Johnny Cash: The Life (ALA Notable Books for Adults) - Hardcover

Hilburn, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316194751 ISBN 13: 9780316194754

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2013

Synopsis

The national bestseller celebrated as "the ultimate Johnny Cash biography....Rock writer great Robert Hilburn goes deep." -- Rolling Stone

In this, the definitive biography of an American legend, Robert Hilburn conveys the unvarnished truth about a musical superstar. Johnny Cash's extraordinary career stretched from his days at Sun Records with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to the remarkable creative last hurrah, at age 69, that resulted in the brave, moving "Hurt" video.

As music critic for the Los Angeles Times, Hilburn knew Cash throughout his life: he was the only music journalist at the legendary Folsom Prison concert in 1968, and he interviewed both Cash and his wife June Carter just months before their deaths. Drawing upon a trove of never-before-seen material from the singer's inner circle, Hilburn creates an utterly compelling, deeply human portrait of a towering figure in country music, a seminal influence in rock, and an icon of American popular culture. Hilburn's reporting shows the astonishing highs and deep lows that marked the journey of a man of great faith and humbling addiction who throughout his life strove to use his music to lift people's spirits.

About this title

Review:

The Big Fall Books Preview 2013: To adequately describe Johnny Cash: The Life, it helps to begin with the author. For more than thirty years, Robert Hilburn worked as a music critic at the Los Angeles Times, rubbing shoulders with the greats of the industry--Dylan, Lennon, Joplin, Springsteen, U2, and many others. But this tenderhearted, penetrating biography stands as an argument that he knew Johnny Cash best. Cash was an unlikely artist, born in debt-poor Arkansas to cotton farmers. He began working (and singing) in the fields at the age of five; and from there, Hilburn--who counted Cash as a friend and was the only music journalist at the famous Folsom Prison concert--draws from his extensive personal interviews with the singer, as well as new material from Cash’s inner circle, to create a biography that is both compassionate and clear-eyed. As he details the stunning rises and tortuous stumbles of The Man in Black, Hilburn conveys an intimate, consuming, human portrait of the drama, the art, and the purpose that made the man a legend. --Chris Schluep

About the Author:

Robert Hilburn was the chief music critic and pop music editor for the Los Angeles Times for more than three decades. The author of the bestselling memoir Cornflakes with John Lennon, Hilburn has reported extensively on most of pop music's legends, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Johnny Cash.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0316194751
• ISBN 13: 9780316194754
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 688