends 457 00:26:20,709 --> 00:26:22,581 and you're learning songs, 458 00:26:22,755 --> 00:26:24,713 you never realize at some point you're going to be on the road 459 00:26:24,887 --> 00:26:28,238 for four years without a break. 460 00:26:28,456 --> 00:26:31,590 [Cash] Boredom had a lot to do with it. It's very boring out there on the road. 461 00:26:31,807 --> 00:26:34,636 That two hours on the stage is all we live for. 462 00:26:34,854 --> 00:26:36,682 The rest of the time is really a drag. 463 00:26:38,292 --> 00:26:41,512 [Mansfield] Being on the road is this separate reality. 464 00:26:41,687 --> 00:26:43,732 You're so isolated, in a way. 465 00:26:43,906 --> 00:26:45,865 [Reid] It is not a normal life. 466 00:26:46,039 --> 00:26:48,650 There's nothing normal about being in show business. 467 00:26:48,824 --> 00:26:50,870 [Stuart] You do two, maybe three shows a night. 468 00:26:51,087 --> 00:26:53,742 And then you drive yourself hundreds and hundreds of miles 469 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,136 through the night on dangerous roads. 470 00:26:56,310 --> 00:26:58,747 And you've got to do it again the next night. 471 00:26:58,921 --> 00:27:00,575 [Allen] You got 6,000 people in the audience 472 00:27:00,749 --> 00:27:02,577 waitin' on you to come out and sing a song, 473 00:27:02,751 --> 00:27:05,232 and it gets to the point where you wanna shut it off. 474 00:27:05,406 --> 00:27:07,538 You don't wanna feel anything, so you drink, 475 00:27:07,713 --> 00:27:09,497 or you get high, 476 00:27:09,671 --> 00:27:11,847 or you find yourself with multiple women or whatever. 477 00:27:12,021 --> 00:27:15,024 Anything to kinda get rid of the feeling, and once the feeling's gone, 478 00:27:15,198 --> 00:27:16,809 it's anything to get the feeling back. 479 00:27:19,986 --> 00:27:23,032 [Stuart] Week after week, hundreds of shows a year, 480 00:27:23,250 --> 00:27:25,078 the white line always wins. 481 00:27:27,689 --> 00:27:28,908 Johnny Cash! 482 00:27:31,824 --> 00:27:32,738 Johnny Cash! 483 00:27:32,912 --> 00:27:34,914 [audience cheering] 484 00:27:36,176 --> 00:27:38,613 [Stuart] A fellow musician slipped him a pill, 485 00:27:38,831 --> 00:27:41,572 saying, "This will keep you going." 486 00:27:41,747 --> 00:27:45,315 So Johnny took it, thinking, "This is God-sent." 487 00:27:45,489 --> 00:27:47,448 [country music playing] 488 00:27:48,536 --> 00:27:51,278 We really did not think that amphetamines were a problem. 489 00:27:51,495 --> 00:27:53,280 [commercial voice] Poor George. 490 00:27:53,497 --> 00:27:55,586 He's having a long headache. 491 00:27:55,804 --> 00:27:58,198 [commercial voice 2] Is this the way you feel in the morning? 492 00:27:58,372 --> 00:27:59,982 [sheep bleating] 493 00:28:00,156 --> 00:28:01,897 What's the best way to reduce? 494 00:28:02,071 --> 00:28:04,073 Eat plenty or starve yourself? 495 00:28:06,032 --> 00:28:09,818 [Stuart] Doctors were prescribing these pills by the billions. 496 00:28:10,036 --> 00:28:11,820 They were prescribed to housewives. 497 00:28:12,038 --> 00:28:14,431 They were marketed to college students. 498 00:28:14,605 --> 00:28:17,217 They were marketed to people to help them lose weight. 499 00:28:17,434 --> 00:28:19,175 They were marketed to truck drivers 500 00:28:19,393 --> 00:28:20,568 to help them on the road. 501 00:28:21,830 --> 00:28:24,311 It was like taking a pill for your heart or for your blood pressure. 502 00:28:24,485 --> 00:28:26,095 It wasn't, like, a bad thing. 503 00:28:26,269 --> 00:28:29,055 And nobody really thought too much about it. 504 00:28:29,229 --> 00:28:32,667 A lot of people in the South, "If it's a prescription, it's okay." 505 00:28:32,885 --> 00:28:34,538 [Stuart] He wasn't sniffin' cocaine. 506 00:28:34,756 --> 00:28:36,062 He wasn't shooting heroin. 507 00:28:36,236 --> 00:28:38,455 He was taking prescribed pills 508 00:28:38,629 --> 00:28:42,198 because doctors told him that they were medicine. 509 00:28:42,372 --> 00:28:44,984 [Scott] When you're on the road that many dates a year, 510 00:28:45,158 --> 00:28:47,116 there's all these things pulling at him. 511 00:28:47,290 --> 00:28:50,206 And after a while, you just-- you need a little help. 512 00:28:50,380 --> 00:28:51,425 [chuckles] You know? 513 00:28:51,599 --> 00:28:52,992 That's when all of a sudden, 514 00:28:53,340 --> 00:28:55,037 "Well, I better take a downer to go to sleep." 515 00:28:55,211 --> 00:28:57,170 "Oh, now I better take some speed to wake up." 516 00:28:57,344 --> 00:28:59,955 And now you're on a whole rollercoaster. 517 00:29:00,173 --> 00:29:02,871 [Stuart] Well, if one works, two must be even better. 518 00:29:03,089 --> 00:29:04,830 But then after five, and ten, 519 00:29:05,047 --> 00:29:06,962 you need to find a way to slow it all down. 520 00:29:08,877 --> 00:29:10,400 [Cash] I was just like everybody else. 521 00:29:10,574 --> 00:29:12,402 I took drugs to get up, 522 00:29:12,576 --> 00:29:14,796 and I took drugs to go down, make me feel better. 523 00:29:14,970 --> 00:29:16,537 [Scott] And then before you know it, 524 00:29:16,711 --> 00:29:18,844 you're poppin' pills left and right like candy. 525 00:29:19,018 --> 00:29:22,282 You know, it's just a vicious, vicious cycle. 526 00:29:22,456 --> 00:29:24,850 [Cash] I was taking the pills for a while, 527 00:29:25,024 --> 00:29:28,505 and then the pills started taking me. 528 00:29:28,679 --> 00:29:32,118 You know, so that's when it starts spiraling out of control. 529 00:29:34,903 --> 00:29:37,253 [Joanne] The pills give you a high, 530 00:29:37,427 --> 00:29:39,995 and you feel like you can do anything. 531 00:29:40,169 --> 00:29:41,344 But when they wear off, 532 00:29:41,518 --> 00:29:42,563 you feel worse than you did 533 00:29:42,737 --> 00:29:43,912 before you took 'em. 534 00:29:45,348 --> 00:29:47,916 [Cash] When I started drinking beer along with the amphetamines, 535 00:29:48,090 --> 00:29:50,266 I'd drink about four or five a night, 536 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,400 but I got up to 12, 14. 537 00:29:53,574 --> 00:29:57,143 Sometime I'd misjudge how high I was, you know? 538 00:29:57,317 --> 00:29:59,493 And I'd get on stage and I was a wreck. 539 00:30:04,063 --> 00:30:05,586 [Stuart] All the drugs made him forget 540 00:30:05,804 --> 00:30:07,501 that people were counting on him. 541 00:30:10,286 --> 00:30:12,898 [Western] Thousands and thousands of dollars of promoters' money 542 00:30:13,072 --> 00:30:14,943 were at stake if he didn't show up, 543 00:30:15,117 --> 00:30:17,641 and he didn't show up for a bunch of dates. 544 00:30:17,816 --> 00:30:20,383 [Stielper] The Statler Brothers, who were in his band, 545 00:30:20,557 --> 00:30:24,518 he took them to California and met Vivian and the girls, 546 00:30:24,692 --> 00:30:26,607 and said he was going out for cigarettes. 547 00:30:26,781 --> 00:30:30,002 Four days later, he wasn't back. He forgot. 548 00:30:32,047 --> 00:30:35,224 [Western] At the Olympia Theater in Paris, France, instead of playing the show, 549 00:30:35,398 --> 00:30:39,315 he took off with Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and just partied all over town, 550 00:30:39,489 --> 00:30:41,187 while 2,000 people are sitting in seats 551 00:30:41,361 --> 00:30:43,537 for a Johnny Cash show that never happened. 552 00:30:43,711 --> 00:30:45,669 A lot of people lost money 553 00:30:45,844 --> 00:30:47,846 and he was kind of lost himself. 554 00:30:49,630 --> 00:30:53,112 [Laurie] He was a mere shell of the man he once was. 555 00:30:53,286 --> 00:30:55,636 Those aspirations to be a gospel singer, 556 00:30:55,810 --> 00:30:57,377 they're in the rearview mirror. 557 00:30:58,944 --> 00:31:03,339 [Cash] It was kind of a scatter-brained period for me. 558 00:31:03,513 --> 00:31:05,385 You know, it affects everything in your life 559 00:31:05,602 --> 00:31:07,822 when you're on mood-altering drugs. 560 00:31:07,996 --> 00:31:10,216 Everything in your life is, uh, 561 00:31:10,433 --> 00:31:12,479 is not right. 562 00:31:12,871 --> 00:31:16,222 [Stuart] In the midst of all this, his health is disintegrating. 563 00:31:16,396 --> 00:31:19,486 He lost so much weight, he looked like a cadaver. 564 00:31:22,054 --> 00:31:24,447 [Stielper] And on the charts, he's invisible. 565 00:31:24,621 --> 00:31:28,538 Desperation kind of starts setting in, here. 566 00:31:28,712 --> 00:31:30,323 And so, next thing you know, there you are, 567 00:31:30,497 --> 00:31:32,238 going down the tubes without realizing you are, 568 00:31:32,412 --> 00:31:34,109 and so is your marriage, and so is your family, 569 00:31:34,283 --> 00:31:35,763 and so is everything else in your life. 570 00:31:38,592 --> 00:31:41,203 [Stuart] J.R. and Vivian are in a difficult time. 571 00:31:42,988 --> 00:31:45,599 I think the change of Johnny's personality 572 00:31:45,773 --> 00:31:47,818 was something else, 573 00:31:47,993 --> 00:31:49,820 and then, of course, the real change came 574 00:31:49,995 --> 00:31:53,172 when he just fell madly in love with June Carter. 575 00:31:55,870 --> 00:31:58,264 She became a member of the show cast, 576 00:31:58,438 --> 00:32:00,875 and was working all the show dates with us. 577 00:32:01,049 --> 00:32:02,964 But it all started with an automobile ride 578 00:32:03,138 --> 00:32:04,661 from Oklahoma City to Dallas. 579 00:32:04,835 --> 00:32:06,925 And June did not have a ride, 580 00:32:07,099 --> 00:32:09,231 so Marshall Grant had told her was, 581 00:32:09,405 --> 00:32:13,279 "June, we've got six people in that car already." 582 00:32:13,453 --> 00:32:17,065 And Johnny said, "Well, she can sit on my lap. It's only three hours." 583 00:32:17,239 --> 00:32:19,676 So, that was the beginning. 584 00:32:19,894 --> 00:32:23,071 [Stuart] June was married to someone else, just as he was. 585 00:32:23,245 --> 00:32:25,204 Both of them later described it 586 00:32:25,421 --> 00:32:29,382 as being something that they simply could not stop. 587 00:32:29,556 --> 00:32:31,862 It was not something to be proud of, 588 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:33,952 and he wasn't proud of it. 589 00:32:35,475 --> 00:32:38,173 Which only added fuel to the fire for the amphetamine thing, 590 00:32:38,347 --> 00:32:40,001 because it was tearing Johnny apart. 591 00:32:40,219 --> 00:32:41,916 [Stuart] J.R. was quoted saying 592 00:32:42,134 --> 00:32:44,310 he would stop taking the pills for a time, 593 00:32:44,484 --> 00:32:46,877 and his conscience would return. 594 00:32:47,052 --> 00:32:49,141 He would go home, 595 00:32:49,358 --> 00:32:52,883 and it became obvious the toll that fame, fortune, and pills 596 00:32:53,101 --> 00:32:54,624 were taking on his family. 597 00:32:54,842 --> 00:32:57,236 And then the guilt would overwhelm him. 598 00:32:58,846 --> 00:33:01,675 And the only way that he could ease that guilt 599 00:33:01,892 --> 00:33:03,024 was to take another pill. 600 00:33:11,076 --> 00:33:14,383 J.R. genuinely loved Vivian, and June, 601 00:33:14,557 --> 00:33:17,169 and his heart was torn in two directions. 602 00:33:17,343 --> 00:33:19,693 He couldn't seem to find his way. 603 00:33:19,867 --> 00:33:22,870 It was a volatile situation, to say the least. 604 00:33:25,090 --> 00:33:29,224 [Stielper] That is something that is so difficult to reconcile. 605 00:33:29,398 --> 00:33:30,573 And he couldn't do it. 606 00:33:34,273 --> 00:33:37,754 As a result of this situation, 607 00:33:37,928 --> 00:33:41,845 June sits down and writes, "[Love's] Ring of Fire". 608 00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:44,413 Cash hears it and he says, "That's about me." 609 00:33:44,587 --> 00:33:46,502 [John] And Dad wanted to record it himself. 