| Ask someone what kind of music they're into and | | | | often than not told with tongue very firmly in cheek. |
| nine times out of ten, the response will be: "I like all | | | | He did serious stuff too, of course. "Ring Of Fire" is |
| kinds... except country...". Most people think country | | | | one of the greatest love songs ever written, "Folsom |
| means songs in which women moan about their | | | | Prison Blues" tackles the themes of redemption and |
| husbands walking out on them and their forty | | | | regret perfectly and signature tune "The Man In |
| children, or songs in which fully grown men cry about | | | | Black" is an inspiring manifesto, pleading for an end to |
| having their horse stolen. | | | | social injustice. |
| To the younger generations, country means that | | | | A little bit of research into Cash's contemporaries |
| weird old music that only parents (or grandparents) | | | | leads to such names as Wilson Nelson, Merle Haggard |
| listen to, and it's not hard to see where they're | | | | and Hank Williams. Nelson, who it seems hasn't aged |
| coming from; as children, we rummage through our | | | | in around thirty years, and Haggard came to |
| parent's album collections only to discover bizarre | | | | prominence during the rise in popularity of outlaw |
| record covers with cheesy, old fashioned pictures of | | | | country in the 1970s, a movement that saw a trend |
| men dressed in rhinestone suits with leather cowboy | | | | towards songs about jail, drinking, drugs and hard |
| boots; country music was lurking. | | | | working men. Williams meanwhile left a legacy in |
| The country genre became associated with Billy Ray | | | | country music when he died aged 29 after |
| Cyrus' awful novelty record "Achy Breaky Heart" and | | | | overdosing on Morphine. During the 1950s, Williams |
| the resultant line-dancing craze, and it also spawned | | | | was a pioneer of the honky-tonk style, which Elvis |
| the over-played radio-friendly MOR of Shania Twain | | | | Presley later adopted and became a global superstar |
| and Sheryl Crow. All are great reasons to be put off | | | | in the process. |
| country music for life. | | | | All of the above, including Elvis, are inductees of the |
| But in this sea of country music crass, a king was | | | | Country Music Hall of Fame, which was founded in |
| born; Johnny Cash, a man with a deep, disturbing | | | | 1962. Located in Nashville - 'music city USA', the |
| voice, who dresses all in black like a real rock star | | | | Country Music Hall of Fame doubles as a museum of |
| and tells the most wonderful stories through his | | | | all things country, including hand-written lyrics sheets |
| songs. | | | | and instruments used by legendary artists including |
| Take a listen to songs like "A Boy Named Sue" and | | | | Cash; and there's plenty of rustic country hotels in |
| "One Piece At A Time" and you'll realise that the | | | | Nashville available for anyone wishing to pay the Hall |
| ridiculous tales country artists come up with are more | | | | of Fame and its many inductees a visit. |