Name	Joe Strummer
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Graham Mellor
Born	August 21, 1952Ankara, Turkey
Died	December 22, 2002Broomfield, Somerset, England
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass
Genre	Punk rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, radio host, actor
Years active	1973–2002
Label	CBS, Sony, Hellcat, Mercury
Associated acts	The 101ers, The Clash, The Latino Rockabilly War, The Pogues, The Mescaleros
Website	strummernews.com
Notable instruments	1966 Fender Telecaster }}

John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in addition to his own solo music career. Strummer's work as a musician allowed him to explore other interests, which included acting, creating film scores for television and movies, songwriting, radio broadcasting, and a position as a radio host. Strummer is one of the most iconic figures of the British punk movement.

Joe Strummer and The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2003. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music, and each year there are many festivals and both organised and spontaneous ceremonies worldwide to celebrate his memory.

Biography and career

(1952–1976) The early years

Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on 21 August 1952. His mother, Anna Mackenzie, a crofter's daughter born and raised in Bonar Bridge in the Scottish Highlands, was a nurse. His father, Ronald Mellor, was a British foreign service diplomat born in Lucknow, India. Ronald Mellor had an Armenian maternal grandfather and a German Jewish paternal grandmother.

The family spent much time moving from place to place, and Strummer spent parts of his early childhood in Cairo, Mexico City, and Bonn. At the age of 9, Strummer and his older brother David, 10, began boarding at the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey. Strummer rarely saw his parents during the next seven years. He developed a love of rock music listening to records by Little Richard and The Beach Boys as well as American folk-singer Woody Guthrie (Strummer would even go by the nickname "Woody" for a few years). Strummer would later say that "the reason he played music was the Beach Boys."

By 1970 his brother David had become estranged from his family and had joined the National Front. His suicide in July profoundly affected Strummer, as did having to identify his body after it had lain undiscovered for three days. After finishing his time at City of London Freemen's School, Ashtead Park, Surrey, in 1970, Strummer moved on to London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where he briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a professional cartoonist, but ultimately completed a foundations course. During this time, Mellor shared a flat in the north London suburb of Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg.

In 1973 Strummer moved to Newport, Wales. He did not study at Newport College of Art but met up with college musicians in the Students' Union in Stow Hill and became vocalist for Flaming Youth, renaming the band The Vultures. The Vultures included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars, the original college band co-founded by Terry Earl Taylor. For the next year he was the band's part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time Strummer also worked as a gravedigger. In 1974, the band fell apart and he moved back to London where he met up again with Tymon Dogg. He did street performance for a while and then decided to form another band with his West London roommates. The band was called The 101'ers, named after the address of their squat (101 Walterton Road, in Maida Vale). The band played many gigs in London pubs, playing covers of popular American R&B; and blues songs. In 1975 he stopped calling himself "Woody" Mellor and adopted the stage name of Joe Strummer, and insisted that his friends call him by that name. The name "Strummer" apparently referred to his role as rhythm guitarist, in a rather self-deprecating way. Though left-handed, he was taught to play right-handed by his friend Tymon Dogg. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101'ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by his girlfriend at the time, Slits drummer Palmolive. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", and picked it as their first single.

(1976–1986) The Clash

On 3 April 1976, a then-unknown band called the Sex Pistols opened for The 101'ers at a venue called "The Nashville Rooms" in London, and Strummer was impressed by them. Sometime after this show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones. Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to leave the 101'ers and join Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Levene. The band was named The Clash by Simonon and made their debut on 4 July 1976, opening for the Sex Pistols at The Black Swan (a.k.a. The Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk Sheffield, England). On 25 January 1977, the band signed with CBS Records and was now a three-piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. Drummer Topper Headon later became the band's full-time drummer.

At the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clash was said to be "considered one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history". Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, police brutality, political and social repression, and militarism in detail. Strummer was involved with the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation Class War. The Clash's ''London Calling'' album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK; it was released in 1980 in the USA).

During his time with The Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting in trouble with the law. On 10 June 1977, he and Topper were arrested for spray-painting "The Clash" on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a show in Hamburg, Germany. This incident shocked Strummer, and had a lasting personal impact on him.

Before the album ''Combat Rock'' was released in 1982, Strummer wilfully went into hiding and band management represented that he had "disappeared". Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, pressured Joe to do so because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of an upcoming tour. It was planned for Strummer to meet and stay with one of Rhodes' friends in secret. However, Strummer, uneasy with his decision, decided to genuinely disappear and "dicked around" in France. During this time, Joe ran the Paris Marathon in April 1982. He claimed his training regime consisted of 10 pints of beer the night before the race. For this period of time, Joe's whereabouts were not only a mystery to the public, but the band's management as well. Joe later said this was a huge mistake and you "have to have some regrets". This was in spite of the popular success of the single "Rock the Casbah". During this time band members began to argue a lot, and with tensions high, the group began to fall apart. In September 1983, Strummer issued the infamous "Clash Communique", and fired Mick Jones. Topper Headon had earlier been kicked out of the band because of his heroin addiction, which now left the band with only two of its original members. Rhodes persuaded Strummer to carry on and added new members. "The Clash Mark Two" released the album ''Cut The Crap'' in 1985. The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded The Clash.

(1986–1999) The wilderness years

A year later, Strummer worked on several songs for the 1986 film ''Sid and Nancy'', including "Love Kills" and "Dum Dum Club". Strummer also later worked with Mick Jones and his band Big Audio Dynamite, contributing to the band's second album by co-writing most of the songs as well as producing the album along with Jones. In 1987 he played a small part in the film ''Walker'', directed by Alex Cox, as a character named "Faucet" and wrote and performed on the film's soundtrack. He starred in another Cox film that same year called ''Straight to Hell'', as the character Simms. Straight to Hell also featured London-Irish folk/punk band The Pogues – both as actors & major contributors to the soundtrack. Strummer joined The Pogues for a tour in 1987/88, filling in for ailing guitarist Philip Chevron, who wrote (in May, 2008) on the band's online forum: "When I was sick in late 1987, I taught Joe all the guitar parts in an afternoon and he was on tour in the USA as deputy guitarist the next day. Joe wrote all the tabs in his meticulously neat hand on a long piece of paper which he taped to the top of the guitar so he could glance down occasionally when he was onstage." This tour would be the first of several collaborations with the band.

In 1989 Strummer played a substantial role in Jim Jarmusch's film ''Mystery Train'', as a drunken, short-tempered drifter named Johnny (whom most characters refer to as Elvis, much to Johnny's dismay). He also made a brief appearance in Aki Kaurismäki's 1990 film ''I Hired a Contract Killer'' as a guitarist in a pub, performing two songs ("Burning Lights" and "Afro-Cuban Bebop"). These were released as a promotional 7" single limited to a few hundred copies, credited to "Joe Strummer & the Astro Physicians". The "Astro Physicians" were in fact The Pogues ("Afro-Cuban Bebop" got a re-release on The Pogues' 2008 box set). During this time Strummer continued to act, write and produce soundtracks for various films, most notably the soundtrack for ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' (1997). In 1989, Strummer began producing solo records with a band called The Latino Rockabilly War. The album ''Earthquake Weather'' was a critical and commercial flop, and resulted in the loss of his contract with Sony Records. He also did the soundtrack to the movie ''Permanent Record'' with this band. Strummer was asked by The Pogues, who were fracturing as a band, to help them produce their next album – released in 1990 as Hell's Ditch. In 1991 he replaced Shane MacGowan as singer of The Pogues for a tour after MacGowan's departure from the band. One night of this tour was professionally recorded, and three tracks ("I fought the Law", "London Calling", and "Turkish Song of the Damned") have seen release as b-sides & again on The Pogues' 2008 box set. On 16 April 1994, Strummer joined Czech-American band Dirty Pictures on stage in Prague at the Repre Club in Obecni Dum at "Rock for Refugees", a benefit concert for people left displaced by the war in Bosnia. Backed up by the Pictures, Strummer played a blistering set of Clash songs that he said he had not played in more than ten years. Although the set appeared impromptu, Joe and the band had spent the days leading up to the event rehearsing and "hanging out" in Prague. The show began with "London Calling" and without pause went into "Brand New Cadillac". In the middle of the song, the power went out. Once the power was back on, Joe asked the crowd whether or not they would mind if the band started over. They then began again with "London Calling" and continued on for another half hour. After these self-described "wilderness years", Strummer began working with other bands; he played piano on the 1995 UK hit of The Levellers, "Just the One" and appeared on the Black Grape single "England's Irie" in 1996. In 1997 while in New York City, he had worked with noted producer and engineer Lee Perry on a significant amount of remixed Clash and 101'ers reissue dub material. In 1998, he made a guest appearance on the animated television show, South Park and appeared on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album featuring songs from and inspired by the series. Also during this time, Strummer was in dispute with The Clash's record label, Epic Records. The disagreement lasted nearly eight years and ended with the label agreeing to let him record solo records with another label. If The Clash were to reunite though, they would have to record for Sony.

