Remember When Johnny Cash Covered a Tom Petty Classic in the Early 2000s?

In 1989, Tom Petty had a big hit with “I Won’t Back Down”. The song, written by Petty and Jeff Lynne, is on Full Moon Fever, Petty’s first solo album. A No. 1 single for Petty, “I Won’t Back Down” was later covered by a country music legend. 

In 2000, Johnny Cash released American III: Solitary Man. The record, which starts with “I Won’t Back Down”, also includes Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man”, David Allen Coe’s “Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)”, a duet with Merle Haggard on “I’m Leavin’ Now”, and more.

After American III: Solitary Man, Cash only released one more album. In 2002, the Man in Black released American IV: The Man Comes Around. It became the final record Cash released before he passed away in 2003.

The Significance of Johnny Cash Recording “I Won’t Back Down”

“I Won’t Back Down” begins with, “Well, I won’t back down / No, I won’t back down / You can stand me up at the gates of hell / But I won’t back down / No, I’ll stand my ground / Won’t be turned around / And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down / Gonna stand my ground / And I won’t back down / Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out / Hey, I will stand my ground / And I won’t back down.”

It’s an appropriate message from Cash, who was struggling with his health at the time, even having to cut back on his performances due to his physical condition.

An entirely different version than Petty’s, Petty later said he liked Cash’s version perhaps even more than his own.

“[It] almost made me wish I’d never sung it,” Petty tells NPR. “It was so good. He sang it with such an authority. It sounded like it was written for him.”

Rick Rubin, who produced American III: Solitary Man, also gave Cash high praise for his interpretation of the Petty classic.

“There’s something magical about the way Johnny sings, and the familiarity of the song gets amplified hearing Johnny’s version,” Rubin boasts. “There’s a trueness about Johnny’s version that’s thrilling to hear – believability.”

Although Cash did not release a single from American III: Solitary Man, he did release three from American IV: The Man Comes Around. On his last record, Cash released his own “The Man Comes Around”, plus a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”, and a surprising cover of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. “Hurt” earned Cash a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Photo Scott Gries/ImageDirect