610 00:33:46,676 --> 00:33:48,678 ["Ring of Fire" playing] 611 00:33:50,202 --> 00:33:53,335 ♪ Love is a burning thing ♪ 612 00:33:56,164 --> 00:33:59,298 ♪ And it makes a fiery ring ♪ 613 00:33:59,472 --> 00:34:03,128 [Stuart] Now, in addition to the stability of "I Walk the Line", 614 00:34:03,302 --> 00:34:05,739 J.R. has got the fire, the passion, 615 00:34:05,913 --> 00:34:09,003 the raw power of "Ring of Fire." 616 00:34:09,177 --> 00:34:11,571 And this man is not just singing about it, 617 00:34:11,788 --> 00:34:14,182 he was living it every single day. 618 00:34:14,356 --> 00:34:16,793 ♪ I fell into a burning ring of fire ♪ 619 00:34:16,967 --> 00:34:21,407 ♪ I went down, down, down and the flames went higher ♪ 620 00:34:21,581 --> 00:34:24,497 [Stuart] The conflict in his head just fueled that despair he felt. 621 00:34:24,671 --> 00:34:26,760 Less than two months later, 622 00:34:26,977 --> 00:34:29,154 "Ring of Fire" is the biggest song in the world. 623 00:34:29,328 --> 00:34:31,895 And it cements his place in country music. 624 00:34:32,113 --> 00:34:37,423 It also tied him for eternity to June Carter. 625 00:34:37,597 --> 00:34:43,255 [Stielper] She and he continued careening 626 00:34:43,429 --> 00:34:46,127 through the mid-60s, 627 00:34:46,301 --> 00:34:48,825 while he desperately tried 628 00:34:48,999 --> 00:34:54,396 to hold on to the stability that Vivian gave him. 629 00:34:56,833 --> 00:34:59,097 [John] In the 1960s, 630 00:34:59,271 --> 00:35:02,012 the insanity of his addiction put great strains on his relationship 631 00:35:02,187 --> 00:35:04,145 and kept him away from his children. 632 00:35:06,321 --> 00:35:08,018 [Western] Johnny's family situation 633 00:35:08,193 --> 00:35:10,325 was struggling, to say the least. 634 00:35:12,066 --> 00:35:14,634 And so, an extremely difficult time 635 00:35:14,808 --> 00:35:17,027 to come home to that house in California. 636 00:35:21,510 --> 00:35:24,948 And one day in 1965, Johnny did not come home. 637 00:35:27,647 --> 00:35:31,346 [Stuart] In 1965, at the end of a long tour, 638 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,696 J.R. was supposed to go home. 639 00:35:33,870 --> 00:35:37,700 Instead, he got off at the airport in El Paso, Texas. 640 00:35:37,874 --> 00:35:40,529 [plane engine whirring] 641 00:35:40,703 --> 00:35:42,879 [Western] Vivian called and said, "Where's Johnny? 642 00:35:43,053 --> 00:35:45,839 He was supposed to be home yesterday." 643 00:35:46,013 --> 00:35:49,625 [Stuart] He decided that he was gonna go across the border into Mexico. 644 00:35:49,799 --> 00:35:51,323 [honking] 645 00:35:51,497 --> 00:35:53,847 He went and found a drug dealer, 646 00:35:54,064 --> 00:35:58,460 and bought over 1,100 Benzedrine and Dexedrine pills. 647 00:35:58,634 --> 00:36:00,375 [shutter clicking] 648 00:36:00,549 --> 00:36:02,508 [siren wailing] 649 00:36:02,725 --> 00:36:05,337 Unbeknownst to him at the time, 650 00:36:05,511 --> 00:36:07,643 the police were keeping an eye on this drug dealer. 651 00:36:09,254 --> 00:36:12,648 But when they saw Johnny Cash in the crosshairs, 652 00:36:12,866 --> 00:36:16,783 they tracked him very carefully until he got to the airport, 653 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,700 opened the guitar case, and found the pills. 654 00:36:23,746 --> 00:36:25,661 [shutter clicking] 655 00:36:25,835 --> 00:36:28,838 [Joanne] The guard said, "You can get the pills out 656 00:36:29,012 --> 00:36:31,189 or we'll tear your guitar apart." 657 00:36:31,363 --> 00:36:35,628 So Johnny got the pills out, and he was arrested, and it hurt. 658 00:36:35,802 --> 00:36:39,762 It hurt, not because it bothered us, 659 00:36:39,936 --> 00:36:42,156 as much as we hurt for him, 660 00:36:42,330 --> 00:36:46,987 because we knew that he was right in the midst of his downward spiral. 661 00:36:47,161 --> 00:36:51,557 And we were praying daily that God wouldn't take him. 662 00:36:51,731 --> 00:36:54,124 [Laurie] The drugs, the immorality, 663 00:36:54,299 --> 00:36:57,258 the bad decisions were all catching up. 664 00:36:58,955 --> 00:37:02,829 [Scott] Johnny Cash was very self-destructive. 665 00:37:03,003 --> 00:37:06,224 Self-destructive behavior will either get you through it, 666 00:37:06,398 --> 00:37:09,357 see the light, or kill ya. 667 00:37:14,144 --> 00:37:17,060 [Cash] We were all young and wild and crazy. 668 00:37:17,278 --> 00:37:20,107 - [Kurt Loder] How crazy were you? - I was crazy as you can get. 669 00:37:20,325 --> 00:37:22,109 I mean crazy-crazy. 670 00:37:26,026 --> 00:37:28,942 [John] There were quite a few times in his life that he nearly died, 671 00:37:29,116 --> 00:37:31,858 and would have been possibly by his own folly. 672 00:37:32,032 --> 00:37:33,816 [brakes screeching] 673 00:37:34,817 --> 00:37:38,125 Car wrecks. He caught a vehicle on fire in California 674 00:37:38,299 --> 00:37:41,346 and burned down many acres of a forest there. 675 00:37:44,827 --> 00:37:49,267 He did a lot of bad things during those drug years. 676 00:37:49,441 --> 00:37:51,878 [Harry Reasoner] The Grand Ole Opry banned you at one time. 677 00:37:52,052 --> 00:37:55,055 [Cash] Well, I don't know how bad they wanted me in the first place, 678 00:37:55,273 --> 00:37:57,927 but the night I broke all the lights on the stage... 679 00:37:58,101 --> 00:37:59,712 [people clamoring] 680 00:38:01,061 --> 00:38:03,193 ...they said they couldn't use me anymore, so. 681 00:38:05,413 --> 00:38:08,068 [Western] Really tough on all of us to stand there and watch it happen, 682 00:38:08,242 --> 00:38:09,983 because you can't help somebody like that 683 00:38:10,157 --> 00:38:11,767 unless they want the help. 684 00:38:11,941 --> 00:38:13,987 And at that particular time, he didn't want any help. 685 00:38:14,161 --> 00:38:18,600 If that was gonna be a subject of conversation, just forget it. 686 00:38:18,818 --> 00:38:21,821 [Cash] There's one thing about, uh... 687 00:38:21,995 --> 00:38:24,867 someone addicted to pills, alcoholics, you know, 688 00:38:25,041 --> 00:38:27,130 they're very selfish. 689 00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:29,524 You know, they don't care about anybody but themselves 690 00:38:29,698 --> 00:38:31,526 and the way they happen to feel right now. 691 00:38:31,744 --> 00:38:34,486 And that's all I cared about, all I talked about, 692 00:38:34,703 --> 00:38:37,489 how I feel, what I want for me, you know? 693 00:38:37,663 --> 00:38:39,360 We saw him at his worst. 694 00:38:39,534 --> 00:38:41,406 We saw him when we didn't know 695 00:38:41,580 --> 00:38:44,322 if he was gonna be able to-- to make the show the next day, 696 00:38:44,496 --> 00:38:46,411 or rather he was gonna continue his career. 697 00:38:47,890 --> 00:38:50,589 [Scott] Well, it must've been just overwhelming for the man. 698 00:38:50,763 --> 00:38:52,678 All these wonderful accolades comin' at him, 699 00:38:52,852 --> 00:38:54,854 but all this terrible stuff comin' this way. 700 00:38:55,028 --> 00:38:58,423 I mean, if there's ever a devil and a god on each shoulder, 701 00:38:58,597 --> 00:39:00,468 there had to be. 702 00:39:00,642 --> 00:39:02,340 The light and darkness thing is something that we all have. 703 00:39:02,514 --> 00:39:04,907 There's a mean dog and a good dog in all of us. 704 00:39:05,081 --> 00:39:07,127 And what you try to do, and you're always trying to do is, 705 00:39:07,301 --> 00:39:09,172 feed the good one as much as you possibly can. 706 00:39:09,347 --> 00:39:11,523 The one that's gonna win is the one that gets fed the most, right? 707 00:39:11,697 --> 00:39:14,787 So I think the thing about Johnny that made that even more obvious, 708 00:39:14,961 --> 00:39:16,919 he was always trying to feed the light. 709 00:39:17,093 --> 00:39:20,445 But he wore the darkness and the light on his sleeve. 710 00:39:20,619 --> 00:39:24,231 [Joanne] He was two people. And he'd be the first to tell you that. 711 00:39:24,405 --> 00:39:26,364 He said, "Johnny is a nice guy. 712 00:39:26,538 --> 00:39:28,453 But sometime Cash gets into trouble." 713 00:39:32,152 --> 00:39:34,284 [Stuart] John R. Cash came to the end of himself 714 00:39:34,459 --> 00:39:36,809 in October of 1967. 715 00:39:43,119 --> 00:39:45,992 [John] His addiction had really wore him down. 716 00:39:46,166 --> 00:39:49,125 My mother had told him that she wouldn't talk to him, 717 00:39:49,299 --> 00:39:50,910 she wouldn't spend time with him. 718 00:39:51,084 --> 00:39:55,349 He was at a point where she had no choice, 719 00:39:55,523 --> 00:39:56,872 and she had shut him off. 720 00:39:58,570 --> 00:40:02,225 [Stielper] He is in Chattanooga, Tennessee when his lawyer calls 721 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:06,752 and tells him that his divorce was finalized. 722 00:40:06,926 --> 00:40:10,973 She remarried just a week later. 723 00:40:11,147 --> 00:40:12,540 He was full of despair. 724 00:40:14,542 --> 00:40:17,023 [Stuart] His life was seemingly in shambles. 725 00:40:17,197 --> 00:40:20,896 His addictions had taken their toll on his career, 726 00:40:21,114 --> 00:40:23,638 his body, and his family. 727 00:40:23,856 --> 00:40:25,771 And he was estranged from his kids. 728 00:40:28,948 --> 00:40:31,385 [John] He had some land down there, 729 00:40:31,559 --> 00:40:34,519 and on that land there was a cave called "Nickajack Cave". 730 00:40:39,219 --> 00:40:42,396 But my dad kept sinking deeper and deeper into a depression. 731 00:40:45,181 --> 00:40:49,142 [Stuart] There were these great conflicts that seared his soul. 732 00:40:52,711 --> 00:40:53,799 [flashlight clicks] 733 00:40:56,410 --> 00:40:59,631 [Joanne] He was really down at his lowest point, 734 00:40:59,805 --> 00:41:01,284 and he took a flashlight, 735 00:41:01,459 --> 00:41:03,069 and he said he was gonna crawl back in there 736 00:41:03,243 --> 00:41:05,680 as long as his flashlight would burn. 737 00:41:09,858 --> 00:41:13,253 [John] And in the darkness, laid down, 738 00:41:13,427 --> 00:41:16,169 and basically, gave up his life, 739 00:41:16,343 --> 00:41:17,605 gave up everything. 740 00:41:25,395 --> 00:41:26,701 [hisses] 741 00:41:29,617 --> 00:41:33,795 [Cash] I kept walkin' and crawlin' and climbin' 'til my light run out, 742 00:41:36,668 --> 00:41:39,845 every fiber of my being totally exhausted. 743 00:41:42,500 --> 00:41:45,677 And I lay there in the darkness, 744 00:41:48,462 --> 00:41:49,898 the end of the line. 745 00:41:55,774 --> 00:41:57,515 I lay there to die. 746 00:42:05,131 --> 00:42:07,525 [John] But he woke up in the darkness of that cave 747 00:42:07,699 --> 00:42:10,789 and felt that loneliness and the emptiness 748 00:42:10,963 --> 00:42:13,095 and realized where he'd put himself. 749 00:42:23,497 --> 00:42:26,413 [Cash] And it was like this feeling came over me that, uh... 750 00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:31,157 that He wanted to speak to my heart. 751 00:42:31,374 --> 00:42:33,768 "You do not control your destiny," 752 00:42:33,986 --> 00:42:38,251 that "It's My will that you do not die now." 753 00:42:38,425 --> 00:42:42,647 [Joanne] God said, "I'm not through with you, by any means." 754 00:42:42,821 --> 00:42:45,911 He said, "I'll show you the way out. Come on." 755 00:42:46,128 --> 00:42:50,829 [Cash] Then the urging came over me to get up and start crawling. 756 00:42:52,961 --> 00:42:55,398 I don't have any idea how long I crawled. 757 00:42:57,183 --> 00:43:00,012 [Joanne] Johnny said there was some sort of light 758 00:43:00,186 --> 00:43:02,884 that guided him to the entrance of the cave. 759 00:43:04,407 --> 00:43:06,845 [John] For hours he crawled on the ground. 760 00:43:07,019 --> 00:43:09,108 He didn't have a flashlight. He didn't have anything. 761 00:43:10,936 --> 00:43:13,808 [Cash] But then finally I felt the wind. 762 00:43:13,982 --> 00:43:17,943 Before long I saw light, the entrance to the cave. 763 00:43:20,119 --> 00:43:22,338 The hand of God had led me. 764 00:43:27,256 --> 00:43:29,650 [Crow] He faced himself, he faced his temptations, 765 00:43:29,824 --> 00:43:32,000 he faced his worldliness. 766 00:43:32,174 --> 00:43:36,526 [Stielper] And God's love brought him back. 767 00:43:36,701 --> 00:43:40,182 [Scott] He crawled out of Nickajack Cave alive. 768 00:43:43,533 --> 00:43:45,318 [Stuart] He saw the light. 769 00:43:45,535 --> 00:43:48,582 He was given God's grace. 