The Rare Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash Recordings — The Complete Resource
In a historic clash of two of American folk music’s finest and most definitive artists who carried the mantle of the genre for nearly four decades starting from the ’50s and ’60s, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash would contrive to come together in a few rare and candid appearances, of which there are only embers and a handful of recordings which remain today.
Both Dylan and Cash went on to reach previously unheard of heights of fame, stardom and unprecedented success in their longstanding careers which spanned over five decades culminating in what could be viewed as perhaps the most significant and influential contribution to the history of American music, in a way no two artists since have managed.
The two American folk legends shared an enduring friendship and mutual respect for each other over the course of what would come to be 40 years, before Cash came to pass in 2003.
However, in what was a cornerstone moment in history, they would share the studio on only one occasion, just a solitary recording session which lasted two days which took place on February 17th and 18th, 1969.
Writing about his first encounter with Dylan, Cash in his book ‘Cash: The Autobiography‘, wrote
“I was deeply into folk music in the early 1960s,” “Both the authentic songs from various periods and areas of American life and the new ‘folk revival’ songs of the time, so I took note of Bob Dylan as soon as the Bob Dylan album came out in early ’62 and listened almost constantly to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in ’63. I had a portable record player I’d take along on the road, and I’d put on Freewheelin’ backstage, then go out and do my show, then listen again as soon as I came off.”
“After a while at that, I wrote Bob a letter telling him how much of a fan I was. He wrote back almost immediately, saying he’d been following my music since ‘I Walk the Line,’ and so we began a correspondence.”
The pair then met for the first time during the 1964 Newport Folk Festival and according to several accounts from music historians, Cash gifted Dylan his guitar as a mark of respect and approbation.
Over the next few years Dylan would cement himself as one of the most influential artists to have emerged from the American folk music scene, but regardless, Cash wasn’t far behind.
Five years on after their first meeting in 1964, Dylan was recording his ninth studio album ‘Nashville Skyline‘ in Nashville, Tennessee and coincidentally, Cash was also recording in a studio near by. And so, in what would be a brief and exceptionally rare occasion, Cash decided to visit Dylan during those early Nashville Skyline recording sessions in the studio.
The pair met and recorded more than a dozen duets during that session, most of which remain rare, unreleased and an undiscovered rarity for all fans of their music.
However this playlist on YouTube lists rare bootlegs of those recordings. In the playlist there are acoustic takes of the songs ‘Matchbox Blues’, ‘That’s Alright Mama’, ‘Big River’, ‘Ring Of Fire’, ‘Guess Things Happen That Way’ and more.
The pair also recorded ‘Wanted Man’ together, which is available on the official Bob Dylan YouTube channel
Speaking about his relationship with Cash and his admiration for his counterpart, Dylan would later release a statement on Cash after the latter’s sad demise in 2003 recounting:
“In plain terms, Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him — the greatest of the greats then and now,” “Truly he is what the land and country is all about, the heart and soul of it personified and what it means to be here; and he said it all in plain English. I think we can have recollections of him, but we can’t define him any more than we can define a fountain of truth, light and beauty. If we want to know what it means to be mortal, we need look no further than the Man in Black. Blessed with a profound imagination, he used the gift to express all the various lost causes of the human soul.” — Bob Dylan
When it comes to videos of the pair playing together, Dylan and Cash performed the song “Girl From the North Country” on ‘The Johnny Cash Show‘ which was taped on May 1, 1969 at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The video is a rarity which was taken down from YouTube but surfaced later on Facebook (I think you’ll have to sign in to view it, but I’m not sure).
However, here’s the edited 1 minute version:
Speaking about their duet on the Johnny Cash show performing “Girl From the North Country”, live on TV, Cash would later say,
“I didn’t feel anything about it,” “But everybody said it was the most magnetic, powerful thing they ever heard in their life. They were just raving about electricity and magnetism. And all I did was just sit there hitting G chords.”
— Johnny Cash
However, while the duo’s performance on ‘The Johnny Cash Show‘ was a remarkable one, there was yet another timeless video which emerged from the original February 1969 studio sessions in Nashville of the pair singing together.
In what was a fateful moment of unrivaled authenticity, both Dylan and Cash were filmed together standing a few feet away from each other with their guitars strapped on and with a couple of microphones hanging down on either side, singing alternate verses of Dylan’s song, ‘One Too Many Mornings‘.
Originally written by Dylan for his 1963 album ‘The Times They Are A-Changing‘, ‘One Too Many Mornings‘ reflects on the moments shared by two estranged lovers after their separation in a post-war era, where loneliness, alienation and the shadow of the night is cast upon the two wayfaring souls as they now walk the streets alone.
Now some 50 odd years on, the three and a half minute video recording remains an essential rarity for music fans across the spectrum, not limited to just fans of the legendary duo’s music.
To now sit back and watch both these legends of American music of the later part of the 20th century share the camera and studio and record a song together while also sharing a few smiles and laughs, remains an eclectic surprise and an authentic and candid take on the golden years and lives and times of perhaps two of American folk music’s most celebrated artists of all time.
