Johnny Cash: The Life of An American Icon
Stephen Miller
Omnibus Press, 2005
Understand Your Man
Stephen Miller's new biography, Johnny Cash: The Life of an American Icon, puts solid flesh, blood, sweat and wrinkles on the musician I thought I knew. Johnny Cash, sharecropper's son! Johnny Cash, champion in black. Johnny Cash, entertainer. Johnny Cash, hellraiser! Johnny Cash the spiritual. Johnny Cash, lesbian icon.
Lesbian icon?
Four hundred and eight tightly-printed pages of extensive episodes reveal fascinating aspects of the man, his life and music that even my whacked-out imagination had never considered. When it comes to Cash lore, Miller's biography is paydirt. There's enough material in there for any nut to dig out something that will please them.
Reading between the lines that most people merrily walk: I have deduced from this biography that Johnny Cash waged a lifelong war with poultry. Leaving full details to Mr. Miller:
 1930's, Dyess Arkansas: Helping his family scratch out a living, farmhand JR Cash whacks the heads from countless chickens! (Chapters 1 -3)
1964. Only nine specimens survive Cash's single-handed, strung-out accidental attempt to burn the California Condor into extinction!! (pg 131).
1970. Despite Johnny Cash's numerous references to performers from Tom T. Hall to The Monkees to Elvis Costello, U2 and Iron Maiden, 1970 passes with the glaring omission of Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan's classic number one, The Tennessee Birdwalk.
1982. Flaunting stolen plumage, Cash wears a feather boa when introducing Elton John on Saturday Night Live (photo, after pg. 312).
1983. Johnny is partly disembowelled by an attacking ostrich. Freak accident or retaliation? (pg 271)
1984. Perhaps in accordance with a peace treaty, the Man in Black records an album called Chicken in Black (pg 277).
As implausible as a Liz Allen novel, you say? With the scope that Stephen Miller successfully covers, there's grounds to propose just about anything. Lesbian icon, chicken fighter, you name it. The bio is well worth digging into. Dig up your own theory.
And remember, O seeker of truth! Each page of the Critical Mick site contains a further secret feature or message for you to discover. Enjoy! And keep watching the skies.
The story of how a struggling Rhodes Scholar named Kris Kristofferson landed a National Guard helicopter at the Cash ranch to give Johnny a beer and a demo tape is famous. But I had never known that Johnny also went out of his way to give a shot to the Statler Brothers, Larry Gatlin, and several other unknowns who were less able to withstand the rigors of success. I had heard of 1956 "Million Dollar Quartet" afternoon when Johnny jammed with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios, but I had never known that Johnny was closer to Bob Dylan than Boxcar Willie.
Dense with detail, Johnny Cash is a long, rich read. Hundreds of incidents, interviews, tour busses and hotel rooms, deeds, prayers, producers, films, albums and concerts. The research is immense. In telling the stories behind the songs, Stephen Miller reveals the story behind the man. The book is not afraid to criticize, either. This is not a glowing or idealized Johnny Cash. This is more than a ring of fire and a boy named Sue. Johnny Cash: The Life of an American Icon is the flesh and the blood, the sweat and the wrinkles.
Just remember that Johnny himself sang, "Everybody Loves a Nut." Drive on, Johnny Cash. Drive on!
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