770 00:43:48,756 --> 00:43:52,325 He came out wanting to be right with God. 771 00:43:52,499 --> 00:43:54,327 Doesn't mean he was perfect with God, 772 00:43:54,501 --> 00:43:56,895 but he wanted to be right with God. 773 00:43:57,069 --> 00:43:58,984 [Cash] I was losing my voice. 774 00:43:59,201 --> 00:44:00,942 I had stopped composing. 775 00:44:01,116 --> 00:44:03,597 I didn't have any heart for what I was doing. 776 00:44:03,815 --> 00:44:06,469 And I realized that, uh, 777 00:44:06,687 --> 00:44:09,995 that God didn't want me to live that kind of life. 778 00:44:10,169 --> 00:44:12,127 He had to put himself into that darkness 779 00:44:12,301 --> 00:44:14,303 before he would appreciate the light. 780 00:44:14,521 --> 00:44:18,220 And that's what happened, is that he came out a different man. 781 00:44:18,394 --> 00:44:22,137 [Allen] And when he finally did give up those things that were weighting him down, 782 00:44:22,311 --> 00:44:23,878 the thing that helped him do that 783 00:44:24,052 --> 00:44:26,359 was his faith in God Almighty. 784 00:44:27,839 --> 00:44:29,492 [Laurie] And in that cave, he hears the Lord say, 785 00:44:29,667 --> 00:44:31,146 "What are you doing here?" 786 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:33,322 This reminds me of a story from The Bible, 787 00:44:33,496 --> 00:44:36,586 a similar experience that involved the prophet Elijah. 788 00:44:36,761 --> 00:44:38,023 Here is this prophet of the Lord, 789 00:44:38,197 --> 00:44:40,373 who's depressed and discouraged 790 00:44:40,547 --> 00:44:43,115 and he goes into a cave and while he's in that cave, 791 00:44:43,289 --> 00:44:46,031 God said, "What are you doing here?" 792 00:44:46,205 --> 00:44:48,598 Johnny came out of that cave a different man. 793 00:44:48,773 --> 00:44:51,427 Now he was a man on a mission. 794 00:44:52,559 --> 00:44:54,474 [Mansfield] All that success, all the partying, 795 00:44:54,648 --> 00:44:58,043 all the money, all the fame, it's not real anymore. 796 00:44:58,217 --> 00:45:02,003 And you start realizing what is real. 797 00:45:02,177 --> 00:45:04,179 We saw him at his lowest. 798 00:45:04,353 --> 00:45:08,706 But, that is where he remembered that God was on his side. 799 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:10,316 [Laurie] You know, Jesus doesn't say, 800 00:45:10,490 --> 00:45:12,057 "Clean up your life and come to me." 801 00:45:12,231 --> 00:45:13,623 He effectively says, 802 00:45:13,972 --> 00:45:16,148 "Come to me and I will clean your life up." 803 00:45:17,671 --> 00:45:19,020 [Judd] At that moment of despair, 804 00:45:19,194 --> 00:45:20,674 he chose to get back up. 805 00:45:21,893 --> 00:45:23,503 [Scott] There is a light. 806 00:45:23,677 --> 00:45:25,244 And if you'll hang in there long enough, 807 00:45:25,418 --> 00:45:27,855 you will get through the tunnel. 808 00:45:28,029 --> 00:45:30,728 And that's exactly what Johnny Cash did. 809 00:45:30,945 --> 00:45:33,034 [Cash] I came back from Nickajack Cave 810 00:45:33,252 --> 00:45:35,645 and June, she said, "You're dying, you know? 811 00:45:35,863 --> 00:45:41,521 You'll die if you don't get off of the amphetamines and the sleeping pills." 812 00:45:41,739 --> 00:45:43,349 And I said, "I know it. I will." 813 00:45:43,523 --> 00:45:44,829 And she said, "I'll tell ya what I'll do. 814 00:45:45,046 --> 00:45:47,745 I... I wanna save your life. 815 00:45:47,962 --> 00:45:50,356 And I'll be here at this house every afternoon. 816 00:45:50,530 --> 00:45:54,055 And that way you can stay straight and look forward to seeing me. 817 00:45:54,273 --> 00:45:55,578 And we'll get this thing whipped." 818 00:46:00,932 --> 00:46:03,325 [John] When he reached out to people that could help him, 819 00:46:03,499 --> 00:46:05,284 my mother was there. 820 00:46:05,458 --> 00:46:07,112 [Cash] I was on self-destruct 821 00:46:07,286 --> 00:46:09,244 and she saw what I was doing to myself 822 00:46:09,418 --> 00:46:11,856 and she helped bring me back up out of it. 823 00:46:12,073 --> 00:46:14,119 [June Carter] I thought he was gonna die. 824 00:46:14,293 --> 00:46:17,905 He was just skin and bones. I worked with him. 825 00:46:18,079 --> 00:46:22,040 There was something that just wouldn't let me give up. 826 00:46:22,214 --> 00:46:24,651 [Judd] He's detoxing and there's June. 827 00:46:24,825 --> 00:46:26,131 I can just see her, like, 828 00:46:26,305 --> 00:46:28,394 "You'll have to come through me." 829 00:46:28,568 --> 00:46:29,438 Call it old-fashioned. 830 00:46:29,612 --> 00:46:31,789 Call it tough love. 831 00:46:31,963 --> 00:46:33,312 That's what you do. 832 00:46:35,140 --> 00:46:38,796 Without question, June Carter saved the life of Johnny Cash. 833 00:46:38,970 --> 00:46:42,190 She helped him to get off the pills, and she stood by his side. 834 00:46:42,364 --> 00:46:44,149 [Cash] And June, her mother and daddy, 835 00:46:44,323 --> 00:46:46,629 and all my family and friends were downstairs, 836 00:46:46,847 --> 00:46:49,807 sleeping in sleeping bags, and it kept me going. 837 00:46:49,981 --> 00:46:51,896 They were praying together. 838 00:46:52,070 --> 00:46:53,985 And the Lord brought him through that. 839 00:46:54,159 --> 00:46:56,726 [Cash] It was the spirit of the love of God 840 00:46:56,944 --> 00:47:00,034 that made a survivor out of me. 841 00:47:00,208 --> 00:47:02,471 And not only a survivor, but a sustainer. 842 00:47:06,736 --> 00:47:08,738 [bells tolling] 843 00:47:08,913 --> 00:47:10,392 [John] My father had a moment 844 00:47:10,566 --> 00:47:14,527 where he went back to the cross. 845 00:47:14,701 --> 00:47:17,617 [Joanne] The Lord was drawing him back to himself. 846 00:47:17,791 --> 00:47:20,315 He was on his road back to the Lord. 847 00:47:20,489 --> 00:47:23,884 So Joanne invited her brother, Johnny, to church. 848 00:47:24,058 --> 00:47:27,932 Joanne's life had been changed by Christ in this church. 849 00:47:28,106 --> 00:47:30,499 She wanted it to happen for her brother. 850 00:47:32,153 --> 00:47:33,502 [Joanne] I could see him 851 00:47:33,676 --> 00:47:36,636 just drinking in the pastor preaching. 852 00:47:38,029 --> 00:47:40,031 When I finished my message that morning, 853 00:47:40,205 --> 00:47:41,859 I gave an altar call and I said, you know, 854 00:47:42,033 --> 00:47:44,470 "If you want to find Christ, 855 00:47:44,644 --> 00:47:46,994 if you want to do the right thing with the Lord, 856 00:47:47,168 --> 00:47:49,127 put up your hand." 857 00:47:49,301 --> 00:47:51,259 So his hand went up. 858 00:47:51,433 --> 00:47:54,219 [Laurie] Johnny stood up and made a public profession, 859 00:47:54,393 --> 00:47:58,571 and walked forward and said, "I'm gonna follow Jesus Christ." 860 00:47:58,745 --> 00:48:01,182 A public profession means you're saying, 861 00:48:01,356 --> 00:48:04,055 "I believe, and I don't care who knows. 862 00:48:04,229 --> 00:48:06,361 In fact, I want others to know." 863 00:48:06,535 --> 00:48:09,887 And then a person coming to Christ may pray 864 00:48:10,061 --> 00:48:12,063 what we sometimes call "a sinner's prayer", 865 00:48:12,237 --> 00:48:13,673 and it goes along these lines. 866 00:48:13,847 --> 00:48:17,024 "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, 867 00:48:17,198 --> 00:48:18,417 but I know that you're the Savior 868 00:48:18,591 --> 00:48:20,462 Who died on the cross for my sin 869 00:48:20,636 --> 00:48:23,901 and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin. 870 00:48:24,075 --> 00:48:25,815 I turn from that sin, 871 00:48:25,990 --> 00:48:29,254 and I choose to follow You from this moment forward." 872 00:48:29,428 --> 00:48:31,473 Johnny prayed a prayer like that, 873 00:48:31,647 --> 00:48:35,477 and his life was changed for time and eternity. 874 00:48:35,651 --> 00:48:38,916 And the good news is, anybody can pray that prayer, 875 00:48:39,090 --> 00:48:42,876 and they too can have the hope that Johnny Cash had. 876 00:48:46,358 --> 00:48:49,317 [Joanne] Johnny and June and all the girls were down at the altar. 877 00:48:49,491 --> 00:48:51,145 Johnny told me, 878 00:48:51,319 --> 00:48:53,931 "I think it's about time I led my family back to Jesus." 879 00:49:02,940 --> 00:49:06,291 [Rev. Snow] I watched the man cry his heart out down there in that altar, 880 00:49:06,465 --> 00:49:09,859 and all of 'em together, every one of 'em. 881 00:49:10,034 --> 00:49:12,427 And when they opened up their hearts to the Lord, 882 00:49:12,601 --> 00:49:14,255 it changed everything. 883 00:49:19,304 --> 00:49:20,653 [Reid] He came to us and he said, 884 00:49:21,001 --> 00:49:24,178 "Guys, I know this has been rough out here." 885 00:49:24,352 --> 00:49:26,572 He said, "I just wanna tell you all, I'm gonna clean up." 886 00:49:26,746 --> 00:49:30,576 And from that point on, he rededicated his life in many different ways, 887 00:49:30,750 --> 00:49:34,580 and redoubled his efforts into spreading the word of Christianity. 888 00:49:43,241 --> 00:49:44,982 [Reid] It's a scary sight. 889 00:49:45,156 --> 00:49:46,548 It's towering above ya. 890 00:49:46,722 --> 00:49:48,463 And we all walk in there that morning, 891 00:49:48,637 --> 00:49:51,205 and hear the clang of the metal doors 892 00:49:51,379 --> 00:49:52,380 closing behind you. 893 00:49:53,468 --> 00:49:55,862 [Cash] Through the pain, 894 00:49:56,036 --> 00:49:59,474 throbbing melody draws compassion 895 00:49:59,692 --> 00:50:01,128 and care and concern 896 00:50:01,302 --> 00:50:03,522 for myself and for my fellow man. 897 00:50:04,740 --> 00:50:07,656 [Stuart] Johnny Cash had found a new purpose and focus. 898 00:50:07,874 --> 00:50:10,224 He wanted to say and do something with his music, 899 00:50:10,398 --> 00:50:12,313 and more importantly, his life. 900 00:50:12,487 --> 00:50:14,489 His pastor, Floyd Gressett, came to him 901 00:50:14,663 --> 00:50:17,797 and asked if he'd be interested in a prison outreach program. 902 00:50:18,015 --> 00:50:21,235 [Cash] He preached up there every fourth Sunday of the month, 903 00:50:21,453 --> 00:50:23,803 and he knew all those people, the officials and-- 904 00:50:24,021 --> 00:50:27,372 And he set up this prison concert. 905 00:50:27,546 --> 00:50:30,201 [Stuart] He didn't wanna just get up and do a regular Johnny Cash show 906 00:50:30,375 --> 00:50:31,811 at Folsom Prison. 907 00:50:32,029 --> 00:50:34,205 He wanted to touch men's hearts 908 00:50:34,422 --> 00:50:36,729 and to capture it on tape. 909 00:50:36,903 --> 00:50:39,384 [Cash] I knew if I could ever get a live recording at a prison, 910 00:50:39,601 --> 00:50:41,821 it was gonna be a great album. 911 00:50:41,995 --> 00:50:43,649 [Stuart] He took June Carter, 912 00:50:43,866 --> 00:50:45,346 The Statler Brothers, and Carl Perkins, 913 00:50:45,520 --> 00:50:47,609 and they went into Folsom Prison. 914 00:50:47,783 --> 00:50:50,264 [June] And we would like to continue with the Johnny Cash Show 915 00:50:50,438 --> 00:50:53,137 and bring to you the man that you've actually come to see. 916 00:50:53,311 --> 00:50:55,313 He seems to have a lot of things in common with you. 917 00:50:55,487 --> 00:50:58,446 - Mr. Johnny Cash! - [cheers and applause] 918 00:50:58,620 --> 00:51:00,927 ["Folsom Prison Blues" playing] 919 00:51:01,101 --> 00:51:02,798 ♪ I hear the train a-comin' ♪ 920 00:51:03,016 --> 00:51:04,757 ♪ It's rolling 'round the bend ♪ 921 00:51:04,974 --> 00:51:06,628 ♪ And I ain't seen the sunshine 922 00:51:06,802 --> 00:51:08,326 ♪ Since I don't know when ♪ 923 00:51:08,543 --> 00:51:10,937 ♪ I'm stuck in Folsom prison ♪ 924 00:51:11,111 --> 00:51:13,026 ♪ And time keeps draggin' on ♪ 925 00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:14,767 [Stuart] J.R. was very sensitive 926 00:51:14,941 --> 00:51:16,290 to those who were down on their luck. 927 00:51:17,770 --> 00:51:20,773 He knew that he had faced the same kinds of troubles and situations 928 00:51:20,947 --> 00:51:23,210 that had led many of them there. 929 00:51:23,384 --> 00:51:26,126 He wanted to get the feelings of the men on tape 930 00:51:26,300 --> 00:51:27,997 and let them know that somebody cared. 