During the nineties Strummer was a DJ on the BBC World Service with his half-hour programme London Calling. Samples from the series provide the vocals for "Midnight Jam" on Joe and the Mescaleros' final album ''Streetcore''.

(1999–2002) The Mescaleros and other work

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Strummer gathered top-flight musicians into a backing band he called The Mescaleros. Strummer and the band signed with Mercury Records, and issued their first album in 1999, which was co-written with Antony Genn, called ''Rock Art and the X-Ray Style''. A tour of England, Europe, and North America soon followed; sets included several Clash fan favourites.

In 2001 the band signed with Californian punk label Hellcat Records and released their second album, ''Global A Go-Go''. The album was supported with a 21-date tour of North America, Britain, and Ireland. Once again, these concerts featured Clash material ("London's Burning", "Rudie Can't Fail", "White Man In Hammersmith Palais"), as well as covers of reggae and ska hits ("The Harder They Come", "A Message To You, Rudy") and the band regularly closed the show by playing The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop". He covered "Redemption Song" with Johnny Cash, originally by Bob Marley. In the same year, somewhat out of character, Strummer and the Mescaleros performed the song "Minstrel Boy" for the movie ''Black Hawk Down'', a haunting and emotive Celtic tune that is played during the evacuation of PFC Todd Blackburn during the Battle of Mogadishu and again over the end credits.

On 15 November 2002, Strummer and The Mescaleros played a benefit show for striking fire fighters in London, at the Acton Town Hall. Mick Jones was in the crowd, and joined the band on stage during the Clash's "Bankrobber." An encore followed with Jones playing guitar and singing on "White Riot" and "London's Burning". This performance marked the first time since 1983 that Strummer and Jones had performed together on stage. Jones later remarked that it was totally unplanned and that he felt compelled to join Strummer on stage.

Strummer's final regular gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November 2002, yet his final performance, just two weeks before his death, was in a small club venue 'The Palace' in Bridgwater, Somerset near to his home. Shortly before his death Strummer and U2's Bono co-wrote a song, "46664", for Nelson Mandela as part of a campaign against AIDS in Africa. Strummer had been scheduled to play at Mandela's SOS fundraising concert in February 2003 on Robben Island. Mick Jones later recorded a version of the song in studio, performing both the vocals and guitar work, that has yet to be formally released.

(2002–present) Death and legacy

Strummer died suddenly on 22 December 2002 in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. His estate was valued at just under £1 million, and he left all the money to his wife Lucinda.

Strummer was instrumental in setting up Future Forests (since rechristened The Carbon Neutral Company), dedicated to planting trees in various parts of the world in order to combat global warming. Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music.

In January 2003, The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the Grammy Awards in February 2003, "London Calling" was performed by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Pete Thomas, and Tony Kanal in tribute to Strummer. Another tribute to Strummer occurred in the same month at the rock club "Debaser" in Stockholm, when some of Sweden's most famous rock musicians paid their tribute to Joe by performing songs written by the Clash (the exception was Nicke Borg and Dregen from Backyard Babies, who performed "I Fought the Law", which the Clash had covered). At the end of the concert, the legendary Swedish punk band Ebba Grön reunited for the tribute, aided by Mick Jones on guitar.

At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another Mescaleros album, which was released posthumously in October 2003 under the title ''Streetcore''. The album features a tribute to American music icon Johnny Cash; "Long Shadow", which was actually written for Cash to sing and recorded in Rick Rubin's garage, as well as a remembrance of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 ("Ramshackle Day Parade"), and a cover of Bob Marley's classic "Redemption Song", which Strummer had also recorded as a duet with Cash. The Cash/Strummer duet version appears on the 2003 box set ''Unearthed''.

November 2003 saw the release of a video for "Redemption Song", directed by Josh Cheuse. The video features the painting of a memorial mural, by graffiti artist REVOLT, on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of New York City.

On 22 December 2003, exactly a year after his death, a tribute show/benefit was held at Irving Plaza in NYC. Bands that played were: Ari Up; Clem Snide; The Detachment Kit; Dirty Mary; Hammel on Trial; Jesse Malin; New Blood Revival; The Realistics; Eugene Hütz; Radio 4; Secret Army; Ted Leo; Vic Thrill + The Saturn Missile. The show was videotaped by punkcast.com but is as yet unreleased.

A documentary by Dick Rude titled ''Let's Rock Again!'' was released in 2004. The film, completed after Strummer's death, chronicles life on tour in the United States with the Mescaleros to support ''Global a Go-Go''. The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Little Fingers also recorded a tribute song "Strummerville" on their album, ''Guitar and Drum''. Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, named his son Strummer in honour of Joe. German band Beatsteaks pay tribute to Strummer on their album ''Smack Smash'' with the song "Hello Joe". In 2004, German punk band Die Toten Hosen released an EP called "Friss oder stirb", which included a tribute song for Strummer called "Goodbye Garageland", which is a lyrical co-production with Matt Dangerfield from London's 77 punk band The Boys. Boston Punk Rock Band Street Dogs recorded a tribute song called "The General's Boombox" on their latest album ''State Of Grace'', and New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem recorded the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" on their album ''Sink or Swim''. Attila the Stockbroker's Barnstormer released "Comandante Joe" on their album ''Zero Tolerance''.

On 12 February 2005 the Class 47 locomotive 47828 was named "Joe Strummer". The nameplates were unveiled by his widow Lucinda Tait in a ceremony at Bristol Temple Meads railway station. On 22 July 2005 Tait unveiled a plaque on the house in Pentonville, Newport where Strummer lived from 1973 to 1974 and where his first foray into recorded music, "Crummy Bum Blues" was recorded. ''That Was Clash Radio'', a short story by Charles de Lint, was written in response to Strummer's death and features Strummer in a minor role.

New Orleans-based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their latest album ''Voodoo Shoppe''. The song tells the story of a man who had to break up with his girlfriend because “...she didn't know who/Joe Strummer was.” The popular track is a tongue-in-cheek salute to Strummer and The Clash that received significant radio play in 2006. In addition, the Joe Pernice-penned "High As a Kite", included on The Pernice Brothers 2006 album ''Live a Little'', was, in part a tribute to Joe Strummer. Lyrics included, “Heavy downbeat of one and the show began/London calling, strike up the contraband” and the memorable opening to the chorus, “We wore pictures of Strummer.” A play by Paul Hodson called ''Meeting Joe Strummer'' has premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in winter 2006, and is still touring the UK from the following year. It is not a play directly about Joe, instead about two men who share a passion for Joe's music.

''Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten'', a documentary film directed by Julien Temple about Joe Strummer, premiered on 20 January 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. In conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster, combining elements of Joe's main guitars, namely an attempt at the "road worn" finish of his 1966 Telecaster, which he used until his death. The first 1,500 guitars come with a Shepard Fairey designed "Customization kit" with stickers and stencils, which resemble some of the designs Joe used on his guitars. Joe Strummer's impact is referenced by The Hold Steady in the song "Constructive Summer", a song featured on their 2008 album ''Stay Positive''. In this song the band sings “Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.” In November 2009, Tonara, a town in Sardinia, Italy, dedicated a street to Joe Strummer.

There are also many festivals each year dedicated to his memory. These festivals include Strummerville and there is Strummercamp which bands like The Alarm, The Damned, T.V. Smith from the Adverts, Sham 69, Dreadzone, The Beat, Hugh Cornwell from The Stranglers and a band the appears most years Goldblade which includes author John Robb. All these bands were greatly influenced by The Clash and Joe Strummer.

Marriages and relationships

In 1975, after being offered £120, Strummer married Pamela Moolman, a South African citizen, so she could obtain British citizenship. He bought his signature Fender Telecaster, later painted black, with the money. In 1978 Strummer started a relationship with Gaby Salter shortly after her 17th birthday. The couple remained together for 14 years and had two daughters, Jazz and Lola, but did not marry as Strummer had been unable to locate and divorce Moolman.

During his relationship with Salter, he had multiple affairs spanning the 1980s.

In 1993 Strummer began an affair with Lucinda Tait, which finally ended his relationship with Gaby Salter. Strummer and Tait married in 1995 and remained so until his death in 2002.

Strummer is commonly believed to be Lily Allen's godfather. Although this is not true, Strummer and his family were close friends with the Allens and would regularly attend the Glastonbury Festival together. Lily Allen has recalled how Strummer had a paternal attitude towards her as an adolescent, accompanying her for two days when she went to meet-up with some friends at the festival.

Documentaries

''Let's Rock Again!'' is a one-hour music documentary, directed by Dick Rude, that follows Joe Strummer as he tours across America and Japan with The Mescaleros. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, May 2004.

''Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten'' is a documentary about Joe Strummer by Julien Temple. It comprises archive footage of him spanning his life, and interviews with friends, family, and other celebrities. It debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

A documentary on Strummer's politics ''Let Fury Have The Hour'', produced by Tim Robbins and based on the book of the same name by Antonino D'Ambrosio, is due out in 2008. NYC band Radio 4 are supplying soundtrack music.

''Redemption Song: The Ballad Of Joe Strummer'' is a 2007 biography of Strummer by Chris Salewicz.

Musical equipment

Strummer's main guitar throughout his career was a 1966 Fender Telecaster that originally came in a three-color sunburst with a white pickguard. Strummer acquired the guitar in middle of 1975 while playing with 101ers. After joining the Clash, the guitar's body and pickguard were refinished in grey auto primer and then painted black. By 1979, the word NOISE was stenciled on the upper part of the body, a rasta flag sticker was placed at the horn of the pickguard, and an "Ignore Alien Orders" sticker was placed above the bridge. By the release of ''Give ‘Em Enough Rope'' the guitar was fitted with a bridge with individual saddles and the original Kluson tuners were replaced with later model tuners and a large question mark was spraypainted on its back. The guitar would remain in this configuration throughout his career with the addition of different stickers on its body. The guitar's black paint became worn down due to Strummer's playing and on many places the original sunburst finish and bare wood shines through, except for the square where Strummer taped his setlists. The Fender Custom Shop has created a Joe Strummer tribute Telecaster with a reliced flat black finish. Strummer was naturally left-handed, but learned to play guitar right-handed. He had attributed this as a drawback and claimed it caused him to be underdeveloped as a guitarist, although his style of playing was unique.

For amplification Strummer was known to use amplifiers such as a Roland Jazz Chorus, a Selmer Bassman while he was in the 101'ers, a Vox AC30 and various Marshall amplifiers, but his main amplifier was a Music Man HD 212 150. Strummer commented on his choice of amplifier with "''I don't have time to search for those old Fender tube amps. The Music Man is the closest thing to that sound I've found.''" and that the "''plastic motif on the front is repulsive.''"

Discography

:''For recordings made with the Clash, please see The Clash discography''.

The 101'ers

Year	Album	Additional information

''Solo''

Year	Album	Additional information
	align="left" valign="top"
	align="left" valign="top"	align="left" valign="top"
	align="left" valign="top"	align="left" valign="top"
		align="left" valign="top"
	align="left" valign="top"

;With The Latino Rockabilly War

Year	Album	Additional information
	align="left" valign="top"

;With The Mescaleros

Year	Album	Additional information

Selected filmography

Title ''Rude Boy (film) ''Hell W10'' ''The King of Comedy (1983 film) ''Walker (film) ''Straight to Hell (film) ''Candy Mountain'' ''Mystery Train (film) ''I Hired A Contract Killer'' ''Docteur Chance'' ''Westway to the World ''End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones'' ''Let's Rock Again!'' ''Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten'' ''The Clash Live: Revolution Rock''

Year	|	Role	Other notes
1980	Rude Boy'' ||	Semi-Documentary Subject
1983	|	Writer and director	Silent film
1983	The King of Comedy'' ||	Street Scum	non-speaking cameo
1987	Walker'' ||	Faucet
1987	Straight to Hell'' ||	Simms
1988	|	Mario
1989	Mystery Train'' ||	Johnny aka Elvis
1990	|	Himself	by ''Aki Kaurismaki''
1997	|	Vince Taylor
2000	The Clash: Westway to the World'' ||	Documentary Subject
2003	|	Documentary Subject
2004	|	Documentary Subject
2007	|	Documentary Subject
2008	|	Documentary Subject

In other media

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros appeared on the British musician Jools Holland Show ''Later'' in 2000. Strummer, Warren Zevon, and Tracy Chapman, as well as an ensemble cast, sang "I Fought the Law" at the finale. The show, and this episode, is occasionally shown in the US on Ovation TV.

''The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs'', a novel by Irvine Welsh published in 2006, has a fictional Joe Strummer being implicated in a paternity scandal.

"Johnny Appleseed", a song from Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros' 2001 album ''Global a Go-Go'', is featured as the theme song to the HBO series ''John from Cincinnati'', aired in the summer of 2007.

The song "Mondo Bongo" by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros is featured in the 2005 movie ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith''. The song originally appeared in two different scenes during the movie, but was removed from the later scene in the Director's Cut.

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1952 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Alumni of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Category:The Clash members Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in England Category:English buskers Category:English male singers Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English punk rock guitarists Category:English punk rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English socialists Category:Epitaph Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Old Citizens (City of London School) Category:People from Ankara Category:The Pogues members Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:World music musicians Category:Squatters Category:People educated at City of London Freemen's School

ca:Joe Strummer cs:Joe Strummer da:Joe Strummer de:Joe Strummer es:Joe Strummer fa:جو استرامر fr:Joe Strummer ga:Joe Strummer hr:Joe Strummer it:Joe Strummer mk:Џо Страмер nl:Joe Strummer ja:ジョー・ストラマー no:Joe Strummer pl:Joe Strummer pt:Joe Strummer ro:Joe Strummer ru:Страммер, Джо sk:Joe Strummer sr:Džo Stramer sh:Joe Strummer fi:Joe Strummer sv:Joe Strummer tr:Joe Strummer

name	Johnny Cash
background	solo_singer
birth name	J. R. Cash
birth date	February 20, 1932
birth place	Kingsland, Arkansas, United States
death date	September 12, 2003
death place	Nashville, Tennessee, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin
genre	Country, rock and roll, folk, gospel, blues, rockabilly
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, actor
years active	1955–2003
label	Sun, Columbia, Mercury, American, House of Cash, Legacy Recordings
associated acts	The Tennessee Three, The Highwaymen, June Carter Cash, The Statler Brothers, The Carter Family, The Oak Ridge Boys, Area Code 615, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins
website
notable instruments	Martin Acoustic Guitars }}

John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), A.K.A. "The Man In Black", was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Late in his career, Cash covered songs by several rock artists.

