Watch Johnny Cash perform ‘I Walk The Line’ at his final performance
If there was one artist who defined the unstoppable spirit of creative endeavour, it was Johnny Cash. A man who suffered more career setbacks than most routinely rose to defy his critics and captivate the hearts and minds of new audiences with every passing decade. Finding fame as part of the Sun Records explosion in the 1950s, before demanding attention as ‘The Man in Black’ in the 1960s and a family-friendly showman in the ’70s, Cash would continue his journey through time with an incandescent sense of humble pride.
A devoted maverick, Cash rarely followed the guidelines laid out for him. He routinely defied his critics and his adoring audiences to produce work that challenged the norma and pushed his artistic bones to breaking point. As the turn of the millennium came, many would have expected the septuagenarian to have slowed down. Instead, he began work with Rick Rubin to create his American Recordings series, which saw him deliver one of the finest covers albums of all time.
However, in 2003, shortly after the love of his life June Carter Cash, passed away, Johnny Cash would follow. Cash routinely shared his love for June. In countless shows of affection, the rebellious rocker often showed himself to be as soft as a tumble-dried kitten when around his adoring wife. From the first time they met to his final performance, Cash shared his love for June whenever he could.
Naturally, as an ageing performer, that opportunity presented itself less and less as time passed. However, during his final performance on July 5th, 2003, Cash took the opportunity to sing a song directly connected to his life with June, ‘I Walk The Line’.
Truth be told, the origin of the song is more closely linked to another of Cash’s wives. The guitar-slinging troubadour originally wrote the song to remind him and his spouse Vivian that he would remain true to her while on the road with his new rock and roll pal, Elvis Presley.
The song would ironically push Johnny Cash into the fame game and, in turn, into the arms of hedonistic vice. Drugs, girls and general mischief would follow Cash even after meeting June Carter for the first time in 1956. The song may have been a promise to his first wife, Vivian, but he wouldn’t make good on it until he married June Carter in 1968.
From that moment onwards, Cash’s life would change. While it would still take some years before his outlaw ways would permanently desist, he remained utterly devoted to June Carter until his dying day. It means ‘I Walk The Line’ has become an anthem for the couple’s kismet. When he took to the stage less than two months after her death, he provided a powerful performance of the song that was dripping in emotion.
Watch Johnny Cash pay tribute to June Carter in his final performance of ‘I Walk The Line’.