931 00:51:28,172 --> 00:51:29,651 ♪ ...don't ever play with guns" ♪ 932 00:51:29,825 --> 00:51:31,088 ♪ But I shot a man in Reno ♪ 933 00:51:31,262 --> 00:51:32,828 [McGraw] There was a hopelessness, 934 00:51:33,002 --> 00:51:35,004 a nobleness, and there was a dark side. 935 00:51:35,179 --> 00:51:37,311 And you could feel all of those things, and you could feel 936 00:51:37,485 --> 00:51:40,314 all those emotions toward the character that he was singing about. 937 00:51:40,488 --> 00:51:42,403 [Allen] A lot of people throw money at the forgotten. 938 00:51:42,577 --> 00:51:45,493 They feel good from their safe, gated-off world. 939 00:51:45,667 --> 00:51:49,889 What made Johnny special was, he actually spent time kickin' it with these people. 940 00:51:50,063 --> 00:51:51,325 Johnny didn't discriminate. 941 00:51:52,413 --> 00:51:55,199 That's Johnny Cash in a prison singing to the inmates, 942 00:51:55,373 --> 00:51:58,637 and I think that's probably where he felt most comfortable. 943 00:52:00,726 --> 00:52:03,120 [Cash] The reaction I got, it was far and above anything 944 00:52:03,337 --> 00:52:05,034 I had ever had in my life. 945 00:52:05,252 --> 00:52:08,473 The complete explosion of noise and reaction 946 00:52:08,690 --> 00:52:11,911 that they gave me with every song. 947 00:52:12,129 --> 00:52:15,958 But they felt like they could identify with me, I suppose. 948 00:52:16,133 --> 00:52:17,525 Those guys in prison went, 949 00:52:17,699 --> 00:52:19,701 "It's Johnny Cash. We can trust him." 950 00:52:19,875 --> 00:52:23,314 [Crow] You see these people hanging on every word, 951 00:52:23,488 --> 00:52:25,490 and you can see the hope in their eyes 952 00:52:25,664 --> 00:52:28,536 and the vulnerability in their eyes. 953 00:52:28,710 --> 00:52:30,843 [Laurie] I think they felt he was one of them. 954 00:52:31,017 --> 00:52:33,498 And in many ways, he was. 955 00:52:33,672 --> 00:52:35,456 He had had his struggles 956 00:52:35,717 --> 00:52:38,111 with a lot of the same issues those prisoners struggled with. 957 00:52:38,285 --> 00:52:40,069 They saw his humanity. 958 00:52:40,244 --> 00:52:42,071 They saw his authenticity. 959 00:52:42,246 --> 00:52:45,858 And really, they were seeing his faith. 960 00:52:46,032 --> 00:52:47,729 He could relate to them 961 00:52:47,903 --> 00:52:49,949 by who he had been and how he had struggled, 962 00:52:50,123 --> 00:52:51,864 and how he always kept coming back to Christ, 963 00:52:52,038 --> 00:52:54,345 and how there was hope in that for him. 964 00:52:54,519 --> 00:52:55,781 [Mansfield] And he found, I think, 965 00:52:55,955 --> 00:52:58,784 almost like his own ministry in that. 966 00:52:58,958 --> 00:53:00,916 There's no filter. 967 00:53:01,090 --> 00:53:02,440 There's just Johnny, 968 00:53:02,614 --> 00:53:04,920 giving you his guts and his glory. 969 00:53:05,094 --> 00:53:07,096 [audience cheering] 970 00:53:08,881 --> 00:53:13,277 Folsomis recorded in January and again, you know, a little... some ambivalence-- 971 00:53:13,451 --> 00:53:17,150 Is this gonna be commercial? Is it gonna-- is it gonna sell? 972 00:53:17,324 --> 00:53:20,675 Well, in March, he marries June. 973 00:53:20,849 --> 00:53:22,851 [soft music playing] 974 00:53:25,463 --> 00:53:27,595 The love that they developed for each other 975 00:53:27,769 --> 00:53:30,468 was one of the greatest saving graces for each of them in their lives. 976 00:53:30,642 --> 00:53:33,819 My mother saw my father's kindness. 977 00:53:33,993 --> 00:53:37,039 She saw who he was on the inside. 978 00:53:37,214 --> 00:53:39,216 She knew him, I think, better than he did 979 00:53:39,390 --> 00:53:42,741 'cause she saw him through it all. 980 00:53:42,915 --> 00:53:45,134 [Stielper] They finished up some dates on the road, 981 00:53:45,309 --> 00:53:47,485 and then, in May, 982 00:53:47,659 --> 00:53:51,750 they went on a honeymoon to the Holy Land. 983 00:53:53,142 --> 00:53:54,883 And he tells the people at Columbia Records 984 00:53:55,057 --> 00:53:58,147 that he wants to make an album in the Holy Land. 985 00:53:58,322 --> 00:54:02,500 "We're not doing that," they said. He said, "Fine." 986 00:54:02,674 --> 00:54:04,806 He took a little handheld microphone, 987 00:54:04,980 --> 00:54:09,376 and he and June went and they visited the sites. 988 00:54:11,552 --> 00:54:13,641 And he comes back home, 989 00:54:13,815 --> 00:54:15,991 and Folsom Prisonis the number one album in the country. 990 00:54:16,165 --> 00:54:17,645 And he's king. 991 00:54:17,819 --> 00:54:20,866 ["Folsom Prison Blues" playing] 992 00:54:21,040 --> 00:54:25,958 [Laurie] Johnny Cash sold more than six million records in 1969 alone, 993 00:54:26,132 --> 00:54:28,439 besting The Beatles, Elvis Presley, 994 00:54:28,613 --> 00:54:31,442 The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, 995 00:54:31,616 --> 00:54:33,748 Janice Joplin, Led Zeppelin, 996 00:54:33,922 --> 00:54:36,969 and every other musical act in the world. 997 00:54:37,143 --> 00:54:39,145 It wasn't even close. 998 00:54:39,319 --> 00:54:41,713 He said, "I'm gonna be the biggest thing in the business." 999 00:54:41,887 --> 00:54:44,846 And with that statement, he was. 1000 00:54:45,064 --> 00:54:48,067 The album of the year, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. 1001 00:54:48,241 --> 00:54:50,548 [cheers] 1002 00:54:50,722 --> 00:54:54,073 After he got back, you can bet your butt that they put out his next record, 1003 00:54:54,247 --> 00:54:55,640 whatever it was that he wanted. 1004 00:54:55,857 --> 00:54:58,251 And that was The Holy Land. 1005 00:54:58,425 --> 00:55:00,862 And he got a Top-10 record, 1006 00:55:01,036 --> 00:55:06,041 and a number one single from a gospel album. 1007 00:55:06,215 --> 00:55:08,522 That had never happened! 1008 00:55:08,696 --> 00:55:11,046 [Laurie] Johnny's gotten his priorities back in order. 1009 00:55:11,220 --> 00:55:15,007 He's returned to the faith of his brother, Jack. 1010 00:55:15,181 --> 00:55:17,575 And Johnny is putting Jesus Christ 1011 00:55:17,749 --> 00:55:20,404 first in his life again. 1012 00:55:20,578 --> 00:55:22,493 [Stuart] AfterFolsom Prison, 1013 00:55:22,710 --> 00:55:25,583 ABC came calling to do a summer television show. 1014 00:55:27,324 --> 00:55:28,673 [cheers and applause] 1015 00:55:28,847 --> 00:55:30,631 Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. 1016 00:55:30,805 --> 00:55:32,677 - [music playing] - And I'm glad to see ya, David. 1017 00:55:34,592 --> 00:55:37,377 [Stuart] Just as he did with everything else in his career, 1018 00:55:37,551 --> 00:55:42,991 Johnny Cash turned the concept of variety shows upside-down. 1019 00:55:43,165 --> 00:55:45,037 Glad to have ya. 1020 00:55:45,254 --> 00:55:46,821 [Stuart] He wanted the show to be filmed at the Ryman, 1021 00:55:47,039 --> 00:55:48,780 the mother church of country music, 1022 00:55:48,954 --> 00:55:51,130 and the home of The Grand Ole Opry, 1023 00:55:51,304 --> 00:55:54,133 the same stage he first met June Carter. 1024 00:55:57,136 --> 00:55:59,747 [Scott] The impact of the show itself, it was a catapult, 1025 00:55:59,921 --> 00:56:02,750 not only for John and his show, 1026 00:56:02,924 --> 00:56:05,971 but for a lot of other artists. 1027 00:56:06,145 --> 00:56:09,104 [Laurie] Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton, 1028 00:56:09,278 --> 00:56:11,716 as well as luminaries from country music 1029 00:56:11,890 --> 00:56:13,195 and the gospel world. 1030 00:56:14,675 --> 00:56:18,984 [Stielper] In fact, there are over 70 people 1031 00:56:19,201 --> 00:56:22,030 who were on The Johnny Cash Show 1032 00:56:22,204 --> 00:56:25,164 who are currently in either the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, 1033 00:56:25,338 --> 00:56:28,036 or the Country Music Hall of Fame. 1034 00:56:28,210 --> 00:56:32,214 [Stuart] But one of the things that really drove ABC executives crazy 1035 00:56:32,389 --> 00:56:34,869 was the fact that John R. Cash rebelled 1036 00:56:35,043 --> 00:56:37,437 against the tightly-scripted corporate TV show concept. 1037 00:56:37,611 --> 00:56:39,308 At the beginning of the show, 1038 00:56:39,526 --> 00:56:41,615 you see a more tentative Johnny Cash. 1039 00:56:41,833 --> 00:56:43,878 They told him how and where to stand, 1040 00:56:44,096 --> 00:56:45,140 what to sing and say. 1041 00:56:46,185 --> 00:56:47,578 [Reid] So they were always on his back, 1042 00:56:47,752 --> 00:56:49,275 and sometimes he was told, 1043 00:56:49,449 --> 00:56:51,582 "Don't do this" or "Don't sing that song" 1044 00:56:51,756 --> 00:56:53,714 or "Don't say that word." 1045 00:56:53,888 --> 00:56:55,455 You knew he was gonna do it, then. 1046 00:56:55,629 --> 00:56:57,892 All you had to do was tell him not to do it. 1047 00:56:58,066 --> 00:57:00,199 [Cash] I was 17 years old. 1048 00:57:00,373 --> 00:57:03,115 I came in the back door of the house singing, 1049 00:57:03,332 --> 00:57:06,945 ♪ Everybody gonna have religion and glory ♪ 1050 00:57:07,119 --> 00:57:10,209 Well, you see, I'd been a real high tenor up to then. 1051 00:57:10,383 --> 00:57:11,950 And I didn't know that my voice had dropped. 1052 00:57:12,124 --> 00:57:14,082 And my mother turned around. 1053 00:57:14,256 --> 00:57:16,694 She said, "Who was that singing?" I said, "That was me." 1054 00:57:16,868 --> 00:57:20,175 And she said, "Keep it up." So I did. 1055 00:57:20,349 --> 00:57:22,787 ♪ Everybody gonna have religion and glory... ♪ 1056 00:57:22,961 --> 00:57:27,008 John's faith showed up on the television show 1057 00:57:27,182 --> 00:57:29,924 because that was his roots. 1058 00:57:30,098 --> 00:57:32,971 He even did a gospel special! 1059 00:57:34,233 --> 00:57:37,105 [Stuart] He wanted to do and say something more with his life. 1060 00:57:37,279 --> 00:57:40,282 He had messages that he wanted to share. 1061 00:57:40,457 --> 00:57:44,635 And that was when his faith stepped out into the light. 1062 00:57:44,809 --> 00:57:46,811 So as Johnny is performing this song, 1063 00:57:46,985 --> 00:57:49,727 right here on this stage at the Ryman Auditorium, 1064 00:57:49,901 --> 00:57:52,860 he has Billy Graham read a scripture. 1065 00:57:53,034 --> 00:57:54,906 Who does that? 1066 00:57:55,080 --> 00:57:56,908 ♪ Everybody gonna have religion and glory ♪ 1067 00:57:57,125 --> 00:57:59,606 ♪ Everybody gonna be a-singin' that story ♪ 1068 00:57:59,824 --> 00:58:01,869 ♪ Everybody gonna have a wonderful time up there ♪ 1069 00:58:02,043 --> 00:58:05,090 [Joanne] And Johnny made a statement one time to the network, 1070 00:58:05,264 --> 00:58:10,574 that if you don't want God, country, faith, and family, 1071 00:58:10,748 --> 00:58:13,794 you don't want me, because that's not what I do, 1072 00:58:13,968 --> 00:58:15,840 it's who I am. 1073 00:58:16,057 --> 00:58:18,407 - ♪ A wonderful time up there. ♪ - Yeah! 1074 00:58:20,409 --> 00:58:23,587 The people at ABC were aghast. 1075 00:58:23,761 --> 00:58:26,285 "What in the-- is he doing? 1076 00:58:27,634 --> 00:58:29,941 People don't watch these shows." 1077 00:58:30,115 --> 00:58:32,465 [Reid] For him to say, "Hey, I wanna close the show with a gospel song." 1078 00:58:32,639 --> 00:58:34,728 And that was kind of, "Well, are you sure you wanna do that?" 1079 00:58:34,902 --> 00:58:37,035 And he held out, "Yeah, I'm gonna do that." 1080 00:58:37,209 --> 00:58:38,253 Now he would do that. 1081 00:58:38,427 --> 00:58:40,038 Boy, he'd put his foot down. 1082 00:58:41,474 --> 00:58:43,868 [Jessi Colter] The one show that I remember specifically is, 1083 00:58:44,042 --> 00:58:46,871 I wanted to sing "I'd Rather Have Jesus." 1084 00:58:47,045 --> 00:58:49,134 And they said, "We don't want that." 1085 00:58:49,308 --> 00:58:51,397 But Johnny says, "Then if you don't want Jessi singing that song, 1086 00:58:51,571 --> 00:58:53,268 that we won't do the show." 1087 00:58:53,442 --> 00:58:55,488 [Reid] You know, he didn't like somebody to tell him 1088 00:58:55,662 --> 00:58:59,100 he couldn't do something, or "this is not gonna work." 1089 00:58:59,274 --> 00:59:01,886 Then he would prove, "Yes, it will work. Watch this." 1090 00:59:02,060 --> 00:59:03,452 And he would do it. 1091 00:59:03,627 --> 00:59:05,019 [Cash] Well, here lately, 1092 00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:07,282 I think we probably made the devil pretty mad 1093 00:59:07,456 --> 00:59:10,808 because on our show we've been mentioning God's name, 1094 00:59:10,982 --> 00:59:12,418 we've been talking about Jesus. 