For those who have been living under a rock, Taylor Sheridan is taking over the world. In addition to the sweeping Western epic Yellowstone and its spin-offs, the North Carolina-born, Texas-raised phenom also helms the Paramount+ drama Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton as West Texas oil executive Tommy Norris. Hailing from Arkansas, Thornton has also dabbled in music, releasing 16 solo albums and fronting his rock band the Boxmasters. During a recent interview with a UK country radio station, the two-time Golden Globe winner revealed that he has been sitting on a never-released duet that he recorded with none other than Johnny Cash.
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Billy Bob Thornton Was Nervous to Sing With Johnny Cash
Like many others of his generation, Thornton, 70, grew up on the likes of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson—trail-blazing rulebreakers who dared to buck the Nashville sound machine.
“And Cash is the only one I never got over being nervous around,” he said. “Because… his presence was so huge that you’re always aware that you’re around Johnny Cash.”
Apparently, the Friday Night Lights star managed to overcome his nerves long enough to record the song “I Still Miss Someone” with the Man in Black.
“This was later on. He wasn’t singing like he used to, and didn’t have as much breath and everything,” Thornton recalled. “When we were doing a song—we did ‘I Still Miss Someone’—he said, ‘Well son, what do you want to do?’”
Thornton suggested he sing the first verse and bridge, with Cash handling the recitation. “We’ll come out of that and have a solo, and then I’ll do the last verse and bridge,” said the Academy Award nominee. “And he goes, ‘All right, I might have an idea or two myself. After all, I wrote the f—ing thing.’ And I was like, ‘Yes, God. Thank you very much.’”
The only appropriate response, truly.
[RELATED: 3 of the Most Notable Country Artists Featured Numerous Times on Season 1 of ‘Landman’]
On His Friendship With the Man in Black
Following Johnny Cash’s death in September 2003 at age 71, Billy Bob Thornton reflected on his friendship with the “Ring of Fire” crooner. The two met circa 1998, a year after Thornton starred in the Oliver Stone neo-noir thriller U-Turn. Cash wanted the Bad Santa star to autograph his copy of the film.
“He loved that movie. Cash was an edgy guy; he loved anything kinda offbeat,” the actor told the Herald-Times. “And I couldn’t believe he even called me, let alone wanted one of my movies.”
After that, “We just started talking on the phone a lot, and when I’d go to Nashville I would see him,” Thornton remembered.
Featured image by Frans Schellekens/Redferns
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