Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Originally this authorised biography was going to be the full on deal with author and subject meeting for a series of interviews but sadly Cash died before this could happen. Instead Turner was forced to delve into the life and times of this American legend through interviews with friends and family. The results are extraordinary and perhaps the enforced distance creates a better book because Turner honestly debunks some of the myths and as a Christian is suitably equipped to deal with Cash's faith. He's also used to dealing with world class artists as previous biographies have included Cliff Richard, Marvin Gaye and Van Morrison. Here he tracks the course of Cash's life from cotton picking poverty through time in the Army in Europe and the beginnings of his career on Sun Records to major league success and his professional slumps to the final comeback and the revitalisation of his career with the American recordings. Like all music legends, there is a certain amount of enigma and Turner unpacks this without getting distracted by the Man In Black image. Turner explores Cash's conversion in the '60s after he had pushed the self destruct button and scraped close to death. Cash's 30-year love affair with June Carter is touching and his latter day musical revival having been dropped by his label and deemed irrelevant in the '80s is also heartening. This is especially so because so many of his later albums were packed with songs that married his faith with a familiar earthiness. Turner has written a compelling book - I read it in two days and I wasn't even a Johnny Cash fan! I am now though! An amazing life, successfully captured in this stunning biography.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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