When Johnny Cash tore into a track by The Doors: “Doesn’t mean anything”
The man in black, Johnny Cash, was a truly original figure within the music industry. Despite often being referred to as a country artist, Cash managed to eclipse the seemingly strict boundaries of the genre. As opposed to many prominent country artists throughout the years, Cash harboured an inherent need to develop and adapt his sound to the changing musical landscape. As such, the singer-songwriter always kept his ear to the ground with regard to emerging talent within the music scene, growing to love talents like Beck and Nick Cave, although he wasn’t always a fan.
Cash first burst onto the scene in the late 1950s, a time during which the musical mainstream was captivated by the early infancy of rock ‘n’ roll. Expectedly, Cash never particularly gave in to trends, operating exclusively on his own terms. Nevertheless, the songwriter did not completely ignore these revolutionary times in music history, finding a natural appreciation for early rock and roll stars like Little Richard or Buddy Holly.
When the 1960s rolled around and rock music became distinctly more confrontational and experimental, one might have expected figures like Cash to reject these abrasive young groups. After all, much of the hippie counterculture was branded with being ‘anti-American’, and therefore worthy of denunciation by various prominent figures in country music. In opposition, Cash was openly supportive of this new era for rock music, even contributing to the body of protest music with his seminal track ‘What is Truth’ in 1970 – which he played for President Nixon.
Although he had a clear appreciation for the hippie movement, Cash was not desperate to throw a blanket of support over the entire music scene. During a 1968 tour of the UK, the country star was asked to review the week’s new singles by Melody Maker, which uncovered some less-than-favourable views about one band in particular, The Doors. Jim Morrison’s group were among the most iconic outfits of the counterculture period, responsible for the creation of some truly groundbreaking tracks which defined the era, but Cash was not convinced.
Speaking to the magazine, Cash voiced his opinions on The Doors’ 1968 single ‘The Unknown Soldier’. The track had been written by Morrison as a way of expressing his feelings towards US involvement in Vietnam, a theme which would become common through the discography of the band, as well as the wider hippie music scene. Despite its profound musings on war and conflict, Cash derisively said, “I don’t like it.”
Continuing in his assessment of the song, he shared, “I’m quite interested in some of the West Coast groups, but I don’t think this’ll be a hit here. It’s not the sort of thing teenagers want to hear,” explaining, “They don’t want to hear military drum beats. In fact, I don’t want to hear military marches. God, no, it’s all over now. I’m sorry, they’re a great group, but this record doesn’t mean anything.”
Indeed, the song was not a hit in the UK – as Cash predicted – but it did manage to reach number 39 in the US singles chart, meaning that some people were not as opposed to the sounds of military drum beats as the country star. ‘The Unknown Soldier’ remains one of the band’s most beloved tracks, and for good reason, but it should come as no surprise that it was not to the tastes of Cash. After all, it was not meant to be for him. It was written for a frustrated generation of kids in America about the damaging effects of their government and military.
