highway 61 revisited

this photo of johnny cash and june carter cash taken by annie leibovitz stunned me when i saw it for the first time in the book american music. it was the first time i realized you could mix music & photography together. i decided immediately that i wanted to be a music photo journalist & imagined myself photographing my legends: tom petty, bob dylan, eric clapton, patti smith, stevie nicks, bonnie raitt - & then writing some stunning paragraph to go with it; a knock-out quote from the musician, some great "behind-the-scenes" story no one has heard before.

the picture also captured me because of the emotion and expression on both johnny & june's faces. it's also impossible to forget johnny cash is a legend in his own right. before the biopic walk the line graced the big screen & everyone fell in love with the love story of these musicians, there was his blend of country/rock/gospel; the man in black, raising hell & writing music that's still considered relevant.

when cash worked with producer rick rubin in the 90's, he started a new phase in his career, opening his music up to a whole new generation when he covered NiN's Hurt and soundgarden's Rusty Cage. he made those songs so much his own it's almost a shame to call them "covers". regardless, trent reznor & chris cornell must have felt honored.




but while i'm on the subject of mr. johnny cash, i have to mention his version of bob dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. the first time i heard his unmistakeable voice speak the words: "God said to abraham...", i listened so intently, trying to remember where i'd heard those famous words before. once again, the man made the song his own.

-take that, bob dylan.