Ten Bold Cover Tunes, Part IV: Dare To Cover Johnny Cash Edition

Previous Editions of Ten Bold Cover Tunes:
Part I  
Part II
Part III: Guitar Hero Edition

In this next installment of the Ten Bold Cover Tunes series, we recognize artists who dared cover a song written by and originally performed by Johnny Cash. I say "dared" because Mr. Cash was one of those rare artists of such distinct vocal quality and overall style that it's almost impossible to imagine a cover of any of his tunes that would even come close to the original. This is quite a contrast with Cash's own covers of other artists' tunes (think of his versions of  Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt," Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus"), in which The Man in Black so completely took control of the songs that they pretty much became his.

The late Johnny Cash wrote some brilliant original songs over the course of his long career that are totally identified with HIM. Any artist attempting to cover these songs must truly be BOLD

None of the covers identified below actually surpass Cash's original. Some are in fact quite a bit inferior. But what I hear in all of them is a great love for Johnny Cash, and a willingness to risk ridicule to perform that love in public. For me, that's pretty bold.

Without any further adieu, our ten bold covers of Johnny Cash Tunes

#10:  Frank Zappa's Cover of "Ring of Fire." Okay, "Ring of Fire" was technically written by June Carter Cash, but there does exist some credible evidence that Johnny at least co-wrote it. 

In the late 1980s, Frank Zappa toured with a band that produced some remarkable live recordings, including 1991's "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" (on which "Ring of Fire" appears). The way Zappa told the story, Johnny Cash was actually supposed to perform the song with the band at a concert in Germany, but June Carter Cash got sick and so Johnny cancelled. Zappa's band performed it anyway, doing it in reggae style with some amusing Cash-imitation vocals. My favorite part is the always ironic Frank Zappa blurting out "Johnny will never know what he missed" near the end of the tune. 

#9: Everlast's Cover of "Folsom Prison Blues." The great alternative rocker Erik Francis Schrody (Everlast) is one of the only singers alive who could tackle such a distinctly Cash song and give it a fresh touch. The official video cleverly splices video of Cash and his audience with Everlast. I suspect Johnny would have appreciated the effort. 

#8: Halsey's Cover of "I Walk The Line."  Johnny Cash purists might find this cover hard to take, as Halsey pushes herself as far away from the original as one can get. The first time I heard her version I did not quite know what to make of it, but it got more interesting and difficult to ignore with each listen. Johnny's original in 1956 was a kick in the ears to a music audience hypnotized by pop music mediocrity, while Halsey's cover is 21st century hypnotic. 

#7: Jorma Kaukonen's Cover of "When the Man Comes Around." Jorma Kaukonen is best know for his guitar playing with the Woodstock era Jefferson Airplane and then Hot Tuna in the 1970s, but he's had a remarkable solo career. His cover of Cash's Bible-inspired classic "When the Man Comes Around" has a kind of haunting quality to it that somewhat channels the Airplane's acid rock classic "Surrealistic Pillow." 

#6:  Charlie Robison's Cover of "Don't Take Your Guns To Town." Charlie's cover appears on "Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to Johnny Cash"--an album featuring a variety of better known artists like Dwight Yoakam, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. I give Charlie kudos for daring to tackle one of Johnny's signature country tunes, performing it with a subdued vocal and catchy guitar/organ combo that makes it a very fitting tribute indeed. 

#5:  The Secret Sisters with Jack White Cover of "Big River." If someone told you that a couple of country singers would team up with indie rocker Jack White to perform a Johnny Cash tune, you'd probably predict some chaotic fun. That's in fact what we get here: The Secret Sisters give "Big River" a vocal treatment right out of the old "Hee Haw" show, while Jack White uses the recording session as an opportunity to work out on his guitar with a ferocity characteristic of the early White Stripes albums. 

#4: D.O.A.'s Cover of "San Quentin." When Johnny Cash performed "San Quentin" live at the song's namesake prison, the anti-authority lyrics inspired a spirit of defiance among the inmates. Hardcore punk rock is primarily about defiance, and thus punk rockers D.O.A sound completely at home with the tune. 

#3: Norah Jones' Cover of "Cry Cry Cry." Specifically, the version of the song Norah performed at Miller Park in Milwaukee as part of the 25th anniversary of Farm Aid. The soulful voice and subtle guitar channel Johnny Cash quite poignantly. 

#2: Ry Cooder's Cover of "Get Rhythym." The remarkable Ry Cooder (ranked #31 in  Rolling Stone Magazine's list of greatest guitar players) performs one of Johnny's most ebullient songs quite ebulliently. 

#1: The Crash Test Dummies Cover of "Understand Your Man." Truth be told, the bass-baritone vocal style of the Dummies' Brad Roberts makes him uniquely qualified to cover Johnny Cash tunes. In this heavily engaging effort, Roberts goes into full Cash mode, purposely making the bass parts even bass-ier in a way that succeeds in making fun of both Cash AND himself. I'd love it if Roberts would do an entire album of Cash covers.