1095 00:59:12,592 --> 00:59:15,247 But, I'll be ready for him. 1096 00:59:15,421 --> 00:59:17,205 In the meantime, while he's coming, 1097 00:59:17,379 --> 00:59:21,949 I'd like to get in one more good lick for Number One. 1098 00:59:22,123 --> 00:59:25,300 The TV show is where we see him introduce "Man In Black." 1099 00:59:25,474 --> 00:59:29,957 ♪ Well, you wonder why I always dress in black ♪ 1100 00:59:30,175 --> 00:59:33,482 [Stuart] A journalist once asked, "Tell me about your closet." 1101 00:59:33,700 --> 00:59:36,964 J.R. replied, "It's dark in there." 1102 00:59:37,138 --> 00:59:40,577 Black was so much more than the clothing that he wore. 1103 00:59:40,794 --> 00:59:43,884 It represented something for him. It told a story. 1104 00:59:44,102 --> 00:59:46,321 ♪ ...that I have owned ♪ 1105 00:59:47,453 --> 00:59:50,761 ♪ I wear the black for the poor and the beaten-down ♪ 1106 00:59:52,545 --> 00:59:56,854 ♪ Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town ♪ 1107 00:59:57,028 --> 00:59:58,943 I remember the first time I heard it, I went, 1108 00:59:59,117 --> 01:00:00,640 "He sealed the deal right there, 1109 01:00:00,814 --> 01:00:03,208 for he will forever be 'The Man in Black'." 1110 01:00:03,382 --> 01:00:07,429 ♪ But still is there because he's a victim of the times ♪ 1111 01:00:07,604 --> 01:00:13,479 [Laurie] This was Johnny Cash speaking to college students from Tennessee. 1112 01:00:13,697 --> 01:00:16,743 ♪ Or listened to the words that Jesus said ♪ 1113 01:00:16,917 --> 01:00:19,746 [Laurie] "This is what I want people to know of me." 1114 01:00:19,964 --> 01:00:23,141 ♪ About the road to happiness through love and charity ♪ 1115 01:00:23,315 --> 01:00:25,534 I wear all black because of him. 1116 01:00:25,709 --> 01:00:28,189 Because I just was enamored, he has a presence. 1117 01:00:28,363 --> 01:00:32,585 Some people just have that "it" thing, and he has it. 1118 01:00:32,759 --> 01:00:35,153 [Stuart] When you mention Johnny Cash, 1119 01:00:35,327 --> 01:00:39,070 people will immediately think of a guy that helped people who had no voice. 1120 01:00:39,244 --> 01:00:43,161 He stood for things that nobody else seemed to care about 1121 01:00:43,335 --> 01:00:47,644 or had the authority to stand on and talk about. 1122 01:00:47,818 --> 01:00:49,471 When Johnny Cash wrote "Man In Black" 1123 01:00:49,646 --> 01:00:53,127 and made the decision to put that suit on 1124 01:00:53,301 --> 01:00:55,086 and wear it for the rest of his career, 1125 01:00:55,260 --> 01:00:57,697 he looked darkness in the eye and said, 1126 01:00:57,871 --> 01:01:00,308 "Not only will I take you on, but I will wear you. 1127 01:01:00,482 --> 01:01:01,919 And I will win." 1128 01:01:02,136 --> 01:01:03,877 ♪ ... everywhere you go... ♪ 1129 01:01:04,095 --> 01:01:05,966 [Stuart] That was the image that people remembered. 1130 01:01:06,140 --> 01:01:08,795 They remembered him standing up on stage with his manifesto, 1131 01:01:09,013 --> 01:01:12,799 speaking of the Lord, and speaking of the downtrodden. 1132 01:01:14,975 --> 01:01:17,151 Johnny wanted people to know what he believed, 1133 01:01:17,325 --> 01:01:19,414 and why he believed it. 1134 01:01:19,588 --> 01:01:24,419 He had no embarrassment whatsoever about his faith in Jesus Christ 1135 01:01:24,593 --> 01:01:26,204 and wanted others to share it, as well. 1136 01:01:26,378 --> 01:01:29,903 Television series probably would've lasted longer 1137 01:01:30,077 --> 01:01:32,427 if he hadn't a fought ABC so hard. 1138 01:01:32,601 --> 01:01:35,822 [Stuart] The Johnny Cash Show was on fire. 1139 01:01:36,040 --> 01:01:38,520 He had big plans to take his show to the Holy Land, 1140 01:01:38,738 --> 01:01:40,827 but ABC had other plans, 1141 01:01:41,045 --> 01:01:43,874 and cancelled his show before he had that opportunity. 1142 01:01:45,614 --> 01:01:49,270 [Cash] When I professed my faith in Jesus Christ 1143 01:01:49,444 --> 01:01:51,838 on network television, and in my concerts, 1144 01:01:52,056 --> 01:01:54,667 it turned a lot of people off. 1145 01:01:54,841 --> 01:01:58,236 You see, the whole thing about being a Christian 1146 01:01:58,410 --> 01:02:02,675 is being willing to give up the world. 1147 01:02:02,893 --> 01:02:04,590 And that's what I was doing. 1148 01:02:04,764 --> 01:02:05,896 [projector clicks, whirs] 1149 01:02:06,113 --> 01:02:07,767 [Stuart] So he said, "All right. 1150 01:02:07,941 --> 01:02:10,030 I'm gonna put my money where my soul is." 1151 01:02:10,204 --> 01:02:11,771 And he went and did it himself. 1152 01:02:11,945 --> 01:02:14,252 He put a half a million dollars of his own money 1153 01:02:14,426 --> 01:02:17,690 to create his film, theGospel Road. 1154 01:02:17,864 --> 01:02:21,520 Now come along with me in the footsteps of Jesus. 1155 01:02:21,694 --> 01:02:23,696 [Laurie] Johnny was no stranger to the silver screen. 1156 01:02:23,870 --> 01:02:25,176 In fact, throughout his career, 1157 01:02:25,480 --> 01:02:27,787 he was in dozens of shows and movies, 1158 01:02:27,961 --> 01:02:32,096 but Johnny wanted to make a film about Jesus Christ. 1159 01:02:32,270 --> 01:02:35,577 Jesus was to suffer much criticism 1160 01:02:35,752 --> 01:02:40,800 for his association with people of questionable character. 1161 01:02:42,802 --> 01:02:47,111 "He dines with publicans and sinners," they said. 1162 01:02:47,285 --> 01:02:49,287 And to that Jesus replied, 1163 01:02:49,461 --> 01:02:52,551 "It's the sick that need a physician, 1164 01:02:52,725 --> 01:02:53,900 not the healthy." 1165 01:02:55,641 --> 01:02:57,861 John walked up to me one morning, early, 1166 01:02:58,035 --> 01:03:00,428 'cause we always had to be out there for sunrises, 1167 01:03:00,602 --> 01:03:03,780 and he said, "I wanna get baptized." 1168 01:03:05,085 --> 01:03:09,786 And I baptized Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in the Jordan River. 1169 01:03:09,960 --> 01:03:13,093 That was one of the highlights of my life. 1170 01:03:13,311 --> 01:03:16,618 [Laurie] The Bible likens baptism to a burial service. 1171 01:03:16,793 --> 01:03:18,620 Think of a happy funeral. 1172 01:03:18,795 --> 01:03:20,753 The old you is going into the water. 1173 01:03:20,927 --> 01:03:23,408 The new you is coming out. 1174 01:03:23,582 --> 01:03:27,368 Baptism is an outward showing of an inward doing. 1175 01:03:27,542 --> 01:03:29,675 The old Johnny Cash was immersed, 1176 01:03:29,849 --> 01:03:32,547 a new Johnny Cash was emerging, 1177 01:03:32,721 --> 01:03:34,767 one committed to his faith, 1178 01:03:34,941 --> 01:03:37,030 one committed to scripture study, 1179 01:03:37,204 --> 01:03:40,338 one committed to telling others about Jesus. 1180 01:03:40,512 --> 01:03:44,995 He made a great effort to show his faith to the world. 1181 01:03:45,169 --> 01:03:47,214 And that was his dedication, 1182 01:03:47,562 --> 01:03:51,305 that was his reaching out with his faith and doing what he believed in. 1183 01:03:55,614 --> 01:03:58,051 [Stuart] J.R. was quoted as saying, 1184 01:03:58,225 --> 01:04:01,707 "My record company would rather I be in prison than in church" 1185 01:04:01,925 --> 01:04:03,840 In many ways, that's true. 1186 01:04:04,057 --> 01:04:06,059 His rebel persona was easier to sell. 1187 01:04:06,233 --> 01:04:09,019 People found his constant struggles 1188 01:04:09,236 --> 01:04:12,370 and his willingness to bare his humanity intoxicating, 1189 01:04:12,587 --> 01:04:15,329 but Johnny Cash was always a rebel. 1190 01:04:16,853 --> 01:04:19,333 In his early years, 1191 01:04:19,507 --> 01:04:22,206 his rebellion took him on a journey away from his family and faith. 1192 01:04:22,380 --> 01:04:24,643 But now, his rebellious spirit 1193 01:04:24,861 --> 01:04:27,385 was bringing him back to his faith. 1194 01:04:29,082 --> 01:04:30,997 [Laurie] The Gospel Road was not well-received. 1195 01:04:31,171 --> 01:04:34,044 In fact, it was a financial disaster, 1196 01:04:34,218 --> 01:04:37,221 and almost bankrupted Johnny Cash. 1197 01:04:37,395 --> 01:04:39,397 But his good friend, Billy Graham, stepped in 1198 01:04:39,571 --> 01:04:42,704 and used his platform to take it to the world. 1199 01:04:44,228 --> 01:04:47,622 The Gospel Roadwas made by my friend Johnny Cash 1200 01:04:47,796 --> 01:04:50,712 and his lovely wife June as a labor of love, 1201 01:04:50,887 --> 01:04:52,323 so that they, too, 1202 01:04:52,497 --> 01:04:55,065 could share with the world the Gospel. 1203 01:04:55,239 --> 01:04:57,458 Without your prayers and without your support, 1204 01:04:57,632 --> 01:04:59,112 we could not continue. 1205 01:04:59,286 --> 01:05:01,027 [Graham] ...in their lives. We need your... 1206 01:05:01,201 --> 01:05:03,682 ...importantly, to remind the church 1207 01:05:03,856 --> 01:05:08,382 that the old-time Gospel is relevant to this generation! 1208 01:05:08,556 --> 01:05:10,558 [wild cheering] 1209 01:05:10,732 --> 01:05:12,343 [Laurie] Billy Graham, though he was 1210 01:05:12,517 --> 01:05:14,954 the most famous evangelist in all of the world, 1211 01:05:15,128 --> 01:05:17,000 had his own prodigal son, Franklin. 1212 01:05:17,174 --> 01:05:20,481 And Franklin was rough around the edges. 1213 01:05:20,655 --> 01:05:23,528 And Billy was not connecting to his son. 1214 01:05:23,702 --> 01:05:25,878 And then one day, 1215 01:05:26,052 --> 01:05:28,750 Billy noticed that Franklin was listening to Johnny Cash music. 1216 01:05:28,925 --> 01:05:31,188 [Franklin Graham] I think my father was trying to find a way 1217 01:05:31,362 --> 01:05:34,452 to connect with me in a different way, 1218 01:05:34,626 --> 01:05:36,497 and he thought, "Well, if I could meet Johnny Cash, 1219 01:05:36,671 --> 01:05:38,064 that would impress Franklin." 1220 01:05:38,238 --> 01:05:40,675 And so, I think it was '69 they met, 1221 01:05:40,849 --> 01:05:43,287 and had a dinner at Johnny Cash's home. 1222 01:05:43,461 --> 01:05:46,159 And I was impressed. [chuckles] 1223 01:05:46,333 --> 01:05:51,860 [Laurie] So what started as an attempt by Billy to help reach his son, 1224 01:05:52,035 --> 01:05:55,864 ended up in a deep and lasting friendship between Billy and Johnny. 1225 01:05:56,039 --> 01:05:58,563 [wild cheering] 1226 01:05:58,737 --> 01:06:02,175 [Graham] Johnny was at a place where he needed a person in his life 1227 01:06:02,349 --> 01:06:05,396 that would be like a mentor to him, spiritually. 1228 01:06:05,570 --> 01:06:07,702 My father felt very comfortable in Johnny's presence, 1229 01:06:07,876 --> 01:06:10,357 and Johnny felt very comfortable in my father's presence, 1230 01:06:10,531 --> 01:06:12,446 because both grew up on farms, 1231 01:06:13,491 --> 01:06:15,449 they both grew up poor. 1232 01:06:15,623 --> 01:06:18,713 And so, there was a lot in common. 1233 01:06:18,887 --> 01:06:23,501 They were both southern boys who grew up with respect for their elders 1234 01:06:23,675 --> 01:06:25,155 and listening to the same music. 1235 01:06:26,504 --> 01:06:27,984 [Graham] They called each other often, 1236 01:06:28,158 --> 01:06:30,160 they vacationed together, 1237 01:06:30,334 --> 01:06:31,813 studied scripture together. 1238 01:06:33,424 --> 01:06:37,384 They were very, very clo-- I mean, absolutely best friends, 1239 01:06:37,558 --> 01:06:42,085 because they found that they could really be real, 1240 01:06:42,259 --> 01:06:44,435 you know, where John didn't have to sing 1241 01:06:44,609 --> 01:06:46,306 and Billy didn't have to preach. 1242 01:06:48,178 --> 01:06:50,180 [interviewer] Does he ever preach to you? 1243 01:06:50,354 --> 01:06:53,618 [Cash] To me? No. We talk about life. 1244 01:06:53,792 --> 01:06:56,316 We talk about everything, whatever's happening. 