How did Depeche Mode react to Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Personal Jesus’?
From pioneering industrial music to raging against punk, Depeche Mode have always trodden their own path. This has seen them carve out a special place in the pantheon of music, creating a distinctive style and aesthetic named by a host of influential acts as significant. Whether it be Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins or even DJ Paul van Dyk, their list of disciples is extensive.
Whilst Depeche Mode are perhaps best known for their 1981 hit ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, there is much more to their oeuvre, and over the course of the 1980s, the band refined their craft, creating atmospheric electronic rock. This culminated in the release of 1990’s Violator, which strongly claims to be their best album, providing timeless cuts such as ‘Enjoy the Silence’ and ‘Policy of Truth’.
Whilst their most notable singles remain some of the quintessential pieces by Depeche Mode, the album’s lead single, 1989’s ‘Personal Jesus’, is the best known from this body of work. Boasting a rumbling rhythm, ominous riff and infectious hook, the song has been covered by many notable acts, including rebel country icon Johnny Cash and controversial shock rocker Marilyn Manson.
Of course, it Cash’s version that is most lauded, appearing on his 67th and final album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. The record’s producer Rick Rubin suggested the idea, and the cover proved to be a masterstroke, with it one of the finest cuts of Cash’s later period. The country icon would later describe it as “probably the most evangelical gospel song I ever recorded”.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2017, Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan reflected on Johnny Cash covering their track. Before that, though, he discussed the rumour that his bandmate Martin Gore took the title from Priscilla Presley’s memoir. He said: “I do think that particular phrase was inspired by something Martin read in her book, where she talked about Elvis being [Southern-belle accent] ‘her own personal Jesus,’ and I think that struck a chord with him. It’s a great line! It’s got a humour in it too as well, and there’s always this weird dark humour within a lot of Depeche Mode songs that people miss, tongue-in-cheek and also very British, but it was in that song for sure.”
Asked if the different Cash and Manson covers changed how the band approached playing ‘Personal Jesus’ live or even his appreciation of the song, Gahan replied: “I was in the studio recording a solo album, Hourglass, and Martin rang me because he’d heard news that Johnny Cash wanted to cover it, and he was kind of umming and ahhing about it, whether to give permission, and I was like ‘What are you, crazy? That’s like Elvis asking, of course, you let him do it!’ And he was like [mumbles] ‘Oh yes, well, I guess,’ in his very Martin sort of way.”
He concluded: “And it’s a great version, just fantastic. But it really propelled the song to another dimension, and so did Manson’s version of it. Our version is our version, and it always changes a little bit live, the way it swings, what you do with it. And you can do a lot with it because it’s a great rock & roll song.”
Revisit both versions of ‘Personal Jesus’ below.