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice; for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues."

Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers, including "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue"; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called "Jackson"; as well as railroad songs including "Hey, Porter" and "Rock Island Line".

Cash, a troubled but devout Christian, has been characterized as a "lens through which to view American contradictions and challenges." A Biblical scholar, he penned a Christian novel titled ''Man in White'', and he made a spoken word recording of the entire New King James Version of the New Testament. Even so, Cash declared that he was "the biggest sinner of them all", and viewed himself overall as a complicated and contradictory man. Accordingly, Cash is said to have "contained multitudes", and has been deemed "the philosopher-prince of American country music".

Personal life

Early life

Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, the fourth of seven children to Ray Cash (May 13, 1897, Kingsland, Arkansas – December 23, 1985, Hendersonville, Tennessee) and Carrie Cloveree Rivers (March 13, 1904, Rison, Arkansas – March 11, 1991, Hendersonville, Tennessee). Cash was named J. R. Cash because his parents couldn't think of a name, but the initials "J. R." When Cash enlisted in the Air Force, they wouldn't let him use initials as his name, so he started to use his legal name of John R. Cash. In 1955, when signing with Sun Records, he took Johnny Cash as his stage name.

The Cash children were, in order: Roy, Margaret Louise, Jack, J. R., Reba, Joanne and Tommy. His younger brother, Tommy Cash, also became a successful country artist.

In March 1935, when Cash was three years old, the family settled in Dyess, Arkansas. J.R. was working in cotton fields beginning at age five, singing along with his family simultaneously while working. The family farm was flooded on at least two occasions, which later inspired him to write the song "Five Feet High and Rising". His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression inspired many of his songs, especially those about other people facing similar difficulties.

Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack. In May 1944, Jack was pulled into a whirling head saw in the mill where he worked and was almost cut in two. He suffered for over a week before he died on May 20, 1944, at age 15. Cash often spoke of the horrible guilt he felt over this incident. According to ''Cash: The Autobiography'', his father was away that morning, but he and his mother, and Jack himself, all had premonitions or a sense of foreboding about that day, causing his mother to urge Jack to skip work and go fishing with his brother. Jack insisted on working, as the family needed the money. On his deathbed, Jack said he had visions of heaven and angels. Decades later, Cash spoke of looking forward to meeting his brother in heaven.

Cash's early memories were dominated by gospel music and radio. Taught by his mother and a childhood friend, Cash began playing guitar and writing songs as a young boy. In high school he sang on a local radio station; decades later he released an album of traditional gospel songs, called ''My Mother's Hymn Book''. He was also significantly influenced by traditional Irish music that he heard performed weekly by Dennis Day on the Jack Benny radio program.

Cash enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 7, 1950. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Brooks Air Force Base, both in San Antonio, Texas, Cash was assigned to a U.S. Air Force Security Service unit, assigned as a Morse Code Intercept Operator for Soviet Army transmissions at Landsberg, Germany "where he created his first band named The Landsberg Barbarians." He was the first radio operator to pick up the news of the death of Joseph Stalin. After he was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant on July 3, 1954, he returned to Texas. On August 7, 1954, one month after his discharge, he married his first wife, Vivian Liberto, in San Antonio.

Marriages and family

On July 18, 1951, while in Air Force training, Cash met 17-year-old Vivian Liberto at a roller skating rink in her native San Antonio. They dated for three weeks, until Cash was deployed to Germany for a three year tour. During that time, the couple exchanged hundreds of pages of love letters. On August 7, 1954, one month after his discharge, they were married at St. Anne's Catholic church in San Antonio. The ceremony was performed by her uncle, Father Vincent Liberto. They had four daughters: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy and Tara. Cash's drug and alcohol abuse, constant touring, and affairs with other women, and his close relationship with future wife June Carter, led Liberto to file for divorce in 1966.

In 1968, 13 years after they first met backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, Cash proposed to June Carter, an established country singer, during a live performance in London, Ontario, marrying on March 1, 1968 in Franklin, Kentucky. They had one child together, John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970). They continued to work together and tour for 35 years, until June Carter died in 2003. Cash died just four months later. Carter co-wrote one of Cash's biggest hits, "Ring of Fire," with singer Merle Kilgore. She and Cash won two Grammy awards for their duets.

Vivian Liberto claims a different version of the origins of "Ring of Fire" in ''I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny'', stating that Cash gave Carter the credit for monetary reasons.

Heritage

Cash found out that his heritage was a British Isles mix. For example, he learned upon researching his heritage that he was of Scottish royal descent on his father's side, traced back to Malcolm I of Scotland. After meeting with now-dead laird Major Michael Crichton-Stuart of Falkland, Fife, Scotland, Johnny traced the Cash family tree to eleventh-century Fife; Cash Loch and other locations in Fife bear the name of his family.

Cash found that he also had English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. Though he learned that he did not have Native American Indian ancestry, his empathy and compassion for Native American Indians were unabated; these feelings were expressed in several of his songs, including "Apache Tears" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", and on his album, ''Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian''. Through his maternal grandmother, Rosanna Lee (Hurst) Rivers, Cash is distantly related to millionaire William Randolph Hearst and socialite Patty Hearst.

Friends

Cash was a long time friend of Woody Hayes (ex Ohio State Buckeyes football coach). The lyrics "I braided Twigs of Willows Made a String of Buckeye Beads" from the song Flesh and Blood was for Woody.

Career

Early career

In 1954, Cash and Vivian moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he sold appliances while studying to be a radio announcer. At night he played with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant. Perkins and Grant were known as the Tennessee Two. Cash worked up the courage to visit the Sun Records studio, hoping to get a recording contract. After auditioning for Sam Phillips, singing mostly gospel songs, Phillips told him that he didn't record gospel music any longer. It was once rumored that Phillips told Cash to "go home and sin, then come back with a song I can sell," though in a 2002 interview Cash denied that Phillips made any such comment. Cash eventually won over the producer with new songs delivered in his early rock'a'billy style. In 1955 Cash made his first recordings at Sun, "Hey Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!", which were released in late June and met with reasonable success on the country hit parade.

On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on studio owner Sam Phillips to pay a social visit while Carl Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks, with Jerry Lee Lewis backing him on piano. Cash was also in the studio and the four started an impromptu jam session. Phillips left the tapes running and the recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, survived and have since been released under the title ''Million Dollar Quartet''.

Cash's next record, "Folsom Prison Blues", made the country Top 5, and "I Walk the Line" became No. 1 on the country charts and entered the pop charts Top 20. "Home of the Blues" followed, recorded in July 1957. That same year Cash became the first Sun artist to release a long-playing album. Although he was Sun's most consistently selling and prolific artist at that time, Cash felt constrained by his contract with the small label partly due to the fact that Phillips wasn't keen on Johnny recording gospel, and he was only getting a 3% royalty as opposed to the standard rate of 5%. Presley had already left Sun, and Phillips was focusing most of his attention and promotion on Lewis. The following year Cash left the label to sign a lucrative offer with Columbia Records, where his single "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" became one of his biggest hits.

