We had a wonderful time last night up in Tarrytown with the incomparable Rosanne Cash, who along with hubby John Leventhal performed new and old material, plus an eclectic set of covers that included Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee,” which reduced most of us to tears. What a performance!
It was the first time we got to spend a little time with her since she kindly performed “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” for our wedding. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. xo
Had a wonderful time last night at Rosanne Cash's sold-out show at City Winery -- one of four dates at the venue. The tour -- dubbed "Reinventing The Wheel" -- celebrates the 30th anniversary of her life-altering 1993 album ("The Wheel"), which was the first she recorded with the man who would become her artistic and romantic partner in crime, John Leventhal, with whom she has collaborated on the best work of her career. As part of the anniversary, she and John started the label Rumble Strip Records through which they re-issued (and expanded) the album -- the masters are now hers thanks to a clause in her long-ago record contract -- and then planned to hit the road before a slow recovery from a knee replacement forced the tour to become more of a 31st anniversary!
They kicked the evening off with seven songs from "The Wheel": "You Won't Let Me In, "If There's a God on My Side," "Tears Falling Down," "From the Ashes, "The Truth About You Play," "Seventh Avenue" and the title track.
And from there performed a terrific mixture of old and new, including a few from her classic album "The List": "That's All I Know About Arkansas" (off her hubby's debut solo album), "Long Black Veil" (Lefty Frizzell cover), "Sea of Heartbreak" (Don Gibson cover, which she recorded with Bruce Springsteen who was nowhere to be found), "And Your Bird Can Sing" (The Beatles are John's favorite group), "Blue Moon With Heartache" (a song she's had a love-hate relationship with over the past four decades, currently in a love phase!), "The Sunken Lands Play," "A Feather's Not a Bird," "The Only Thing Worth Fighting For" (which I had no idea she'd written for "True Detective"), "I'm Movin' On" (Hank Snow cover), "Seven Year Ache" (natch) and Bob Dylan's "Farewell, Angelina" as an encore -- which all added up to another unforgettable evening with one of the industry's true gems.
Forgive the angle: We all live in a vertical world now thanks to social media.
In honor of the 92nd anniversary of the birth of Johnny Cash -- and that we're finally seeing daughter Rosanne tomorrow night at her rescheduled gig at City Winery -- I give you son-in-law of the former and husband of the latter John Leventhal's new single from "Rumble Strip," the six-time Grammy winner's debut solo album. Cute to note that Johnny, who was born in Kingsland, Ark., arrived on this planet the same year my father did (in Pottsville, Pa.), way back in 1932. xo
Like many of you, I've been on a Robbie Roberts/the Band kick since hearing about the singer/songwriter/guitarist's death yesterday. Not surprisingly, many of my favorite versions of his songs are sung by other people, most notably "Broken Arrow" (Rod Stewart), "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Joan Baez) and today's song of the day, which appeared on the "Endless Highway" tribute album to the Band. A true North American original!
"Nobody's Child," which he wrote with Maria McKee for her debut solo album, is also brilliant.
Something tells me I would have loved every second of this song even if it didn't feature Rosanne Cash singing from New York City's beloved High Line park -- but that sure doesn't hurt!
Playing for Change: Get “rocked to your soul” with the “sweet” sounds of the blues classic “Queen Bee,” by legendary musician Taj Mahal. “Queen Bee” is a soulful single from Taj Mahal’s 1997 studio album, "Señor Blues," which won a Grammy for best contemporary blues album. This version from the Song Around the World: Playing for Change sessions features Ben Harper, Rosanne Cash, Paula Fuga and over 20 musicians from six countries.
Although it's not officially about Christmas, no song makes me more homesick around the holidays than "500 Miles." That people aren't even positive who wrote it -- it's generally credited to Hedy West -- only adds to the lore. When Rosanne Cash included it on her 2009 album, "The List," I sent my mom a copy autographed by Rose for Christmas, with a note saying that the song always made me think of her (Mom). That she later said she "didn't get" the connection -- for the uninitiated the lyrics include this passage: Teardrops fell on Momma’s note/When I read the things she wrote/She said "we miss you hon,' we love you ... come on home" -- solidified my status as an unrequited Mama's Boy. But I love the song and my mother all the same.
I'm not sure what someone was on when they conceived this album. But from what I've heard so far, getting Michael Feinstein to turn the George Gershwin songbook country -- with help from Amy Grant, Lyle Lovett, Alison Krauss, Ronnie Milsap, Liza Minnelli, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and my gal Rosanne Cash and more -- was a humdinger of an idea!
