On what would have been his 78th birthday, Johnny Cash is seeing yet another

resurgence in popularity.
Since his death in 2003 and the biopic that was released two years later, Walk The
Line, the man's
shadow has grown to heights that no one ever would have imagined. In death Cash is
growing ever
stronger by the day, and rightfully so.

Rocks Off got word today that the ten billionth song to be purchased on iTunes was
one of Cash's
compositions. The buyer, Georgia grandfather Louie Sulcer, received a phone call
from Apple honcho
Steve Jobs, another from Cash's daughter Roseanne, and a $10,000 gift card for the
online music store.
No word on what the exact song was, but we hope it was our favorite Cash track,
"Man In Black,"
the lyrics of which are emblazoned in tattoo ink across our chest.

This week producer Rick Rubin's influential American label released what he has
said is the last
of the sessions he recorded with Cash close to his death. The new American VI:
Ain't No Grave is
a stirring and fitting coda to the work that Rubin and Cash were doing at the time
of the singer's
death. Starting with 1994's inaugural American Recordings album, the pair ran
through five albums of
Cash doing both traditional songs and covers of songs by such disparate artists as
Glenn Danzig,
Soundgarden, Beck, Neil Diamond and most famously a version of Nine Inch Nails'
"Hurt."

The new Grave features backing work from the Avett Brothers, Smoky Hormel (Beck),
and Matt Sweeney
formerly of the indie band Chavez. This last round of tracks includes a song each
from Sheryl Crow
and Kris Kristofferson. It ends with the sweet Hawaiian lilt of "Aloha Oe," written
by the last
official monarch of the islands, Queen Lili'uokalani.

As dour and foreboding as Cash's image was at times, he was one hell of a funny
guy. In interviews
he was always quick to turn a phrase and he was known to be a hellraiser on tours
back in his Sun
Records heyday. When you partied with people like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee
Lewis, you had to up
your game just a tad. Up until his death, Cash was a humorous and warm fellow. On
some of the tracks
he did with Rubin, you can hear him cracking jokes to his backing band before and
after songs.

1. Aint No Grave

2. Redemption Day

3. For The Good Times

4. I Corinthians 15:55

5. Can't Help But Wonder Where Im Bound

6. Satisfied Mind

7. I Dont Hurt Anymore

8. Cool Water

9. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

10. Aloha Oe

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Album : Ain't No Grave
Track name : Ain't No Grave
Track name/Position : 1
Performer : Johnny Cash
Genre : Country
Recorded date : 2010

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Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Duration : 2mn 53s
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