Top 885 Artists-Number 1-Johnny Cash

He was a true American original, a man who lived on the edge, both personally and professionally. He was touted by the Left for his sympathy for prisoners, American Indians, and working men, and by the Right, for his turn towards spirituality in later years. But the Man In Black was always his own man. He was Johnny Cash.

Although he originated his career in Nashville (Sun Records), Johnny Cash was never "of Nashville", at least not for most of his professional life. His independent attitude and frequent brushes with the law saw to that. But in much of his music, in songs like "Folsom Prison Blues", "Cry Cry Cry", "Ring Of Fire", "Ghost Riders In The Sky", and a hundred more, there is a purity and nobility that comes through more than any other performer of the 20th Century. His deep baritone voice and a style that combined the world-weariness of country and the emotional honesty of folk, with the rebelliousness of rock.

In the 1990s and beyond, his career enjoyed a resurgence. He worked with producer Rick Rubin on a series of recordings; he covered "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and performed with U2. But really, he was cool even when Nashville and the larger musical establishment didn't think he was cool.

As shown in the Academy Award-winning film "I Walk The Line," Johnny could raise sure raise hell, eventually saving himself, with a lot of help from June Carter. Sometimes the biggest sinners do make the best saints.