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