Reply #14: After the Memorial, there is Johnny Cash vs Music Row on CMT

[Momof1]

It premiered last night.

Snip:
The struggle between American music legend Johnny Cash and mainstream country music takes the spotlight in Controversy: Johnny Cash vs. Music Row. Featured interviews include daughter Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Ricky Skaggs, Anthony De Curtis (Rolling Stone), longtime manager Lou Robin, Bill Miller (Cash: An American Man), music industry leaders and journalists.

The one-hour episode chronicles Cash’s struggle to find a place for his music as country radio playlists were drastically changing and country radio was not playing Cash records. In 1986, after a 28-year relationship, Columbia Records unceremoniously dropped Cash from the label. His new union with Mercury Records in 1987 yielded little success. Upon signing with non-Nashville label American Records, Cash ultimately found a compatible label home for his music. His Grammy-winning 1994 American Records debut American Recordings delivered the goods with a new generation of fans.

Kristofferson talks about Cash’s departure from Columbia Records: “John never talked to me about the disappointment about being dropped by the label that he built. I know I felt that it was a statement more about country music than it was about John. Country music had gotten so big, largely because of John. His television show brought attention to country music that it never had before when it had people like Bob Dylan and James Taylor. People who didn’t usually go to Nashville were coming to Nashville out of respect for Johnny Cash.”

UnSnip:

http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn//controversy/82515/episode_about.jhtml

There is one part of this show, where a Sony Executive is talking about the full page "Thank you to Music Row, and The Nashville establishment" Ad that Johnny ran after winning the Grammy.

The Exec, says that the whole room was talking about the ad, and she mentioned "You do realize that he is talking to us?"

Its a great show.