In the early 1960s, Cash toured with the Carter Family, which by this time regularly included Mother Maybelle's daughters, Anita, June and Helen. June, whom Cash would eventually marry, later recalled admiring him from afar during these tours. In the 1960s he appeared on Pete Seeger's short lived ''Rainbow Quest.''

He also acted in a 1961 film entitled ''Five Minutes to Live'', later re-released as ''Door-to-door Maniac''. He also wrote and sang the opening theme.

Outlaw image

As his career was taking off in the late 1950s, Cash started drinking heavily and became addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates. For a brief time, he shared an apartment in Nashville with Waylon Jennings, who was heavily addicted to amphetamines. Cash used the uppers to stay awake during tours. Friends joked about his "nervousness" and erratic behavior, many ignoring the warning signs of his worsening drug addiction. In a behind-the-scenes look at ''The Johnny Cash Show'', Cash claims to have "tried every drug there was to try."

Although in many ways spiraling out of control, Cash's frenetic creativity was still delivering hits. His rendition of "Ring of Fire" was a crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and entering the Top 20 on the pop charts. The song was written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore. The song was originally performed by June's sister, but the signature mariachi-style horn arrangement was provided by Cash, who said that it had come to him in a dream.

In June 1965, his truck caught fire due to an overheated wheel bearing, triggering a forest fire that burned several hundred acres in Los Padres National Forest in California. When the judge asked Cash why he did it, Cash said, "I didn't do it, my truck did, and it's dead, so you can't question it." The fire destroyed , burning the foliage off three mountains and killing 49 of the refuge's 53 endangered condors. Cash was unrepentant: "I don't care about your damn yellow buzzards." The federal government sued him and was awarded $125,172 ($}} today). Cash eventually settled the case and paid $82,001. He said he was the only person ever sued by the government for starting a forest fire.

Although Cash carefully cultivated a romantic outlaw image, he never served a prison sentence. Despite landing in jail seven times for misdemeanors, each stay lasted only a single night. His most infamous run-in with the law occurred while on tour in 1965, when he was arrested October 4 by a narcotics squad in El Paso, Texas. The officers suspected that he was smuggling heroin from Mexico, but it was 688 Dexedrine capsules and 475 Equanil tablets that the singer had hidden inside his guitar case. Because they were prescription drugs rather than illegal narcotics, he received a suspended sentence. Cash was later arrested on May 11, 1965, in Starkville, Mississippi, for trespassing late at night onto private property to pick flowers. (This incident gave the spark for the song "Starkville City Jail", which he spoke about on his live ''At San Quentin'' prison album.)

In the mid 1960s, Cash released a number of concept albums, including ''Ballads Of the True West'' (1965), an experimental double record mixing authentic frontier songs with Cash's spoken narration, and ''Bitter Tears'' (1964), with songs highlighting the plight of the Native Americans. His drug addiction was at its worst at this point, and his destructive behavior led to a divorce from his first wife and canceled performances.

In 1967, Cash's duet with June Carter, "Jackson", won a Grammy Award.

Johnny Cash's final arrest was in Walker County, Georgia where he was taken in after being involved in a car accident while carrying a bag of prescription pills. Cash attempted to bribe a local deputy, who turned the money down, and then spent the night in a LaFayette, Georgia jail. The singer was released after a long talk with Sheriff Ralph Jones, who warned him of his dangerous behavior and wasted potential. Johnny credited that experience for saving his life, and he later came back to LaFayette to play a benefit concert that attracted 12,000 people (the city population was less than 9,000 at the time) and raised $75,000 for the high school.

Cash curtailed his use of drugs for several years in 1968, after a spiritual epiphany in the Nickajack Cave, when he attempted to commit suicide while under the heavy influence of drugs. He descended deeper into the cave, trying to lose himself and "just die", when he passed out on the floor. He reported to be exhausted and feeling at the end of his rope when he felt God's presence in his heart and managed to struggle out of the cave (despite the exhaustion) by following a faint light and slight breeze. To him, it was his own rebirth. June, Maybelle, and Ezra Carter moved into Cash's mansion for a month to help him conquer his addiction. Cash proposed onstage to June at a concert at the London Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada on February 22, 1968; the couple married a week later (on March 1) in Franklin, Kentucky. June had agreed to marry Cash after he had "cleaned up". He rediscovered his Christian faith, taking an "altar call" in Evangel Temple, a small church in the Nashville area, pastored by Rev. Jimmie Rodgers Snow, son of country music legend Hank Snow.

According to longtime friend Marshall Grant, Cash's 1968 rebirth experience did not result in his completely stopping use of amphetamines. However, in 1970, Cash ended all drug use for a period of seven years. Grant claims that the birth of Cash's son, John Carter Cash, inspired Cash to end his dependence. Cash began using amphetamines again in 1977. By 1983, he was once again addicted, and entered the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage, California for rehabilitation. Cash managed to stay off drugs for several years, but by 1989, he was dependent again and entered Nashville's Cumberland Heights Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center. In 1992, he entered the Loma Linda Behavioural Medicine Centre in Loma Linda, California for his final rehabilitation (several months later, his son followed him into this facility for treatment).

Folsom Prison Blues

Cash felt great compassion for prisoners. He began performing concerts at various prisons starting in the late 1950s. His first ever prison concert was held on January 1, 1958 at San Quentin State Prison. These performances led to a pair of highly successful live albums, ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison'' (1968) and ''Johnny Cash at San Quentin'' (1969).

The Folsom Prison record was introduced by a rendition of his classic "Folsom Prison Blues", while the San Quentin record included the crossover hit single "A Boy Named Sue", a Shel Silverstein-penned novelty song that reached No. 1 on the country charts and No. 2 on the U.S. Top Ten pop charts. The AM versions of the latter contained a couple of profanities which were edited out. The modern CD versions are unedited and uncensored and thus also longer than the original vinyl albums, though they still retain the audience reaction overdubs of the originals.

In addition to his performances at U.S. prisons, Cash also performed at the Österåker Prison in Sweden in 1972. The live album ''På Österåker'' ("At Österåker") was released in 1973. Between the songs, Cash can be heard speaking Swedish, which was greatly appreciated by the inmates.

"The Man in Black"

From 1969 to 1971, Cash starred in his own television show, ''The Johnny Cash Show'', on the ABC network. The Statler Brothers opened up for him in every episode; the Carter Family and rockabilly legend Carl Perkins were also part of the regular show entourage. However, Cash also enjoyed booking more contemporary performers as guests; such notables included Neil Young, Louis Armstrong, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition (who appeared a record four times on his show), James Taylor, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton (then leading Derek and the Dominos), and Bob Dylan. During the same period, he contributed the title song and other songs to the film ''Little Fauss and Big Halsey'', which starred Robert Redford, Michael J. Pollard, and Lauren Hutton. The title song, ''The Ballad of Little Fauss and Big Halsey'', was nominated for a Golden Globe award.

Cash had met with Dylan in the mid 1960s and became closer friends when they were neighbors in the late 1960s in Woodstock, New York. Cash was enthusiastic about reintroducing the reclusive Dylan to his audience. Cash sang a duet with Dylan on Dylan's country album ''Nashville Skyline'' and also wrote the album's Grammy-winning liner notes.

Another artist who received a major career boost from ''The Johnny Cash Show'' was songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who was beginning to make a name for himself as a singer/songwriter. During a live performance of Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", Cash refused to change the lyrics to suit network executives, singing the song with its references to marijuana intact: "On a Sunday morning sidewalk / I'm wishin', Lord, that I was stoned."

