‘Our parents’ loving gift lives on’
With a new recording of Johnny Cash songs just released, we caught up with the son and stepdaughter of the iconic country music star
t the very start of her own musical career, Carlene Carter’s mother June had a piece of professional advice for her teenage daughter. “You sound pretty good; people are probably going to like you but you need to write songs. If you can just write one simple song like I did…” she urged her, lovingly.
The punchline to the story, that still makes Carlene laugh as she repeats it half a century on, is that the ‘simple song’ June Carter was referring to was Ring of Fire, immortalised by her husband (Carlene’s stepfather) Johnny Cash!
Yet Carlene, who’s now a 65-yearold grandma with numerous songwriting and album successes under her belt, admits: “I never looked at that as the bar I had to reach. They were just my folks and they were amazing.”
The legendary musicians, who died within months of each other in 2003, are no longer on hand to offer advice, but both Carlene and her brother John feel they are close by.
“I think my mum is with me a lot. I hear her in my dreams and I sing along with her on tapes. To still hear her is an amazing gift,” says Carlene, who inherited her parents’ strong Christian faith.
It’s the same way that her
ACarlene: “I think they’d say take care of each other. If everyone could be kind and treat each other as brother and sister, we would get through all of this a lot quicker and a lot easier.”
Endless love: Johnny and June in 1975
Left: Johnny and June in 1976 with (left to right) John, Rosanne and Carlene. Right: Johnny in 1970
musician brother, John Carter Cash, feels, too.
“My parents are gone but in a way I’m in contact with them every day,” says John. “Here we are talking about them. They are part of my life and
I see them in my children’s eyes. In many ways my personality is a lot like my father’s as is my stature, the way I walk. Not the way I sing though!” he insists.
Just recently, John (50) has been producing a new album of 12 archetypal Cash tracks including Ring of Fire and The Loving Gift sung with June. All have been backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
For John, that has a particularly poignant meaning.
“My father did love orchestral music and in particular he loved the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. When I heard about this project I recalled him taking me to the screening of Goldfinger. When the music began he leaned over to me and said: ‘That’s the best orchestra in the world son’.”
So does he think he’d be proud of the end result achieved with his help at the famous Abbey Road studios? “I do; I truly do. I feel almost certainly he would be very excited,” he adds.
Carlene goes a step further: “I think they guided things a little bit from
John: “‘Choose love!’ My dad said that all the time. One of his famous quotes is, ‘You can choose love or you can choose hate and today I choose love.’
“With everyone we meet their side of the universe. I think they had a hand in it from the beginning.”
Although both are keen to point out that as much as they clearly adore their parents, who were renowned for their kindness and humility, they were not perfect. Nor was their relationship. Johnny’s battle with drug and alcohol addictions is well documented and June herself had something of a shopping addiction.
“My mum used to like shopping a lot.
‘My parents had a way of treating the grocery store clerk the same way as they did the President of the US’
My stepfather used to say that she had a black belt in shopping!” laughs Carlene.
“She’d go shopping and buy various things and store them in her closet. When Christmas came, she’d go shopping in her closet. One year she gave me back a pair of black suede boots I’d bought her the year before!”
Seeing the funny side, she explains: “Something I inherited from growing up with Mum and John was their great sense of humour and playfulness. I don’t take things too personally!”
Generally, Christmas growing up in the Cash household was a time for family, food and music. From the early we have an opportunity to share love, whether it’s in our eyes or something we say or the slightest kindness of making the world better for somebody.”
June with her guitar in 1965
Seventies it was usually celebrated at their home in Jamaica. John and June were renowned for their hospitality and around 40 family members and friends would gather for a party. The Christmas tree would be a locally grown pine and one room would house a ‘guitar pool’ for guests to share guitars and make music.
Whether it was a breakfast or a celebration feast, June was always formal at mealtimes, according to John. “It was about conversation and it was about fellowship,” he adds.
“My parents had a way of treating the grocery store clerk the same way as they did the President of the US. They were at the height of their stardom from when I was born.
“My father had a TV show and huge hits but my parents always seemed to keep their humility in so many ways; they were always grounded. Their love was a big part of that grounding.” Those memories and the lessons they learnt from their parents live on.
“They loved performing together and were both driven by performing live,” recalls Carlene. “I think they enjoyed making money and liked nice things, but they were very generous and took care of a lot of people. Everything they left behind I am blessed by and I try to honour it.”
John adds: “There were definitely struggles but my mother would say, ‘the hottest flame has made the steel this strong’. That was their love!”
■ Johnny Cash and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is released by Columbia/Legacy
Recordings, and is available