Writing of any kind can be an impossible task. The process often entails feelings of insecurity, insufficiency, and overall a lack of self-worth because of an alleged lack of talent. In other words, writing can be an incredibly painful and torturous task. That being so, support is a crucial factor, and it comes in a variety of different ways, including finding inspiration through other writers. One person who is no stranger to the painful process of writing is Johnny Cash.
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Consequently, Cash is also no stranger to finding inspiration in other writers. As a matter of fact, in his 1997 autobiography, Cash: The Autobiography, Johnny Cash cited the four songwriters who inspired him to keep writing time after time. So, here are the four songwriters that inspired Johnny Cash to tackle the blank page.
John Prine
John Prine is one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and we aren’t the only people who believe so. Other artists who have praised Prine’s work include Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Robert Plant, and many others. Well, one of those others was Johnny Cash.
Regarding his affinity for Prine, Cash once stated, “John Prine is 24 and writes songs like he is 240,” per Saddleback Chocolates. While the two didn’t have a strong personal relationship, they still certainly had a mutual respect for one another, as they both covered each other’s music and outwardly expressed the respect they had for each other’s talents.
Steve Goodman
Funny enough, one of Johnny Cash’s other favorite songwriters was a good friend of John Prine’s, and that was the songwriter, Steve Goodman. Of Goodman’s songs, Cash covered Goodman’s infamous “City Of New Orleans” and “The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over”.
Concerning his love for Goodman and his work, Cash wrote in a telegram for the event the Larger Than Life: A Celebration Of Steve Goodman, “Stevie Goodman was one of the finest and most compassionate human beings I ever knew,” and “He will always be remembered by those whose lives he touched.”
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is one of the most prolific songwriters in country music and Texas music history. Johnny Cash agreed with that perspective, as he covered “Let Him Roll”, “The Last Gunfighter Ballad”, and “New Cut Road”. Matter of fact, Cash made a whole album titled The Last Gunfighter Ballad.
While Cash never publicly praised Clark for his work other than in his book, Cash’s lengthy list of covered Guy Clark songs alludes to the deep admiration he held for the Texas songwriter. Another Clark song covered by Cash includes “Texas 1947”, which he featured on his album, Look at Them Beans.
Rodney Crowell
Johnny Cash collaborated with Rodney Crowell on several different occasions. First and foremost, Crowell wrote the single “Bull Rider” for Cash to feature on his 1979 album, Silver. Furthermore, Cash and Crowell re-recorded Cash’s hit song “I Walk The Line” in 1998, which featured a new melody written by Crowell.
In addition to having a mutual respect for one another, Rodney Crowell was also Cash’s son-in-law, as he was married to Cash’s daughter, Rosanne Cash, from 1979 to 1992. Revisiting his relationship with Cash, Crowell recalled what Cash told him while they were re-recording “I Walk The Line”, which was, “Son, you got a lot of nerve changing my melody,” per NPR.
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