By the early 1970s, he had crystallized his public image as "The Man in Black". He regularly performed dressed all in black, wearing a long black knee-length coat. This outfit stood in contrast to the costumes worn by most of the major country acts in his day: rhinestone suit and cowboy boots. In 1971, Cash wrote the song "Man in Black", to help explain his dress code: "We're doing mighty fine I do suppose / In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes / But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back / Up front there ought to be a man in black."

He wore black on behalf of the poor and hungry, on behalf of "the prisoner who has long paid for his crime", and on behalf of those who have been betrayed by age or drugs. "And," Cash added, "with the Vietnam War as painful in my mind as it was in most other Americans', I wore it 'in mournin' for the lives that could have been.' ... Apart from the Vietnam War being over, I don't see much reason to change my position ... The old are still neglected, the poor are still poor, the young are still dying before their time, and we're not making many moves to make things right. There's still plenty of darkness to carry off."

He and his band had initially worn black shirts because that was the only matching color they had among their various outfits. He wore other colors on stage early in his career, but he claimed to like wearing black both on and off stage. He stated that, political reasons aside, he simply liked black as his on-stage color. To this day, the US Navy's winter blue uniform is referred to by sailors as "Johnny Cashes", as the uniform's shirt, tie, and trousers are solid black.

In the mid 1970s, Cash's popularity and number of hit songs began to decline. He made commercials for Amoco, an unpopular enterprise in an era in which oil companies made high profits while consumers suffered through high gasoline prices and shortages. However, his autobiography (the first of two), titled ''Man in Black'', was published in 1975 and sold 1.3 million copies. A second, ''Cash: The Autobiography'', appeared in 1997. His friendship with Billy Graham led to the production of a film about the life of Jesus, ''The Gospel Road'', which Cash co-wrote and narrated.

He also continued to appear on television, hosting an annual Christmas special on CBS throughout the 1970s. Later television appearances included a role in an episode of ''Columbo'' (Swan Song). He also appeared with his wife on an episode of ''Little House on the Prairie'' entitled "The Collection" and gave a performance as John Brown in the 1985 American Civil War television mini-series ''North and South''.

He was friendly with every US President starting with Richard Nixon. He was closest to Jimmy Carter, with whom he became close friends. He stated that he found all of them personally charming, noting that this was probably essential to getting oneself elected.

When invited to perform at the White House for the first time in 1970, Richard Nixon's office requested that he play "Okie from Muskogee" (a satirical Merle Haggard song about people who despised youthful drug users and war protesters) and "Welfare Cadillac" (a Guy Drake song which denies the integrity of welfare recipients). Cash declined to play either and instead selected other songs, including "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (about a brave Native American World War II veteran who was mistreated upon his return to Arizona), and his own compositions, "What is Truth" and "Man in Black". Cash wrote that the reasons for denying Nixon's song choices were not knowing them and having fairly short notice to rehearse them, rather than any political reason. However, Cash added, even if Nixon's office had given Cash enough time to learn and rehearse the songs, their choice of pieces that conveyed "antihippie and antiblack" sentiments might have backfired.

Highwaymen

thumb|200px|From left to right Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, who formed the country music [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup, The Highwaymen]] In 1980, Cash became the Country Music Hall of Fame's youngest living inductee at age forty-eight, but during the 1980s his records failed to make a major impact on the country charts, although he continued to tour successfully. In the mid 1980s, he recorded and toured with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson as The Highwaymen, making three hit albums which were released beginning with the originally titled "Highwaymen" in 1985, followed by "Highwaymen 2" in 1990, and concluding with "Highwaymen - The Road Goes on forever" in 1995.

During that period, Cash appeared in a number of television films. In 1981, he starred in ''The Pride of Jesse Hallam'', winning fine reviews for a film that called attention to adult illiteracy. In the same year, Cash appeared as a "very special guest star" in an episode of the ''Muppet Show''. In 1983, he appeared as a heroic sheriff in ''Murder in Coweta County'', based on a real-life Georgia murder case, which co-starred Andy Griffith as his nemesis. Cash had tried for years to make the film, for which he won acclaim.

Cash relapsed into addiction after being administered painkillers for a serious abdominal injury in 1983 caused by an unusual incident in which he was kicked and wounded by an ostrich he kept on his farm.

At a hospital visit in 1988, this time to watch over Waylon Jennings (who was recovering from a heart attack), Jennings suggested that Cash have himself checked into the hospital for his own heart condition. Doctors recommended preventive heart surgery, and Cash underwent double bypass surgery in the same hospital. Both recovered, although Cash refused to use any prescription painkillers, fearing a relapse into dependency. Cash later claimed that during his operation, he had what is called a "near death experience". He said he had visions of Heaven that were so beautiful that he was angry when he woke up alive.

Cash's recording career and his general relationship with the Nashville establishment were at an all-time low in the 1980s. He realized that his record label of nearly 30 years, Columbia, was growing indifferent to him and was not properly marketing him (he was "invisible" during that time, as he said in his autobiography). Cash recorded an intentionally awful song to protest, a self-parody. "Chicken in Black" was about Cash's brain being transplanted into a chicken. Ironically, the song turned out to be a larger commercial success than any of his other recent material. Nevertheless, he was hoping to kill the relationship with the label before they did, and it was not long after "Chicken in Black" that Columbia and Cash parted ways.

In 1986, Cash returned to Sun Studios in Memphis to team up with Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins to create the album ''Class of '55''. Also in 1986, Cash published his only novel, ''Man in White'', a book about Saul and his conversion to become the Apostle Paul. He also recorded ''Johnny Cash Reads The Complete New Testament'' in 1990.

American Recordings

After Columbia Records dropped Cash from his recording contract, he had a short and unsuccessful stint with Mercury Records from 1987 to 1991 (see Johnny Cash discography).

His career was rejuvenated in the 1990s, leading to popularity with an audience not traditionally interested in country music. In 1991, he sang a version of "Man in Black" for the Christian punk band One Bad Pig's album ''I Scream Sunday''. In 1993, he sang "The Wanderer" on U2's album ''Zooropa''. Although no longer sought after by major labels, he was offered a contract with producer Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, better known for rap and hard rock.

Under Rubin's supervision, he recorded ''American Recordings'' (1994) in his living room, accompanied only by his Martin dreadnought guitar – one of many Cash played throughout his career. The album featured covers of contemporary artists selected by Rubin and had much critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Cash wrote that his reception at the 1994 Glastonbury Festival was one of the highlights of his career. This was the beginning of a decade of music industry accolades and commercial success. Cash teamed up with Brooks & Dunn to contribute "Folsom Prison Blues" to the AIDS benefit album ''Red Hot + Country'' produced by the Red Hot Organization. On the same album, he performed the Bob Dylan favorite "Forever Young".

Cash and his wife appeared on a number of episodes of the television series ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' starring Jane Seymour. The actress thought so highly of Cash that she later named one of her twin sons after him. He lent his voice for a cameo role in ''The Simpsons'' episode "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)," as the "Space Coyote" that guides Homer Simpson on a spiritual quest. In 1996, Cash enlisted the accompaniment of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and released ''Unchained'', which won the Best Country Album Grammy. Believing he did not explain enough of himself in his 1975 autobiography ''Man in Black'', he wrote ''Cash: The Autobiography'' in 1997.

