Johnny Cash left an indelible mark on the face of not just country music but American music in general. His voice, spirit, and songwriting have influenced countless artists and inspired generations of listeners. Tomorrow (June 28), fans will get to hear yet another example of that when Songwriter hits streaming platforms and record store shelves.
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Taken from recordings made in the ‘90s, producers John Carter Cash and David “Fergie” Ferguson stripped away all but Cash’s voice and acoustic guitar. Then, they enlisted a group of musicians who were familiar with Cash’s work and life to create the backdrop for his voice. Those musicians included the Man in Black’s longtime friend and collaborator Marty Stuart and bassist Dave Roe who played on the original recordings.
Ahead of the release of the album, John Carter and Fergie sat down with American Songwriter to discuss the process and their hopes for Songwriter.
What Was the Process Like?
“Familiar,” John Carter Cash replied with a laugh when asked about how the process felt. “Fergie and I kind of had this rule, ‘What Would Johnny Cash Do?’ We tried to pick people that dad would have chosen and the people that we loved that we feel got the spirit of what was happening,” he explained.
However, the most important part of the project was to showcase Johnny Cash’s songwriting and singing. “We didn’t want to overshadow what the strongest thing was, which was my dad. We tried to create a simple picture that was the right backdrop for it,” Carter explained. “My dad’s songwriting, of course, is known. Some of his biggest hits were songs that he wrote, but I’ve been on a soap box about it for a little while. I just really think that he can’t get enough respect as a songwriter and a voice for America and the true American spirit. This record is a great example of that.”
“It was almost like him being there,” Ferguson replied. “It was pretty close. He happened to be in really good voice at that time. When we were overdubbing the band, everybody dug it and they were playing their best. It was almost like having Johnny there. I wish he was.”
The Hardest Part About Making Johnny Cash’s New Album
Taking the decades-old recordings, stripping them down to bare bones, and creating an album was a massive undertaking. During the conversation, the co-producers shared the hardest part of the process.
“If something was out of time, the tempo swayed in and out, that’s probably the only technical thing that we did,” John Carter Cash said. “We would have made sure it was in time. At that point, the band would come in and play along with Dad and his guitar or with a simple guitar that was added before the bass and drums were added. Marty Stuart would have done those guitars,” he added.
“You could look at the waveform and see where Dad would sing out of pitch but it’s right. You don’t mess with it. So, we didn’t have to do hardly any manipulation as far as tuning or anything like that. Technically, it was a simple production. It was just a matter of making sure that the core of it was there being Dad and an acoustic guitar whether it was his or Marty’s,” Carter explained.
“When he went in there with his road band, he was just going in to put some songs down. So, they just ran through them quickly,” Fergie explained. “They weren’t playing their best and the timing was strange. It would speed up and slow down and stuff. When that happens, it makes it really hard to overdub,” he added.
“Marty Stuart was the first to come in and overdub with just Johnny and the guitar. It was really hard for him to play to. Then, we went back and put Johnny to a click to make the time better. That way, you can overdub a band,” Ferguson recalled. “You have the arrangement and it’s to a click track which is the way everybody records now, anyway. And, it’s easy to change things in the arrangements when you have it in time. That was the main hardship was just getting it lined up and getting it in time.”
The High Point of Creating Songwriter
There were a few hardships during the making of Johnny Cash: Songwriter. Everyone also had a good time behind the scenes. John Carter and Fergie shared their favorite parts of the process.
“I loved ‘Hello Out There’ the whole thing. Then, ‘Drive On’ was a lot of fun. I don’t usually hire myself as a guitar player but I play the lead guitar at the end of ‘Drive On.’ It’s the sort of screaming kind of electric guitar that I got to do,” Carter said. “Wesley Orbison plays on that with me. In the edit when I was looking at it, I was like, ‘Well, I’ll be damned if it doesn’t actually work’ so we left it in there. I felt good about that.”
“When we were finally in the mixing process,” Ferguson said. “It was a lot of fun to do. Everybody was able to put their ideas into it. We had the really great musicians that I’ve been working with for a long time, John Carter’s been working with them, too. Russ Paul, Mike Rojas, Mike Roe, Dave Abbot, and others,” he added.
“When we finally got everything on there it was really nice to hear the whole thing coming through the big speakers at Clement House Studio. It wasn’t difficult to mix. It was a lot of fun.”
Expectations for the New Johnny Cash Record
After so many years of hard work, both producers are ready for this project to drop. They shared their hopes and expectations for the album’s reception.
“I hope people just are re-acquainted with my father in a way that they haven’t been. Maybe, take a look at a period of his life when he didn’t get as much attention and get excited about it. This was right before the American Recordings stuff and right after he did ‘The Wanderer’ with U2.” Carter said. “This is really a strong period for Johnny Cash. Hopefully, there will be a new and important voice that will go into the canon of music that is my father’s that will be respected. And also, a further appreciation for him as a songwriter,” he added.
“There’s going to be your haters out there who say ‘It’s AI’ or ‘Where’s the original tapes?’ and all that kind of stuff. But I believe that people are really going to like it,” Ferguson said. “There’s a couple or three of them on this record that are really special, I think. People are going to like it and we’re not trying to hide the process of doing it,” he added. “I hope the reaction is good and I think it will be.”
Songwriter will be available everywhere tomorrow, June 28.
Featured Image by Alan Messer