1245 01:06:56,490 --> 01:06:59,798 He's always anxious to give me 1246 01:07:00,016 --> 01:07:01,887 any spiritual advice when I ask him. 1247 01:07:02,061 --> 01:07:06,587 But, no, he's not that kind of person. 1248 01:07:06,761 --> 01:07:10,287 A very human person, very humble. 1249 01:07:10,461 --> 01:07:12,898 Billy has been a great inspiration to me. 1250 01:07:13,116 --> 01:07:15,118 And his friendship has been something I've leaned on 1251 01:07:15,292 --> 01:07:17,946 from time to time over the years. 1252 01:07:18,121 --> 01:07:19,861 [Laurie] And in some ways, 1253 01:07:20,036 --> 01:07:24,257 Billy Graham was that brother that Johnny had lost. 1254 01:07:24,431 --> 01:07:26,259 Johnny could bare his heart to Billy, 1255 01:07:26,433 --> 01:07:28,435 he could ask questions of Billy. 1256 01:07:28,609 --> 01:07:31,438 Billy loved Johnny, was not judgmental of him, 1257 01:07:31,612 --> 01:07:34,311 and helped give him the spiritual guidance 1258 01:07:34,485 --> 01:07:37,662 that, had he lived, Jack might've given him. 1259 01:07:39,620 --> 01:07:41,927 [Joanne] Their friendship was very precious, 1260 01:07:42,101 --> 01:07:45,452 and it brought Johnny closer to the Lord. 1261 01:07:49,587 --> 01:07:51,676 [Laurie] Johnny once said to Billy, 1262 01:07:51,850 --> 01:07:54,026 "If there's anything I can ever do for you, just let me know." 1263 01:07:54,200 --> 01:07:57,247 Billy said, "Well, as a matter of fact, I have a Crusade coming up 1264 01:07:57,421 --> 01:08:00,032 and I was wondering if you would come and sing." 1265 01:08:00,206 --> 01:08:02,469 Johnny quickly agreed. 1266 01:08:02,643 --> 01:08:04,341 [Dr. Yates] That's just the way John was. 1267 01:08:04,515 --> 01:08:08,214 If he's your friend, he's your friend at all times. 1268 01:08:08,388 --> 01:08:10,956 He doesn't think about his career or anything else. 1269 01:08:11,130 --> 01:08:12,566 He just, "Oh, that's my friend. 1270 01:08:12,740 --> 01:08:15,221 He wants me to do this. I'm gonna do it." 1271 01:08:15,395 --> 01:08:17,441 [Joanne] It didn't matter to him what the music industry 1272 01:08:17,615 --> 01:08:20,096 thought about him being with Billy Graham, 1273 01:08:20,270 --> 01:08:23,360 because that was where Johnny's heart was, with the Gospel. 1274 01:08:23,534 --> 01:08:25,318 - [cheering] - And I'm proud and honored 1275 01:08:25,492 --> 01:08:28,582 and thrilled and flattered to present tonight 1276 01:08:28,756 --> 01:08:31,716 my very good and warm friend in Christ, 1277 01:08:31,890 --> 01:08:33,152 Johnny Cash. 1278 01:08:35,328 --> 01:08:36,982 [Cash] I spend a lot of my time 1279 01:08:37,156 --> 01:08:39,463 working with drug addicts and alcoholics. 1280 01:08:41,160 --> 01:08:44,294 And only someone who has had such a problem 1281 01:08:44,511 --> 01:08:46,470 can have complete love and compassion 1282 01:08:46,687 --> 01:08:48,428 and understanding for such people. 1283 01:08:48,646 --> 01:08:52,824 I love drug addicts. And I love alcoholics. 1284 01:08:53,041 --> 01:08:55,827 If some lost, lonely person somewhere out there 1285 01:08:56,001 --> 01:08:58,917 in a dirty bed and a dark room 1286 01:08:59,918 --> 01:09:02,921 can see the light of Jesus Christ in me, 1287 01:09:03,139 --> 01:09:04,488 then that is my reward. 1288 01:09:05,706 --> 01:09:08,056 [Graham] Johnny was there to help my father evangelize. 1289 01:09:08,231 --> 01:09:09,710 People came to hear my father, 1290 01:09:09,884 --> 01:09:11,930 but when they heard Johnny Cash was coming, 1291 01:09:12,104 --> 01:09:14,498 it gave them an opportunity to bring certain friends 1292 01:09:14,672 --> 01:09:16,891 that probably wouldn't come. 1293 01:09:17,065 --> 01:09:18,415 And it's the kind of people 1294 01:09:18,589 --> 01:09:20,721 that my father wanted to preach to. 1295 01:09:20,895 --> 01:09:22,680 It was almost eight years ago 1296 01:09:22,854 --> 01:09:26,379 that we renewed our total commitment to Jesus Christ. 1297 01:09:26,553 --> 01:09:28,686 And I just wanted to say, in case anybody had any doubt, 1298 01:09:28,860 --> 01:09:31,689 that I'm a Christian, and I'm awfully proud to say so. 1299 01:09:31,863 --> 01:09:33,560 [cheers and applause] 1300 01:09:34,735 --> 01:09:38,783 [Graham] Johnny came to 30 of my father's Crusades. 1301 01:09:38,957 --> 01:09:40,959 [soft music playing] 1302 01:09:43,048 --> 01:09:45,442 [John] I went to Billy, and I wanted to know more 1303 01:09:45,616 --> 01:09:47,966 about his friendship with Dad, what made it so special. 1304 01:09:48,140 --> 01:09:50,795 And he just said, "We were brothers in Christ. 1305 01:09:50,969 --> 01:09:52,971 We found something we believed in together." 1306 01:09:53,145 --> 01:09:56,235 And I will never forget that. It was such a simple summation. 1307 01:09:56,409 --> 01:09:58,498 But it really told the truth of their relationship. 1308 01:10:03,938 --> 01:10:07,464 [Stuart] J.R. didn't say, "I'm forsaking everything in the secular world." 1309 01:10:07,681 --> 01:10:11,555 The great evangelist Billy Graham told him not to do that. 1310 01:10:11,772 --> 01:10:16,168 Billy Graham said, "No. This is exactly where you need to be. 1311 01:10:16,342 --> 01:10:18,518 You need to speak to the world." 1312 01:10:20,694 --> 01:10:24,220 [Dr. Yates] He was just on fire for Jesus. 1313 01:10:24,394 --> 01:10:27,701 He wanted to do something for God that would last. 1314 01:10:27,875 --> 01:10:30,878 And you have to understand John, he wanted to do it right now. 1315 01:10:31,052 --> 01:10:32,576 That's just the way he was. 1316 01:10:33,664 --> 01:10:36,493 [Laurie] In 1977, John was ordained a minister. 1317 01:10:36,667 --> 01:10:38,582 [Dr. Hamon] And privileges appertaining thereto. 1318 01:10:38,756 --> 01:10:41,237 Thank you, Dr. Hamon. Thank you very much. 1319 01:10:41,411 --> 01:10:44,414 Think about this. The Reverend Johnny Cash. 1320 01:10:44,588 --> 01:10:46,111 That's what he was now. 1321 01:10:46,285 --> 01:10:49,636 He was an ordained minister of the Gospel. 1322 01:10:49,810 --> 01:10:53,249 That doesn't go with the image many people have of Cash. 1323 01:10:53,423 --> 01:10:56,339 And it's my privilege, as a Christian, to study the Word of God. 1324 01:10:56,513 --> 01:10:58,906 But I accept the degree as recognition of the fact 1325 01:10:59,080 --> 01:11:02,867 that I am in the Word of God and trying to grow in it. 1326 01:11:03,041 --> 01:11:04,782 [Laurie] You know, it's an interesting thing. 1327 01:11:04,956 --> 01:11:07,828 Johnny's brother, Jack, wanted to be a pastor, 1328 01:11:08,002 --> 01:11:09,613 and Johnny wanted to be a singer. 1329 01:11:09,787 --> 01:11:14,313 But now, Johnny Cash was realizing Jack's dream, 1330 01:11:14,487 --> 01:11:17,273 and he was both a preacher and a singer. 1331 01:11:17,447 --> 01:11:21,102 It was not a renunciation of his career, 1332 01:11:21,277 --> 01:11:26,717 but certainly, the focus distracted him from his commercial career. 1333 01:11:26,891 --> 01:11:28,545 It was a price that he was willing to pay. 1334 01:11:28,719 --> 01:11:31,112 I am a professional entertainer. That's what I am. 1335 01:11:31,287 --> 01:11:33,680 If I have a calling, that's what it is. 1336 01:11:33,854 --> 01:11:35,856 But I'm called to be a Christian entertainer, 1337 01:11:36,030 --> 01:11:37,510 to be a Christian before the world. 1338 01:11:37,684 --> 01:11:40,208 You see, entertaining is communicating, 1339 01:11:40,383 --> 01:11:43,299 just like a preacher's job is to communicate. 1340 01:11:43,473 --> 01:11:46,040 But I communicate through the spirit of the song, 1341 01:11:46,214 --> 01:11:49,261 the meaning of the songs, the words. 1342 01:11:49,435 --> 01:11:51,437 [Stuart] In the late '70s and the '80s, 1343 01:11:51,611 --> 01:11:53,918 you would think John R. Cash is at the top of the world. 1344 01:11:54,092 --> 01:11:55,746 He should've been. 1345 01:11:56,050 --> 01:11:58,052 He gets inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 1346 01:11:58,226 --> 01:12:00,446 Ladies and gentlemen, the Country Music Hall of Fame 1347 01:12:00,620 --> 01:12:02,666 - welcomes Mr. Johnny Cash. - [applause] 1348 01:12:07,497 --> 01:12:09,890 I'd like to say to all the new entertainers 1349 01:12:10,108 --> 01:12:12,197 that are coming on the scene, to the young artists, the singers, 1350 01:12:12,415 --> 01:12:14,547 do it your way. 1351 01:12:14,765 --> 01:12:16,593 Don't let yourself get caught in a bag. 1352 01:12:16,810 --> 01:12:19,422 And I'd like to also say this to all the new artists, 1353 01:12:19,639 --> 01:12:22,686 that, if you're concerned about competition, 1354 01:12:22,903 --> 01:12:24,644 don't write me off yet, 1355 01:12:24,862 --> 01:12:26,864 because my dad, Ray Cash, is sitting here tonight. 1356 01:12:27,038 --> 01:12:30,346 He's 83 years old, and if God lets me live that long, 1357 01:12:30,563 --> 01:12:33,697 that's 35 more years that I'm gonna be out there singing country songs. 1358 01:12:33,871 --> 01:12:35,263 - [audience laughing] - [static] 1359 01:12:39,311 --> 01:12:43,315 [Stielper] During that time, Ray is getting sick. 1360 01:12:43,489 --> 01:12:46,536 He is having to come to terms 1361 01:12:46,710 --> 01:12:48,146 with that relationship. 1362 01:12:49,626 --> 01:12:53,151 [Laurie] Johnny always wanted the approval of his father, Ray. 1363 01:12:53,325 --> 01:12:55,719 So when Johnny began to be successful, 1364 01:12:55,893 --> 01:12:58,374 he took his mom and his dad. 1365 01:12:58,548 --> 01:13:02,639 He took them to the White House when he was invited by President Nixon. 1366 01:13:02,813 --> 01:13:06,382 Johnny was always trying to impress his father. 1367 01:13:06,556 --> 01:13:10,124 And he said, "My father never told me he loved me." 1368 01:13:10,298 --> 01:13:12,388 - [Cash] There. You gonna find-- - [laughter] 1369 01:13:12,562 --> 01:13:14,520 [Stielper] During the time that Ray was dying, 1370 01:13:14,694 --> 01:13:17,784 that was a very difficult time. 1371 01:13:18,002 --> 01:13:22,659 And you listen to Rainbow, the last Columbia Record, 1372 01:13:22,833 --> 01:13:24,922 he sounds tired. 1373 01:13:25,096 --> 01:13:27,707 There's no other word to say that he was tired. 1374 01:13:29,274 --> 01:13:31,319 [Stuart] He's gone from constant chart-topping hits 1375 01:13:31,494 --> 01:13:34,279 to nothing on the charts in just a few short years. 1376 01:13:34,453 --> 01:13:36,499 That's a strange place 1377 01:13:36,673 --> 01:13:39,632 for one of the biggest-selling artists in the world to be. 1378 01:13:39,806 --> 01:13:42,548 Johnny was on top for such a long time. 1379 01:13:42,722 --> 01:13:45,595 And then, one day, 1380 01:13:45,769 --> 01:13:47,945 Columbia Records dropped him. 1381 01:13:50,817 --> 01:13:52,776 [Stielper] It was devastating. 1382 01:13:52,950 --> 01:13:56,170 He felt betrayed and lost. 1383 01:13:57,476 --> 01:14:00,653 You're like a train going forward, you know, 1384 01:14:00,827 --> 01:14:02,742 and now you have no track? 1385 01:14:02,960 --> 01:14:06,137 [Stuart] The label he had been with for 28 years, 1386 01:14:06,311 --> 01:14:08,835 and whose doors he kept open, was saying, 1387 01:14:09,053 --> 01:14:12,535 "We don't want you anymore. You're not needed." 1388 01:14:12,752 --> 01:14:16,234 He suffered for his faith. He didn't have to. 1389 01:14:16,452 --> 01:14:18,671 He could've kept that to himself. 1390 01:14:18,889 --> 01:14:21,935 He did it because he thought that that's what people needed, 1391 01:14:22,109 --> 01:14:25,286 to hear from somebody who had lived a life like he had, 1392 01:14:25,461 --> 01:14:28,638 a life of confusion, a life of trouble. 1393 01:14:28,812 --> 01:14:31,989 [Stielper] He was very disappointed and lost for a while there. 1394 01:14:32,163 --> 01:14:34,731 The critics had kind of turned away from him. 1395 01:14:34,905 --> 01:14:37,298 He was not happy with that position. 1396 01:14:38,648 --> 01:14:41,041 The crowds at his shows are shrinking. 1397 01:14:41,215 --> 01:14:44,218 Radio air play is virtually non-existent. 1398 01:14:44,392 --> 01:14:50,529 [Stielper] It was a humiliating experience auditioning for 25 year olds 1399 01:14:50,703 --> 01:14:53,706 when he had already been 1400 01:14:53,880 --> 01:14:56,927 in the Country Music Hall of Fame for six years. 