There are blessings in disguise. And then there is the story of the Linesman family buying a guitar that they didn’t even want, only to realize it was one of the most notable instruments ever owned by Johnny Cash. Back in 1956, Rosalie Linesman bought a Martin D-28 for her husband. But in between putting her deposit down and coming back to the store to pick it up, the Linesmans realized the “beautiful Martin D-28” wasn’t there anymore.
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Based on the country star’s tour records on his website, this was most likely in late August 1956. At this time, Cash was performing a series of shows in Toronto with the Louvin Brothers. While in the city, Cash visited Fred Roden’s Record Corral. The details of how this came to be are unclear. But ultimately, the store allowed Cash to take the Martin D-28 that Rosalie Linesman had already paid a deposit on. In its place was Cash’s significantly more worn Martin D-18.
“We were told that Johnny Cash needed the Martin D-28,” Linesman recalled to CP24. “My husband was very upset about the beat-up Martin D-18. Johnny Cash had played the crap out of it and then left [it] as a consolation.”
The Linesmans’ Anger Toward Johnny Cash Was Justified, but It Certainly Didn’t Last Long
Put yourself in the Linesmans shoes for a moment. Rosalie Linesman worked hard to save up enough money for a down payment on a gorgeous Martin D-28, complete with pearl inlay. Then, when she was finally able to return to the store and bring the instrument home, the clerk told her that a musician’s need took precedence over her deposit. 1956 might have been a big year for Johnny Cash in the States, but this was Canada. Cash’s hit single from that year, “I Walk the Line”, was still seeping into the Canadian zeitgeist.
Of course, as Cash’s star rose, so, too, did the Linesmans’ fondness of the guitar. The family came to appreciate the historical significance of the instrument. And they appreciated the sentimental value it might hold for Cash, too. Rosalie and her husband attended a Johnny Cash concert years later and took the Martin D-18 to offer it back to the star, who “graciously” refused it. From there, it became a cherished heirloom of the Linesman family.
Decades Later, Historical Verification Confirms the Significance of This Particular Martin D-18
With no official verification, the Linesmans’ story about owning Johnny Cash’s old Martin D-18 was an intriguing one. But it also definitely sounded like the kind of tall tale that evolves from years and years of retelling the same, increasingly flashy story. So, decades after the Linesmans first took their Martin D-18 home, much to their chagrin, Rosalie Linesman’s son, Peter Linesman, began digging into the guitar’s true origins. Peter traveled to Tennessee, where he collected archival photographs and discussed his theory with other Cash historians. Then, he met William Long.
Long is a British Columbia-based historical investigator who has recovered guitars for artists like Neil Young and Randy Bachman. Peter gave Long the photographs he collected in Tennessee, which were determined to be the oldest photos of Cash playing guitar. Long compared the tortoiseshell pattern of the pickguard on the Linesmans’ guitar and in the early 1950s photographs. Finding a match, Long determined that they were the same instrument. Suddenly, the Linesmans’ heirloom took on a whole new level of significance.
Not only was this Martin D-18 actually Johnny Cash’s—an impressive accolade of its own. But it was also the same “beat up” Martin on which he wrote some of his earliest hits, including “Walk the Line” and “Hey Porter”. After a discovery like that, we’d imagine the sting of losing out on that Martin D-28 had long since faded.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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