Last years and death

In 1997, Cash was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease Shy-Drager syndrome, a form of multiple system atrophy. The diagnosis was later altered to autonomic neuropathy associated with diabetes. This illness forced Cash to curtail his touring. He was hospitalized in 1998 with severe pneumonia, which damaged his lungs. The albums ''American III: Solitary Man'' (2000) and ''American IV: The Man Comes Around'' (2002) contained Cash's response to his illness in the form of songs of a slightly more somber tone than the first two American albums. The video that was released for "Hurt", a cover of the song by Nine Inch Nails, fits Cash's view of his past and feelings of regret. The video for the song, from ''American IV'', is now generally recognized as "his epitaph," and received particular critical and popular acclaim. June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003, at the age of 73. June had told Cash to keep working, so he continued to record, completing 60 more songs in the last four months of his life, and even performed a couple of surprise shows at the Carter Family Fold outside Bristol, Virginia. At the July 5, 2003 concert (his last public performance), before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage:

Cash died of complications from diabetes at approximately 2:00 a.m. CT on September 12, 2003 while hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville - less than four months after his wife. It was suggested that Johnny's health worsened due to a broken heart over June's death. He was buried next to his wife in Hendersonville Memory Gardens near his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

His stepdaughter, Rosie Nix Adams and another passenger were found dead on a bus in Montgomery County, Tennessee, on October 24, 2003. It was speculated that the deaths may have been caused by carbon monoxide from the lanterns in the bus. Adams was 45 when she died. She was buried in the Hendersonville Memory Gardens, near her mother and stepfather.

On May 24, 2005, Vivian Liberto, Cash's first wife and the mother of Rosanne Cash and three other daughters, died from surgery to remove lung cancer at the age of 71. It was her daughter Rosanne's 50th birthday.

In June 2005, his lakeside home on Caudill Drive in Hendersonville was put up for sale by his estate. In January 2006, the house was sold to Bee Gees vocalist Barry Gibb and wife Linda and titled in their Florida limited liability company for $2.3 million. The listing agent was Cash's younger brother, Tommy Cash. The home was destroyed by fire on April 10, 2007.

One of Cash's final collaborations with producer Rick Rubin, entitled ''American V: A Hundred Highways'', was released posthumously on July 4, 2006. The album debuted in the No.1 position on the ''Billboard'' Top 200 album chart for the week ending July 22, 2006.

On February 23, 2010, three days before what would have been Cash's 78th birthday, the Cash Family, Rick Rubin, and Lost Highway Records released his second posthumous record, titled ''American VI: Ain't No Grave''.

Legacy

From his early days as a pioneer of rockabilly and rock and roll in the 1950s, to his decades as an international representative of country music, to his resurgence to fame in the 1990s as a living legend and an alternative country icon, Cash influenced countless artists and left a large body of work. Upon his death, Cash was revered by the greatest popular musicians of his time. His rebellious image and often anti-authoritarian stance influenced punk rock.

Among Cash's children, his daughter Rosanne Cash (by first wife Vivian Liberto) and his son John Carter Cash (by June Carter Cash) are notable country-music musicians in their own right.

Cash nurtured and defended artists on the fringes of what was acceptable in country music even while serving as the country music establishment's most visible symbol. At an all-star concert which aired in 1999 on TNT, a diverse group of artists paid him tribute, including Bob Dylan, Chris Isaak, Wyclef Jean, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dom DeLuise and U2. Cash himself appeared at the end and performed for the first time in more than a year. Two tribute albums were released shortly before his death; ''Kindred Spirits'' contains works from established artists, while ''Dressed in Black'' contains works from many lesser-known artists.

In total, he wrote over 1,000 songs and released dozens of albums. A box set titled ''Unearthed'' was issued posthumously. It included four CDs of unreleased material recorded with Rubin as well as a ''Best of Cash on American'' retrospective CD.

In recognition of his lifelong support of SOS Children's Villages, his family invited friends and fans to donate to that charity in his memory. He had a personal link with the SOS village in Diessen, at the Ammersee Lake in Southern Germany, near where he was stationed as a GI, and also with the SOS village in Barrett Town, by Montego Bay, near his holiday home in Jamaica. The Johnny Cash Memorial Fund was founded.

In 1999, Cash received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' ranked Cash No.31 on their list of the ''100 Greatest Artists of All Time''.

In a tribute to Cash after his death, country music singer Gary Allan included the song "Nickajack Cave (Johnny Cash's Redemption)" on his 2005 album entitled ''Tough All Over''. The song chronicles Cash hitting rock bottom and subsequently resurrecting his life and career.

The main street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Highway 31E, is known as "Johnny Cash Parkway"; the Johnny Cash Museum is located in the town.

On November 2–4, 2007, the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival was held in Starkville, Mississippi. Starkville, where Cash was arrested over 40 years earlier and held overnight at the city jail on May 11, 1965, inspired Cash to write the song "Starkville City Jail". The festival, where he was offered a symbolic posthumous pardon, honored Cash's life and music, and was expected to become an annual event.

JC Unit One, Johnny Cash's private tour bus from 1980 until 2003, was put on exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum in 2007. The Cleveland, Ohio museum offers public tours of the bus on a seasonal basis (it is stored during the winter months and not exhibited during those times).

WWE Superstar The Undertaker has been using Cash's song "Aint No Grave" (from ''American VI: Ain't No Grave'') as his entrance theme since February 21, 2011. Independent circuit wrestlers Tyson Dux and Brodie Lee also use "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (from ''American V: A Hundred Highways'') as entrance music. Other professional wrestlers who have used Cash's songs as entrance music include Austin Aries, who used his cover of the Depeche Mode's song "Personal Jesus" (from ''American IV: The Man Comes Around''), and Necro Butcher, who used both "The Man Comes Around" and "Hurt". WWE also used "Hurt" in a special video package that was aired on Monday Night RAW in November 2005 as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero, a popular WWE Superstar who had died of heart failure while he was still contracted with the company. It is also noted that current WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase, Jr. is a huge fan of Cash, as is former WWE Diva and current TNA Knockout Mickie James.

Along with the television show "The Deadliest Catch" is using the song "Ain't No Grave" as the theme song in many of their commercials.

Portrayals

The Canada Trust company used his name and images for their Johnny Cash automatic bank machines during the late 80s and early 90s.

In 1998, country singer Mark Collie was the first to portray Cash, in the short film, ''I Still Miss Someone.''

In November of 2005, ''Walk the Line'', an Academy Award-winning biopic about Cash's life starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny (for which he was nominated for the 2005 Best Actor Oscar) and Reese Witherspoon as June (for which she won the 2005 Best Actress Oscar), was released in the United States on to considerable commercial success and critical acclaim. Both Phoenix and Witherspoon have won various other awards for their roles, including the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, respectively. They both performed their own vocals in the film, and Phoenix learned to play guitar for his role as Cash. Phoenix received the Grammy Award for his contributions to the soundtrack. John Carter Cash, the first child of Johnny and June, served as an executive producer on the film.

On March 12, 2006 ''Ring of Fire'', a jukebox musical of the Cash oeuvre, debuted on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, but closed due to harsh reviews and disappointing sales on April 30, 2006.

On April 11, 2010, ''Million Dollar Quartet'', a musical portraying the early Sun recording sessions involving Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, debuted on Broadway. Actor Lance Guest portrayed Cash. The musical was nominated for three awards at the 2010 Tony Awards, and won one.

Discography

: ''See Johnny Cash discography, and Johnny Cash Sun Records discography.''

Awards and honors

: ''For detailed lists of music awards, see List of Johnny Cash awards.''

Cash received multiple Country Music Association Awards, Grammys, and other awards, in categories ranging from vocal and spoken performances to album notes and videos.

In a career that spanned almost five decades, Cash was the personification of country music to many people around the world. Cash was a musician who was not tied to a single genre. He recorded songs that could be considered rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk, and gospel, and exerted an influence on each of those genres. Moreover, he had the unique distinction among country artists of having "crossed over" late in his career to become popular with an unexpected audience, young indie and alternative rock fans. His diversity was evidenced by his presence in three major music halls of fame: the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), the Country Music Hall of Fame (1980), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1992). Only thirteen performers are in both of the last two, and only Hank Williams Sr., Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, and Bill Monroe share the honor with Cash of being in all three. However, only Cash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the regular manner, unlike the other country members, who were inducted as "early influences." His pioneering contribution to the genre has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1996. Cash stated that his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1980, was his greatest professional achievement. In 2001, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. He was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography for "Hurt" and was supposed to appear, but died during the night.