1401 01:14:58,537 --> 01:15:03,455 And that left John kind of back to where he was with those producers 1402 01:15:03,629 --> 01:15:07,633 who didn't know him and didn't get him and didn't want to. 1403 01:15:07,807 --> 01:15:09,592 And just wanted product 1404 01:15:09,766 --> 01:15:13,421 and "let's just get the next Johnny Cash record out." 1405 01:15:13,596 --> 01:15:17,600 And he stopped caring and going into the studio, 1406 01:15:17,774 --> 01:15:19,863 and he had nothing to say anymore. 1407 01:15:20,211 --> 01:15:23,562 They didn't wanna listen to him, and he didn't wanna tell them anything. 1408 01:15:23,736 --> 01:15:25,695 [Joanne] He thought his career was over. 1409 01:15:29,829 --> 01:15:33,441 [Stuart] While he was doing one of his regular shows in Southern California, 1410 01:15:33,616 --> 01:15:37,010 this character with a big beard came backstage, 1411 01:15:37,228 --> 01:15:39,230 and the man's name was Rick Rubin. 1412 01:15:39,404 --> 01:15:42,189 And that was the beginning. 1413 01:15:43,277 --> 01:15:45,584 [Cash] I got hungry to be back in the studio, 1414 01:15:45,802 --> 01:15:49,196 to be creative, to put something down for the fans to hear. 1415 01:15:49,414 --> 01:15:51,895 And about that time that I got to feeling that way, 1416 01:15:52,069 --> 01:15:55,942 my manager came to me and talked to me about a man called Rick Rubin. 1417 01:15:56,116 --> 01:15:59,380 [John] Rick came back after the show and said basically to my father, 1418 01:15:59,555 --> 01:16:03,167 "I wanna make the music with you that you've always dreamed of making. 1419 01:16:03,341 --> 01:16:05,256 Let's focus on you. 1420 01:16:05,604 --> 01:16:08,215 Let's make this album the most beautiful music you've ever made." 1421 01:16:08,389 --> 01:16:10,348 [Cash] When I said, "What're you gonna do with me 1422 01:16:10,522 --> 01:16:13,786 that nobody else has been able to do to sell records with me?" 1423 01:16:13,960 --> 01:16:16,441 And he said, "Well, I don't know that we will sell records." 1424 01:16:16,615 --> 01:16:19,313 He said, "I would like you to go with me 1425 01:16:19,487 --> 01:16:24,928 and sit in my living room with a guitar and two microphones, 1426 01:16:25,102 --> 01:16:26,712 and just sing to your heart's content 1427 01:16:26,930 --> 01:16:29,106 everything you ever wanted to record." 1428 01:16:30,847 --> 01:16:33,197 I said, "That sounds good to me." 1429 01:16:33,371 --> 01:16:37,418 [Stuart] The next ten years, from 1993 to 2003, 1430 01:16:37,593 --> 01:16:41,553 by some, was claimed the Second Coming, some, the Third Coming, 1431 01:16:41,727 --> 01:16:45,209 some said it was the Fourth Coming with Johnny Cash. 1432 01:16:45,383 --> 01:16:47,428 [John] He went into the studio with Rick Rubin 1433 01:16:47,603 --> 01:16:49,126 and the first American Recordingsalbum 1434 01:16:49,300 --> 01:16:50,780 was just my father with his guitar. 1435 01:16:50,954 --> 01:16:52,477 Johnny Cash was that good. 1436 01:16:52,651 --> 01:16:54,479 He could just sit down with a guitar and sing, 1437 01:16:54,653 --> 01:16:56,829 and it was powerful. 1438 01:16:57,003 --> 01:17:00,485 [John] You can hear the intimate story of the song. 1439 01:17:00,659 --> 01:17:03,140 You can hear the beauty of my father's voice. 1440 01:17:05,011 --> 01:17:07,448 [Cash] And if I didn't like the performance on that song, 1441 01:17:07,623 --> 01:17:10,713 I would keep trying it until it felt... 1442 01:17:10,887 --> 01:17:13,759 that it was coming out of me and my guitar and my voice as one, 1443 01:17:13,977 --> 01:17:16,283 that it was right for my soul. 1444 01:17:18,024 --> 01:17:20,810 [Stuart] Under the guidance of Rick Rubin, 1445 01:17:21,027 --> 01:17:24,030 Johnny Cash took it all the way back to the sound that he had in the beginning. 1446 01:17:24,204 --> 01:17:27,686 Just the man and song and guitar. Authentic. 1447 01:17:27,860 --> 01:17:31,559 That authenticity spoke to an entirely different generation of people 1448 01:17:31,777 --> 01:17:34,171 who had never heard of Johnny Cash before. 1449 01:17:34,388 --> 01:17:37,827 It also spoke to a generation of Johnny Cash followers 1450 01:17:38,001 --> 01:17:42,614 who longed to see him ride the top of the sunrise one more time. 1451 01:17:47,445 --> 01:17:51,405 But while everyone was looking at John, June slipped away. 1452 01:17:54,104 --> 01:17:57,498 [Joanne] June went through a heart valve replacement surgery, 1453 01:17:57,673 --> 01:18:02,939 but the next night, it, uh, it fails. 1454 01:18:04,984 --> 01:18:07,204 It was hard. It was real hard for John. 1455 01:18:10,642 --> 01:18:14,907 As you get older, you lose so many friends. 1456 01:18:16,430 --> 01:18:18,215 And every time you lose a friend, 1457 01:18:18,389 --> 01:18:22,828 you feel a little piece of your own life has been lost. 1458 01:18:23,002 --> 01:18:25,788 [John] And when my mother passed away, Dad came to me and he said, 1459 01:18:25,962 --> 01:18:30,531 "You know, I was more in love with your mom than I ever had been." 1460 01:18:30,749 --> 01:18:33,099 [Stuart] When people would come in to try to comfort him, 1461 01:18:33,317 --> 01:18:37,190 he was comforting them even more. 1462 01:18:37,364 --> 01:18:39,715 He understood the race had been run well, 1463 01:18:39,932 --> 01:18:42,239 and that she was in a better place. 1464 01:18:42,413 --> 01:18:44,241 He was still teaching us about life 1465 01:18:44,415 --> 01:18:47,157 up until the very last day he was on this Earth. 1466 01:18:50,464 --> 01:18:52,858 - [Larry King] Are you bitter? - Bitter? 1467 01:18:53,032 --> 01:18:54,555 - Yeah. Angry? - No. 1468 01:18:54,730 --> 01:18:56,470 You know, you're a young guy. You're only 70. 1469 01:18:56,644 --> 01:18:59,125 No, I'm not bitter. Why should I be bitter? 1470 01:18:59,299 --> 01:19:01,432 I'm thrilled to death with life. 1471 01:19:01,606 --> 01:19:03,390 - So you have no regrets? - No regrets. 1472 01:19:03,564 --> 01:19:05,828 And no anger at, "Why did God do this to me?" 1473 01:19:06,002 --> 01:19:07,873 Oh, no. No. 1474 01:19:08,047 --> 01:19:11,007 I'm the last one that would be angry at God. 1475 01:19:11,181 --> 01:19:13,400 He was steadfast in that. 1476 01:19:13,574 --> 01:19:15,228 He did not waver in that. 1477 01:19:15,402 --> 01:19:20,364 He took what God wanted him to bear, and he did. 1478 01:19:20,538 --> 01:19:24,150 [Cash] I have unshakable faith. I've never been angry with God. 1479 01:19:24,324 --> 01:19:26,979 I've never turned my back on God, so to speak. 1480 01:19:27,153 --> 01:19:29,547 I never thought that God wasn't there. 1481 01:19:29,765 --> 01:19:33,377 See, He's my counselor. He's my wisdom. 1482 01:19:33,551 --> 01:19:36,162 Only good things in my life come from Him. 1483 01:19:36,336 --> 01:19:38,034 - Looking back at all that you've done... - Ahem. 1484 01:19:38,208 --> 01:19:40,079 ...do you have any regrets about what you've done? 1485 01:19:40,253 --> 01:19:42,952 I used to, but I forgave myself. 1486 01:19:43,126 --> 01:19:45,215 When God forgave me, I figured I'd better do it, too. 1487 01:19:45,389 --> 01:19:47,739 Where do you think we go, afterwards? 1488 01:19:47,913 --> 01:19:49,915 Where do we go? 1489 01:19:50,089 --> 01:19:51,830 - When we die, you mean? - Yeah. 1490 01:19:52,004 --> 01:19:53,919 Oh. 1491 01:19:54,093 --> 01:19:56,095 Well, we all hope to go to Heaven. 1492 01:19:58,271 --> 01:20:00,665 I ask him, I said, "You mad at anybody?" 1493 01:20:00,839 --> 01:20:03,146 He said, "I'm not mad at anybody." 1494 01:20:03,320 --> 01:20:05,235 And I said, "Do you got any forgiveness 1495 01:20:05,409 --> 01:20:07,193 you've not yet been able to do with anybody?" 1496 01:20:07,367 --> 01:20:10,457 He says, "No. I've forgiven everybody 1497 01:20:10,631 --> 01:20:13,896 and I hope everybody's forgiven me that thought that I should." 1498 01:20:14,070 --> 01:20:16,550 Everything inside me felt peaceful 1499 01:20:16,724 --> 01:20:20,380 after that conversation, that he settled up. 1500 01:20:20,554 --> 01:20:22,034 He was in good standing. 1501 01:20:24,341 --> 01:20:28,171 [Stuart] The final triumph for him was the masterpiece called "Hurt". 1502 01:20:31,652 --> 01:20:33,741 That was a big moment. 1503 01:20:34,090 --> 01:20:36,048 I think what was shocking for a lot of people was how frail Johnny was, 1504 01:20:36,222 --> 01:20:40,139 but at the same time, how he still maintained 1505 01:20:40,313 --> 01:20:44,013 that strength that we knew him for. 1506 01:20:44,187 --> 01:20:46,145 But more than that, what struck me 1507 01:20:46,319 --> 01:20:50,628 was the bravery that he was willing to let it all hang out. 1508 01:20:53,413 --> 01:20:55,415 [intro to "Hurt" plays] 1509 01:20:57,678 --> 01:21:02,118 ♪ I hurt myself today ♪ 1510 01:21:03,206 --> 01:21:07,340 ♪ To see if I still feel ♪ 1511 01:21:09,125 --> 01:21:11,431 When he was recording, I say, "You sure you wanna do this?" 1512 01:21:11,605 --> 01:21:13,651 I said, "It's heavy. It's dark." 1513 01:21:13,825 --> 01:21:16,262 You know? He said, "It's real." 1514 01:21:16,436 --> 01:21:19,483 It just was true. It was true. 1515 01:21:20,701 --> 01:21:23,008 He was wearing his humanity on his sleeve 1516 01:21:23,182 --> 01:21:24,314 for everyone to see. 1517 01:21:25,663 --> 01:21:28,318 That's where art is at its most impactful, 1518 01:21:28,492 --> 01:21:30,407 is when it strikes someone 1519 01:21:30,581 --> 01:21:32,148 and they have to ingest it, 1520 01:21:32,322 --> 01:21:35,673 digest it enough to understand 1521 01:21:35,847 --> 01:21:38,197 "how does this make me feel?" and "where am I in this"? 1522 01:21:40,417 --> 01:21:42,680 [John] Dad was excited. He was just like a kid. 1523 01:21:42,854 --> 01:21:45,639 He was just like, "Man, this is great! It's gonna be a big hit! 1524 01:21:45,813 --> 01:21:47,119 Everybody's gonna love it!" 1525 01:21:48,425 --> 01:21:52,255 The guy was as willing to show up real as it gets. 1526 01:21:52,429 --> 01:21:54,692 [McGraw] To expose himself that way, 1527 01:21:54,866 --> 01:21:57,260 at the age that he was, and after the career that he's had, 1528 01:21:57,434 --> 01:22:00,132 it was just all things at once. 1529 01:22:01,525 --> 01:22:04,310 ♪ And you could have it all ♪ 1530 01:22:06,486 --> 01:22:10,447 ♪ My empire of dirt ♪ 1531 01:22:12,275 --> 01:22:16,105 This is so honest that it's devastatingly beautiful. 1532 01:22:16,279 --> 01:22:18,759 [McGraw] I mean, it makes you emotional just thinking about it. 1533 01:22:18,934 --> 01:22:20,587 Every artist wish they could have 1534 01:22:20,761 --> 01:22:22,459 sort of a swan song like that. 1535 01:22:22,633 --> 01:22:24,809 [John] But we have to realize something. 1536 01:22:24,983 --> 01:22:27,420 He didn't necessarily see it as a swan song. 1537 01:22:27,594 --> 01:22:31,120 He saw it as just an accurate statement about his life 1538 01:22:31,294 --> 01:22:32,817 and who he was and where he'd been. 1539 01:22:33,035 --> 01:22:35,733 ♪ I would keep myself ♪ 1540 01:22:38,301 --> 01:22:42,609 ♪ I would find a way. ♪ 1541 01:22:42,783 --> 01:22:45,786 [soft music playing] 1542 01:22:47,919 --> 01:22:49,834 [birds singing] 1543 01:22:50,269 --> 01:22:52,184 [Stielper] He was always the realist. He was always the artist. 1544 01:22:52,358 --> 01:22:56,319 He always wanted truth, all the way until the end. 1545 01:22:59,148 --> 01:23:01,367 [Joanne] Johnny asked me what I thought about the song. 1546 01:23:01,541 --> 01:23:04,501 I said, "I think it's the greatest song in your whole career, 1547 01:23:04,675 --> 01:23:06,633 because you poured out your life. 1548 01:23:06,807 --> 01:23:10,333 The good, the bad, and the ugly." 1549 01:23:12,291 --> 01:23:16,556 [Allen] In an unusual way, "Hurt" was a gospel song, too, 1550 01:23:16,730 --> 01:23:19,559 because it set up what he wanted to say, 1551 01:23:19,733 --> 01:23:21,779 the way he looked at things. 1552 01:23:22,910 --> 01:23:26,001 [Schneider] I think there was something in Johnny's mind that said, 1553 01:23:26,175 --> 01:23:29,526 "I have to leave people with a thought." 