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The Man Comes Around: The spiritual journey of Johnny Cash
A Book Review
by Dave Urbanski, Reviewed by Dave Hart
I'm old. In my day there were only two kinds of music — rock-n-roll and that stuff your parents listened to. Actually, that line is a bit of hyperbole for the sake of humor (I know — there's more hyperbole than humor there). There was another style that crept in between the pop and the rock: the crude and rootsy sounds of C&W (Country and Western) — usually called hillbilly music back then. Most people wouldn't admit listening to it, much less liking it — it was far too backwoods and backwards for the "sophisticated' crowd. But my dad listened and it sure was infectious, especially to us kids.
Nowadays those artists find themselves among the true greats — Hank Williams (Sr.), Patsy Cline, and Johnny Cash - great songwriters and great communicators. Unlike the other two, Johnny Cash did not earn his legendary status by dying too soon. He earned it the hard way — persevering through six decades of music, finding fans in country, pop, rock-n-roll, CCM, and even punk and rap.
If you don't believe me, just read the Introduction to Dave Urbanski's new book on the Man in Black. It's such a well-written summary of Cash's career; it should have most musicians at his feet, like latter-day Wayne and Garth's crying out, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!!!"
There are a number of good biographies out on Johnny Cash — he even wrote one of his own. The distinctive of Urbanski's book is that it focuses more on Cash's spiritual journey, than his musical accomplishments. It takes us from his humble beginnings in a poverty-stricken share-cropping family to the height of his wealth and glory. It is a true Cinderella story.
But the emphasis here is on his spiritual struggle — not so much how he became the Man in Black, but how he found the Man in White — Jesus. And like so many of the characters in those old Bible stories, Cash's journey is filled with pain and struggle, starts and stops. What we get here is a very real portrait of a simple man who often failed to be the perfect follower of Christ, but never failed to get up and try again.
Urbanski's "warts-and-all" portrait is startlingly honest, and that may be unsettling to the perfection-minded saints in the flock. Cash is portrayed as obsessively driven by the early death of his older brother, Cash's boyhood hero. His struggle with drugs is given to us with both barrels — no hiding or holding back here. His first marriage failed, largely due to his obsession with a married woman, June Carter. He is equally obsessive about his faith and he often does things that should have effectively sabotaged his career and he doesn't seem to care. Cash is portrayed as a powerful personality, but it is a power that not only propelled his career, but had a powerful potential for self-destruction.
There are also some wonderful insights here. We get a hopeful peek behind his conversion, and an inspiring look at the woman who would not give up on him — June Carter Cash. There is an entire chapter devoted to his self-funded Christian movie project, Gospel Road. He had the ear of Billy Graham himself. There is much that is inspiring here.
What I like best is Urbanski's focus on the final years of Cash's career. Obviously, it's the part of Cash that Urbanski knows best he's not old like I am. His American Recordings with Rick Rubin are described in detail. They are amazing works considering Cash's deteriorating health. The choice of covers is fascinating. The raw, simple production mirrors the kind of recording Cash did in his early days at Sun Records, rather than those of his heyday. It's a fascinating look at how the music works.
What's most inspiring here, however, is that we get to see how sainthood looks. We get to see how a real Christian finishes — stronger than how he started. In the last few years, Cash's personal life became tragic. His health deteriorated to death-bed proportions. A number of his closest friends passed away, including his wife — and our glimpse of how much he continued to love her is heart-wrenching. He was old and tired, and it's clear that all he wanted was just to "go home.'
But he knew he wasn't finished. He still had things to do and say for His Lord. With dogged determination, he grinds out more music and leaves us a legacy of albums in the end that are better than almost anything in his career. And that is his true tribute, that in the end, he gave everything he had for the Lord he loved.
So yeah, I found Urbanski's book inspiring. I'm old. But looking at Johnny's life makes me realize I'm not done. I want to go out like he did — find that the weaker I get, the stronger He gets to be.
Used with permission.
Click here for Al's site at www.almenconi.com
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