In Johnny Cash: The Life, Robert Hilburn tells the complete story of Johnny Cash for the first time. He covers Cash’s artistic career and turbulent life, from his days growing up poor in Depression-era rural Arkansas, working the cotton fields of his family’s farm, to becoming one of the true icons of 20th-century popular music.
Of the many great rock and country arrivals in the 1950s, Cash was one of the few who approached his music as more than hits for the jukebox. He wanted to inspire and uplift people.
Robert Hilburn knew Cash well, reporting on him at many different points in his career, from the legendary Folsom Prison concert in 1968—where he was the only music journalist attending—to his wrenching last days. Hilburn was a pop music critic and pop music editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1970 through 2005.