1554 01:23:29,700 --> 01:23:31,397 It makes perfect sense 1555 01:23:31,571 --> 01:23:35,358 that that was the last song we remember Johnny for. 1556 01:23:37,534 --> 01:23:41,494 [Joanne] He grew old full of grace and full of strength, spiritually, 1557 01:23:41,668 --> 01:23:44,976 which kept him as long as it did physically. 1558 01:23:49,198 --> 01:23:52,940 [Stuart] But "Hurt" was kind of, I suppose, the beginning of the end. 1559 01:23:53,115 --> 01:23:55,073 Didn't wanna admit it, 1560 01:23:55,291 --> 01:23:57,815 but I saw that light fading in his eyes a little bit. 1561 01:23:58,033 --> 01:23:59,251 He was getting tired. 1562 01:24:00,948 --> 01:24:02,776 [Stielper] Family would come and visit 1563 01:24:02,950 --> 01:24:07,738 and those visits, they had an air of finality to them. 1564 01:24:07,912 --> 01:24:11,176 He does not expect that he's going to live. 1565 01:24:18,792 --> 01:24:23,014 He called me over to his house one day, just close to the end. 1566 01:24:23,188 --> 01:24:25,451 And he said, "Baby, sit down. I gotta talk to you." 1567 01:24:25,625 --> 01:24:28,019 And when he said that, I knew it was serious. 1568 01:24:28,193 --> 01:24:30,630 He said, "I wanna ask you a question." 1569 01:24:30,804 --> 01:24:33,459 He said, "If you walked on the shores of Galilee 1570 01:24:33,633 --> 01:24:36,941 and you looked up and you saw Jesus walking toward you, 1571 01:24:37,115 --> 01:24:40,336 and you knew He was gonna say just one thing to you, 1572 01:24:40,510 --> 01:24:43,295 what do you think He'd say?" 1573 01:24:43,469 --> 01:24:46,994 Well, chills went all over me. I didn't know how to answer it. 1574 01:24:47,169 --> 01:24:48,648 I said, "Well, I would hope He'd say 1575 01:24:48,822 --> 01:24:50,476 I'm doing what He called me to do, 1576 01:24:50,650 --> 01:24:52,435 and that He's pleased with that." 1577 01:24:52,609 --> 01:24:55,046 And Johnny looked at me and he said, 1578 01:24:55,220 --> 01:24:58,267 "He would say to you, 'Feed my sheep.'" 1579 01:24:58,441 --> 01:25:00,225 I said, "Yeah, He would. 1580 01:25:00,399 --> 01:25:02,619 What do you think He would say to you?" 1581 01:25:02,793 --> 01:25:06,013 And he said, "Oh baby, that's easy." 1582 01:25:06,188 --> 01:25:09,234 He had tears rolling down his face and he said, 1583 01:25:09,408 --> 01:25:12,107 "Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy-laden 1584 01:25:12,281 --> 01:25:15,545 and I'll give you rest, for my yoke is easy 1585 01:25:15,719 --> 01:25:17,242 and my burden is light." 1586 01:25:19,244 --> 01:25:22,508 Johnny had many burdens that he carried throughout his life. 1587 01:25:22,682 --> 01:25:27,644 There's the burden of losing his brother Jack in a tragic accident, 1588 01:25:27,818 --> 01:25:31,126 the burden of the failure of his first marriage, 1589 01:25:31,300 --> 01:25:35,260 the burden of the bad decisions he had made throughout his life and his career, 1590 01:25:35,434 --> 01:25:36,870 and the people that he had hurt. 1591 01:25:37,044 --> 01:25:39,743 But here's Jesus saying, "Come to me," 1592 01:25:39,917 --> 01:25:41,527 and as another translation puts it, 1593 01:25:41,701 --> 01:25:44,400 "I will refresh you with rest." 1594 01:25:44,574 --> 01:25:47,098 [Joanne] Johnny was telling me, "I'm going home. 1595 01:25:47,272 --> 01:25:49,492 You do what God calls you to do. 1596 01:25:49,666 --> 01:25:52,364 I'm going home. It's okay." 1597 01:25:54,671 --> 01:25:56,673 [Stuart] I went over to his house 1598 01:25:56,847 --> 01:25:59,284 and I was about to go on the road, 1599 01:25:59,458 --> 01:26:02,983 and I just wanted to go check in on him, hug his neck, tell him I love him. 1600 01:26:03,158 --> 01:26:06,073 And I had recorded a song of his called "The Walls of a Prison" 1601 01:26:06,248 --> 01:26:07,945 that I wanted to play for him. 1602 01:26:08,119 --> 01:26:11,470 And so, I played it for him and I sat at his feet. 1603 01:26:11,644 --> 01:26:14,343 He put his hand on me and said, "Excellent, son." 1604 01:26:14,517 --> 01:26:16,910 He said, "You got it." 1605 01:26:17,084 --> 01:26:18,956 I knew he didn't wanna hang out too long, 1606 01:26:19,130 --> 01:26:20,958 so we talked a minute, and before I left the room, 1607 01:26:21,132 --> 01:26:22,960 he said, "Is there anything in this room you want?" 1608 01:26:23,134 --> 01:26:25,963 I said, "Just your love." He said, "You got that." 1609 01:26:26,137 --> 01:26:27,834 And as I was about to leave, 1610 01:26:28,095 --> 01:26:31,447 he was sitting in his wheelchair with his back to the window 1611 01:26:31,621 --> 01:26:34,450 and the late afternoon light was coming in. 1612 01:26:34,624 --> 01:26:36,191 And I had my camera all in my bag. 1613 01:26:36,365 --> 01:26:40,107 And I said, "J.R., let me take your picture." 1614 01:26:40,282 --> 01:26:42,197 And there was, like, four frames, 1615 01:26:42,632 --> 01:26:45,243 and the first three he just kinda looked like this. I said, "J.R." 1616 01:26:45,417 --> 01:26:47,941 He reared up and he looked like an old president. 1617 01:26:48,115 --> 01:26:50,117 - [shutter clicks] - And when I got the negatives back, 1618 01:26:50,292 --> 01:26:51,641 I went, "There's the picture." 1619 01:26:54,774 --> 01:26:56,950 Before I left the room, I said, "How's your spirit?" 1620 01:26:57,124 --> 01:26:59,388 He said, "Good." I said, "You got plenty of rope left?" 1621 01:26:59,562 --> 01:27:01,825 He said, "I got plenty of rope." I said, "All right. 1622 01:27:01,999 --> 01:27:04,436 I'll be home in 10 days," whatever it was. 1623 01:27:04,610 --> 01:27:08,571 I didn't think it would come while I was gone on that trip. But it did. 1624 01:27:11,226 --> 01:27:14,011 [news announcer] It's the death of a legend, our top story this half hour. 1625 01:27:14,229 --> 01:27:15,708 Johnny Cash is gone. 1626 01:27:15,926 --> 01:27:17,232 The country music world is saying goodbye 1627 01:27:17,406 --> 01:27:19,799 to the legendary Man in Black. 1628 01:27:19,973 --> 01:27:23,194 [Stuart] I was on the way home from a concert on the East Coast. 1629 01:27:23,368 --> 01:27:25,283 And at three in the morning, 1630 01:27:25,501 --> 01:27:28,199 somebody pulled the curtain back in the bus and said, 1631 01:27:28,373 --> 01:27:29,896 "Johnny Cash died." 1632 01:27:30,070 --> 01:27:31,028 [thud] 1633 01:27:32,943 --> 01:27:35,337 I cried and cried and cried, 1634 01:27:35,511 --> 01:27:37,948 I felt the cutting of the pain, 1635 01:27:38,122 --> 01:27:40,994 and then I quietly said goodbye, 1636 01:27:41,212 --> 01:27:43,083 "so long, in Jesus' name. 1637 01:27:43,301 --> 01:27:47,697 Dark bird, watch you fly 1638 01:27:47,914 --> 01:27:51,657 Dark bird, to another sky 1639 01:27:51,875 --> 01:27:56,706 And I'll bet you were a sight, when you hit that cloud of love 1640 01:27:56,880 --> 01:27:59,012 And flew out the other side 1641 01:27:59,230 --> 01:28:00,797 In the form of a dove 1642 01:28:02,059 --> 01:28:03,452 Dark bird." 1643 01:28:05,845 --> 01:28:08,195 [Joanne] I know we'll see him again. I know we'll see him again. 1644 01:28:08,370 --> 01:28:10,459 And that's my blessed hope. 1645 01:28:10,633 --> 01:28:14,071 That was a hard time. It's hard. 1646 01:28:14,245 --> 01:28:16,116 I can live in a world without "Johnny Cash," 1647 01:28:16,291 --> 01:28:17,553 but I miss my brother. 1648 01:28:19,032 --> 01:28:20,425 I sure do miss him. 1649 01:28:23,428 --> 01:28:28,651 [Laurie] On his tombstone, Johnny Cash had Psalm 19:14 written down, 1650 01:28:28,825 --> 01:28:31,218 which says, "Let the words of my mouth 1651 01:28:31,393 --> 01:28:33,830 and the meditation of my heart 1652 01:28:34,004 --> 01:28:38,138 be acceptable in your sight, O Lord." 1653 01:28:38,313 --> 01:28:41,185 You know, David, in his Psalms, would write about his doubts, 1654 01:28:41,359 --> 01:28:44,493 his struggles, the challenges that he faced, 1655 01:28:44,667 --> 01:28:46,103 and he would cry out to God. 1656 01:28:46,277 --> 01:28:48,018 Well, Johnny wrote about those things, too. 1657 01:28:48,192 --> 01:28:51,543 He sang about trains and murder and betrayal. 1658 01:28:51,717 --> 01:28:55,199 But he also sang about faith, hope, and redemption. 1659 01:28:56,853 --> 01:29:00,813 To me, Johnny Cash is the face of Redemption. 1660 01:29:02,206 --> 01:29:05,383 All of us who are believers, have sinned, 1661 01:29:05,557 --> 01:29:09,082 we've all needed that redemption. I know I have. 1662 01:29:09,256 --> 01:29:11,084 He showed us the way to go. 1663 01:29:11,258 --> 01:29:12,869 He gave us an example. 1664 01:29:13,913 --> 01:29:15,698 [John] Even though my father didn't necessarily 1665 01:29:15,872 --> 01:29:20,050 always live every step correctly and true, 1666 01:29:20,224 --> 01:29:23,532 he knew the truth, he believed the truth, 1667 01:29:23,706 --> 01:29:25,534 and he could speak the truth. 1668 01:29:25,708 --> 01:29:27,536 [Allen] And just because you have faith 1669 01:29:27,710 --> 01:29:29,581 doesn't mean you always make the right decision. 1670 01:29:29,755 --> 01:29:33,803 But what it does guarantee is, you'll have that foundation, 1671 01:29:33,977 --> 01:29:36,980 something that, when you do fall, something that will catch you. 1672 01:29:37,154 --> 01:29:39,504 And it's easy to point to someone like a Johnny Cash, 1673 01:29:39,678 --> 01:29:41,811 and say, "Oh, that guy took drugs." 1674 01:29:41,985 --> 01:29:44,814 Well, we all screw up, every last one of us. 1675 01:29:44,988 --> 01:29:48,470 But God gave him the strength, God gave him the grace, 1676 01:29:48,644 --> 01:29:51,429 and good people around him to encourage him. 1677 01:29:53,300 --> 01:29:55,259 [Stuart] He tried, to his last breath 1678 01:29:55,433 --> 01:29:57,435 to live right and do the right thing. 1679 01:29:57,653 --> 01:29:59,829 But he was a human being along the way. 1680 01:30:01,613 --> 01:30:05,138 [Shane] Johnny's story is-- If that's not proof that there is hope, 1681 01:30:05,312 --> 01:30:08,185 then I don't know where else we can find it. 1682 01:30:08,359 --> 01:30:10,535 [cheers and whistling] 1683 01:30:10,883 --> 01:30:13,538 [John] The strength to get up and keep going, it took more than energy. 1684 01:30:13,712 --> 01:30:16,367 He didn't have any energy. It was faith. 1685 01:30:17,977 --> 01:30:21,067 [Joanne] I have had many people come to me saying, 1686 01:30:21,241 --> 01:30:23,809 "I'm born-again because of Johnny Cash, 1687 01:30:23,983 --> 01:30:27,596 because of his life and his stand for Christ." 1688 01:30:27,770 --> 01:30:30,033 He gave them something to believe in, 1689 01:30:30,207 --> 01:30:33,819 hope that there's a better way. 1690 01:30:33,993 --> 01:30:37,649 I don't think that you can find a musician over the last 50 years 1691 01:30:37,823 --> 01:30:42,393 that hasn't been influenced in some way by Johnny Cash. 1692 01:30:42,611 --> 01:30:45,527 [Laurie] The Bibletells us that the Christian life is like a race. 1693 01:30:45,701 --> 01:30:48,094 There were some stumbles and falls, 1694 01:30:48,268 --> 01:30:51,271 but the key is, he ran his race to the end, 1695 01:30:51,446 --> 01:30:53,491 and he finished well. 1696 01:30:54,492 --> 01:30:55,885 That's what I love about Johnny Cash, 1697 01:30:56,059 --> 01:30:58,931 is the fact that he's willing to say, 1698 01:30:59,105 --> 01:31:01,412 "You know, I'm just a guy." 1699 01:31:04,981 --> 01:31:07,026 [Scott] I think a lot of people are realizing 1700 01:31:07,200 --> 01:31:10,029 what a great man he was and what a good man he was, 1701 01:31:10,203 --> 01:31:12,771 and that he was a Christian throughout it all. 1702 01:31:14,599 --> 01:31:17,428 [John] He would want people to see his story 1703 01:31:17,602 --> 01:31:19,430 and find a way to strengthen their own life, 1704 01:31:19,604 --> 01:31:21,519 to show love. 1705 01:31:22,520 --> 01:31:25,523 [uplifting music playing] 1706 01:31:39,189 --> 01:31:41,104 [Stuart] He was a man after God's heart, 1707 01:31:41,278 --> 01:31:45,456 and that's who John R. Cash from Arkansas was. 1708 01:31:52,724 --> 01:31:55,727 [instrumental music playing]