If you are a younger artist in the world of country music, it is always a rite of passage to meet and work with a member of the old guard. That being said, it was a huge honor for Ronnie Dunn when he got the chance to spend a weekend at Johnny Cash‘s home. When Ronnie Dunn was coming up, Johnny Cash was roughly in his late 50s and early 60s. Thus, he got to bend Cash’s ear and extract some invaluable wisdom from one of the greatest musicians of all time.
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On the surface, Johnny Cash looks like a stern, serious, and convicted man. And regarding some topics and sentiments, he certainly is. At first, Dunn believed Cash to be all business, but after the weekend, he realized that Johnny Cash is just as playful as the rest of us. So, is Cash a serious artist? Of course. However, according to Dunn, he also had the ability to be soft, warm, charismatic, and downright hilarious.
Behind Ronnie Dunn’s Weekend at Johnny Cash’s Place
In 2024, Brooks & Dunn sat down with Theo Von on his podcast, This Past Weekend, and that is when Ronnie divulged what it was like to spend a weekend at Johnny Cash’s Tennessee home.
“Stoic and quiet by nature when you first meet him, and that in and of itself is intimidating,” said Dunn. “Then when you get to know him, and he’s a 17-year-old kid. I mean, dude was just crazy. […] Funny as all get out.”
As the podcast progressed, Ronnie Dunn went on to divulge just how odd the rest of the weekend was. As a matter of fact, Dunn revealed that he even wanted to leave a day early. However, when the two got to talking and got to know each other a bit more, a relationship blossomed. It became a relationship that would exist when Brooks & Dunn first got started and would last up until Johnny Cash died in 2003.
Regarding the start of Brooks & Dunn’s career, Ronnie remembered one great memory from a photo shoot, and that great memory seemingly wouldn’t have transpired if it hadn’t been for that weekend.
“John came up one day, and we were getting ready to shoot the CD cover for ‘Brand New Man’,” he said. “[Cash] says ‘What are you going to wear?’”
After Dunn’s insufficient answer, Cash drove home and picked up the infamous black suit he wore in 1972. That is the very suit Dunn wore in his photo shoot for ‘Brand New Man’. In retrospect, Dunn knew if it wasn’t for that weekend, then Cash’s favor and their general relationship would have never existed.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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