"Gershwin Country" is a brand-new duets collection from the Grammy and Emmy-nominated entertainer Michael Feinstein, who reimagines the timeless Gershwin songbook through the contemporary lens of country music. Executive produced by his longtime friend and collaborator Liza Minnelli, and co-produced by the venerable Kyle Lehning, the album pairs Feinstein with some of the biggest names in country, including Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Rosanne Cash and many more. The CD package also includes a booklet with insightful new liner notes. A portion of all album proceeds will benefit MusiCares, the charitable wing of the Recording Academy, which provides critical health and welfare services to members of the music community.
Johnny's oldest daughter introduced me to one of my favorite holiday songs -- "May Ev'ry Day Be Christmas" -- and does a lovely rendition of a classic gem, below.
P.S. I hear more tickets are being released tomorrow for Monday's 7th Annual John Henry's Friends Benefit concert at Town Hall, featuring Rosanne, Bruce Springsteen and others. (I'll be there with Christmas bells on!) Proceeds benefit the Keswell School, whose mission is to ensure that children on the autism spectrum experience school as "joyous and enriching." Ticket info HERE.
The lovely and talented Rosanne Cash is back with a haunting new single, one she says she wrote "during a volatile, heartbreaking moment in America last summer."
All proceeds from "The Killing Fields" go to Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement (@APJMM2019 in collaboration with @eji_org & @comingtothetable).
You would have to be a Republican monster to not be going through a reckoning with racial justice after what we've witnessed, especially since the advent of smartphones.
I'm guessing this song must have been especially meaningful to Rosanne, whose family was targeted by white supremacists back in 1965 when her father, Johnny Cash, was photographed with wife Vivian after appearing in an El Paso, Texas, courthouse facing drug-smuggling charges. Were the Jim Crow fans upset that he might have been a druggie, you ask? No, it was the way his pretty wife looked they had a problem with.
Biographer Michael Streissguth said Cash's manager felt he had to respond: “He was out there saying that Cash was not married to a black woman.” Cash made a statement that his wife was, in fact, white, and threatened a lawsuit.
Vivian later wrote in her 2008 memoir that her husband was harassed and boycotted by some Southern fans. “Johnny and I received death threats, and an already shameful situation was made infinitely worse."
Cut to Rosanne's recently aired episode of "Finding Your Roots," where genealogists discovered that her mother did in fact descend from slavery. (One of Rosanne’s maternal great-great-great-grandmothers, Sarah A. Shields, was a mixed-race woman born into slavery, who was freed along with her eight siblings by their white father.)
It's hard to imagine if this in any way changes how Rosanne and her family feel about the whole ugly chapter. (The Cashes have long been associated with racial equality before any DNA testing was done.) I think she might have said, "So they were kind of right" to Henry Louis Gates as he delivered the news. The only way I can even think to relate to it is having grown up being called a "f****t" my whole life and then years later finally coming to terms with who I am.
Rosanne, of course, looked understandably mortified by all the slave-owning ancestors in her family tree, which no doubt inspired this poignant lyric from the new single: ‘All that came before us is not who we are now.’
Does someone want to try to explain to me how it took nearly 30 years for me to realize that Rosanne Cash provides the backing vocal on "Born to Break My Heart," a standout track on Carly Simon's 1994 album, "Letters Never Sent"? It's always been the most poignant and haunting part of the song, which of course makes perfect sense now. Hear for yourself:
I know people are getting tired of the Bernie memes. But seeing the Vermont senator on the cover of three Blondie albums and now Rosanne Cash's classic "King's Record Shop" LP definitely warranted a SOTD!
This ode to being a doormat was the third of four No. 1 singles off Rose's last "country" album, before recording the introspective/folk masterpiece "Interiors" and moving to New York City.
Congratulations to Rosanne Cash for being awarded the prestigious Edward MacDowell Medal, an honor previously bestowed upon such greats as Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Georgia O’Keeffe, among others.
In a statement issued through MacDowell, Cash said she was “profoundly humbled” to receive an award that Morrison and others had been given.
“I do not place myself in any way equal, but I accept this honor with deepest gratitude, as an encouragement to do my best work, and in the service of future inspiration. My heart is full with this precious recognition,” she said.
Such well-deserved recognition, in my humble opinion.
