The 1963 Johnny Cash song 'Ring of Fire' has been my long time favorite song from the country legend. When I first purposely started playing ol' Johnny Cash, it was my song of choice in the Jukebox at Denny's bar
in South Oakland(Pittsburgh). My high school buddy Fat Tom, loved Johnny Cash, and I quickly grew to love 'Ring of Fire'. I still have great memories of darts and pitchers at the bar playing this song over and over.
I eventually picked up Johnny Cash - Legend of Johnny Cash as my primer to his collection, of which I have about 20 albums now. Ring of Fire has always held strong as my fav.
Johnny Cash - 'Ring of Fire'
Through the years, there have been many cover versions of Ring of Fire. The one that sticks out the most was the Social Distortion
attempt from 1990. That was at least until in a deep music exploration session, I came across The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971, including a live version by Ray Charles.
Is It A Cover Or Not?
In an ongoing argument/discussion I've had with many folks over the years, the debate of cover songs revolve around whether a song is truly a cover, if it's not re-invented, not stripped down and done in the covering artist's style, rather than being re-done in the original vein. The Ray Charles version is an extremely unique version of 'Ring of Fire', and can stand alone now, just as it could stand alone back then. This version elicits just as much emotion, if not more, than the original. I continually catch my self, going back to listen to it again and again.
Ray Charles performing 'Ring of Fire' on the Johnny Cash TV Show
A definitive article on this song can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire_(song)
If you are considering a purchase of The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-197, for the Ray Charles version, I have stumbled across it at a Cracker Barrel in their store as a DVD, but you can use the Amazon.com link above for either CD, Download or DVD.
Enjoy!
in South Oakland(Pittsburgh). My high school buddy Fat Tom, loved Johnny Cash, and I quickly grew to love 'Ring of Fire'. I still have great memories of darts and pitchers at the bar playing this song over and over.I eventually picked up Johnny Cash - Legend of Johnny Cash as my primer to his collection, of which I have about 20 albums now. Ring of Fire has always held strong as my fav.
Johnny Cash - 'Ring of Fire'
Through the years, there have been many cover versions of Ring of Fire. The one that sticks out the most was the Social Distortion
attempt from 1990. That was at least until in a deep music exploration session, I came across The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971, including a live version by Ray Charles.Is It A Cover Or Not?
In an ongoing argument/discussion I've had with many folks over the years, the debate of cover songs revolve around whether a song is truly a cover, if it's not re-invented, not stripped down and done in the covering artist's style, rather than being re-done in the original vein. The Ray Charles version is an extremely unique version of 'Ring of Fire', and can stand alone now, just as it could stand alone back then. This version elicits just as much emotion, if not more, than the original. I continually catch my self, going back to listen to it again and again.
Yes, It Is A Cover!
Ray Charles performing 'Ring of Fire' on the Johnny Cash TV Show
A definitive article on this song can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire_(song)
If you are considering a purchase of The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-197, for the Ray Charles version, I have stumbled across it at a Cracker Barrel in their store as a DVD, but you can use the Amazon.com link above for either CD, Download or DVD.
Enjoy!
Do you include JC's version as a cover? Or are you of the opinion(as JC's first wife was) that JC actually wrote this song, and not June?
ReplyDeleteThe link to Wikipedia goes into more details on the origin of the song (including who originally performed and wrote the song) However, my opinion is that songs from that era are shopped until they found a home. That first home was with Johnny Cash. Was it the true original no, but it was certainly the version that it's compared to from then on.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic arrangement! I cannot believe that I had never heard this one before!
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! that's what a cover should be, not an imitation but a personal and unique performance of someone else's lyrics.
ReplyDelete