Here's a standout track from her 1993 album, "The Wheel," which was her first collaboration with the man who would become her life partner in and out of the studio, John Leventhal.
So, today was the day Damian and I were planning to tie the knot -- with a reception Saturday -- before the universe hit the pause button. Although our special occasion has been put on hold, our neighbor and pal Rosanne Cash saw to it that May 7 was a special one for us, nonetheless. xo
See if you can spot what Rose and I have in common when it comes to knowledge of musical theater!
Billboard reports that Rosanne Cash and John Paul White, formerly of the Civil Wars, have joined together on the new single “We’re All in This Together Now.” All proceeds from the song will benefit Nashville-based Music Health Alliance.
It seems the song was just waiting for the right time to be released. “John Paul and I have been friends for years, and early on we awkwardly tossed the idea of writing a song together, but we never got around to it,” Cash says in a statement. “The last few years have been tough. I wanted to find some little corner of community, some instinct toward unity. It was hard to find, so I figured I’d have to write it. Last year, I wrote these lyrics and sent them to John Paul. He wrote this gorgeous melody very quickly. I was so moved. But the song didn’t fit on my last record, and it didn’t fit on his last record, so it sat there waiting for just the right moment. Which is now.”
While the gentle ballad wasn’t written during the coronavirus pandemic, the video reflects our current situation while we shelter-in-place and deal with the effects of Covid-19. The clip shares footage from around the world -- from hospitals to food banks -- of people helping others through these troubling times.
Music Health Alliance, which provides assistance to members of the music community, has been added as a partner in the Spotify Covid-19 Music Relief Project. Spotify is matching donations made to select charities, up to a collective total of $10 million. MHA’s relief resources include financial assistance for groceries, medications, health insurance premiums and doctor visits, navigating the loss of health insurance and filing unemployment.
Can't rave enough about "My Darling Vivian," Matt Riddlehoover and Dustin Tittle's documentary about the other Mrs. Johnny Cash -- the drop-dead gorgeous one. Vivian Liberto was a deeply insecure 17-year-old from a strict Catholic family when she met and fell in love with Johnny Cash. Their romance lasted just three weeks before the Air Force deployed the 19-year-old future music legend to Germany for a three-year tour. After thousands of love letters, he returned to her native San Antonio where they married and became parents to the first two of their four daughters in less than two years. Johnny's career -- and dependence on drugs -- took off shortly thereafter, and things were never the same. Whether you're a Man in Black fan or not, you'll be moved by this raw but ultimately sympathetic look at a woman who was ill-equipped for what life -- and love -- brought her way.
And anyone from a large family -- I'm the adult child of an alcoholic with two older brothers and a younger sister -- will get a kick out of hearing how everyone has their own version of family history and, in a sense, the truth. Eldest daughter Rosanne comes off as the consummate cynic (the oldest is always the know-it-all -- and wait'll you hear what she has to say about stepdad Dick Distin!) while second child Kathy is the rye, sardonic, HILARIOUS one. Third in line, Cindy, strikes me as having been most hurt by the divorce, while baby Tara (the family sweetheart?) had a completely different experience as she never really knew her parents when they were truly together.
Vivian, who craved privacy above all else yet resented being erased from history, probably would not have been able to watch this warts-and-all examination of her life. (There's a scene involving her former son-in-law Rodney Crowell that was one of several that reduced me to tears.) But she no doubt would have appreciated that the record was finally set straight that it was she -- not Johnny's "savior" replacement bride -- who persevered and raised four beautiful daughters all but by herself.
The film was slated to premiere at South by Southwest, but because of the coronavirus crisis, it is showing on Amazon Prime for a limited time now.
Variety agrees, calling "My Darling Vivian" an exceptional documentary that separates fact from myth while telling the story of Johnny Cash’s first wife. Read HERE.
Footnote:
It's probably worth mentioning that director Matt Riddlehoover and producer Dustin Tittle are married, and that Dustin is the son of Kathy Cash. :-)
I've been a fan of women singing (Tom) Waits ever since Tracey Thorn covered "Downtown Train" back in '92. Now a dozen other women have had the honor, as part of "Come Up to the House: Women Sing Waits," a new tribute to the influential singer/songwriter, who turns 70 next month.
P.S.
Damian informs me that another lady -- his lady -- covered it on her "Strange Little Girls" LP back in 2001.
Missing hyphen notwithstanding, "Third Rate Romance" was definitely one of the more memorable songs from Rose's third (or fourth, depending on how you count) album. RIP.
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