In 2007, Cash was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Further reading

Graeme Thomson ''The Resurrection of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption, and American Recordings'' Jawbone Press ISBN 978-1906002367

Sources

Notes

References

D'Ambrosio, Antonino (2009). ''A Heartbeat and A Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears''. With Original Art by Shepard Fairey and Photos by Jim Marshall. Perseus Books/Nation Books ISBN 9781568584072

Millier, Bill. (retrieved September 7, 2004). Johnny Cash Awards. JohnnyCash.com.

Streissguth, Michael. ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece'', Da Capo Press (2004). ISBN 0-306-81338-6.

Urbanski, Dave. ''The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash''. New York: Relevant Books. ISBN 0-9729276-7-0.

Turner, Steve. ''The Man Called Cash: The Life, Love, and Faith of an American Legend''. Nashville, W Publishing Group, 2004. (The Authorized Biography).

Published works

Cash, Johnny. ''Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words''. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975. ISBN 99924-31-58-X.

Cash, Johnny, with Patrick Carr. ''Cash: The Autobiography''. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. ISBN 0-06-101357-9.

Cash, Johnny, with June Carter Cash. ''Love'' liner notes. New York: Sony, 2000.

Cash, Johnny, ''The Man in White'', 1986.

External links

Johnny Cash Official Label Website

Johnny Cash Radio Webcast

Johnny Cash World - buy songs, albums, movies, books with Johnny Cash

Official Johnny Cash Lost Highway Artist Page

at the Country Music Hall of Fame

at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

at the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

Larry King's November 26, 2002 interview With Johnny Cash on CNN

Johnny Cash: Best Photos – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

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name	The Pogues
alias	Pogue Mahone
background	group_or_band
origin	Kings Cross, London, England
genre	Celtic punk, folk punk
years active	1982–1996, 2001–present
website	Pogues.com
current members	Spider StacyJem FinerShane MacGowanJames FearnleyAndrew RankenPhil ChevronDarryl HuntTerry Woods
past members	Cait O'RiordanJoe StrummerDave CoulterJames McNallyJamie Clarke }}

The Pogues are a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band reformed in 2001, and has been playing regularly ever since, most notably on the US East Coast around St Patrick's Day and across the UK and Ireland every December. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues.com, has no inclination to do so.

Their politically-tinged music was informed by MacGowan and Stacy's punk backgrounds, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, cittern, mandolin and accordion.

The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross, a district of North London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—''pogue mahone'' being the Anglicisation of the Irish ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse".

Band history

The roots of The Pogues were formed when MacGowan (vocals), Peter "Spider" Stacy (tin whistle), and Jem Finer (banjo) were together in an occasional band called The Millwall Chainsaws in the late 1970s after MacGowan and Stacy met in the toilets at a Ramones gig at The Roundhouse in 1977. MacGowan was already with The Nips, though when they broke up in 1980 he concentrated a bit more on Stacy's Millwall Chainsaws who changed their name to The New Republicans. During this period MacGowan and Finer auditioned unsuccessfully for a licence to busk at Covent Garden. In 1982 James Fearnley (accordion) joined MacGowan, Stacy, and Finer, calling the band Pogue Mahone. The new group played their first gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on 4 October 1982.

They later added Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band played London pubs and clubs, and released a single, "Dark Streets of London," on their own, self-named label, gaining a small reputation—especially for their live performances. They came to the attention of the media and Stiff Records when they opened for The Clash on their 1984 tour. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" (partly due to BBC censorship following complaints from Gaelic speakers in Scotland) they released their first album ''Red Roses for Me'' on Stiff that October.

The band gained more attention when the UK Channel 4's influential music show ''The Tube'' made a video of their version of "Waxie's Dargle" for the show. The performance—featuring Spider Stacy repeatedly smashing himself over the head with a beer tray (in the manner of Bob Blackman's infamous "Mule Train/Mule Tray")—became a favourite with the viewers, but Stiff refused to release it as a single, feeling it was too late for it to help ''Red Roses for Me'' (in fact Stiff was by then in deep financial trouble). Nevertheless, it remained a favourite request for the show for many years.

With the aid of punk and New Wave forefather Elvis Costello they recorded the follow-up, ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'', in 1985 during which time guitarist Philip Chevron joined. The album title is a famous comment falsely attributed to Winston Churchill who was supposedly describing the "true" traditions of the British Royal Navy. The album cover featured ''The Raft of the Medusa'', with the faces of the characters in Théodore Géricault's painting replaced with those of the band members. The album shows the band moving away from covers to original material. Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic story-telling, such as "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag", as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (this had previously been covered by Shane's fellow punk contemporaries The Skids in 1981).

The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the four-track EP ''Poguetry in Motion'' instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt, formerly of Plummet Airlines and Pride of the Cross; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in Terry Woods, formerly of Steeleye Span. Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan. Their record label, Stiff Records, went bankrupt soon after the 1987 release of the single "The Irish Rover" (with The Dubliners). Members of the band, including O'Riordian, acted in Alex Cox's ''Straight to Hell'', and five songs by the band were included on the film's soundtrack album.

Success and breakup

The band remained stable enough to record ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' in 1988 (with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl "Fairytale of New York", which was voted "the best Christmas song ever" in VH1 UK polls in 2004) and 1989's ''Peace and Love''. The band was at the peak of its commercial success, with both albums making the top 5 in the UK (numbers 3 and 5 respectively), but MacGowan was increasingly unreliable. He failed to turn up for the opening dates of their 1988 tour of America, and prevented the band from promoting their next album, ''Hell's Ditch'', so in 1991 the band sacked him. Vocal duties were for a time handled by Joe Strummer, before Stacy finally took over permanently. After Strummer's departure, the remaining seven Pogues recorded ''Waiting for Herb'', which contained the band's third and final top twenty single, "Tuesday Morning", which became their best-selling single internationally. Terry Woods and James Fearnley then left the band and were replaced by David Coulter and James McNally respectively. Within months of their departures, ill health forced Phil Chevron to leave the band; he was replaced by his former guitar technician, Jamie Clarke. This lineup recorded the band's seventh (and final) studio album, ''Pogue Mahone''. The album was a commercial failure, and, following Jem Finer's decision to leave the band in 1996, the remaining members decided it was time to call it quits. According to Shane MacGowan, amongst the reasons of the breakup was disagreement concerning the political orientation of his songs, the band not wanting to sing too obvious pro-republican songs — though some of their previous songs were already politically engaged : for instance, ''Streams of Whiskey'' is about the poet and IRA member Brendan Behan. Soon after the breakup Shane MacGowan recorded a song called ''Paddy Public Enemy Number One'' as a tribute to the Republican leader Dominic McGlinchey, a former leader of the INLA killed a few years before.

Post-breakup

After the Pogues' break-up, the three remaining long-term members (Spider Stacy, Andrew Ranken and Darryl Hunt) played together briefly as the Vendettas. They played mainly new Stacy-penned tracks, though Darryl Hunt also contributed songs, and the band's live set included a few Pogues songs. First Ranken then Hunt left the band, the latter going on to become singer/songwriter in an indie band called Bish, whose self-titled debut album was released in 2001. Ranken has gone on to play with a number of other bands, including hKippers, The Municipal Waterboard and, most recently, The Mysterious Wheels. In addition to The Vendettas who Stacy freely admits lost all attraction when the Pogues reformed, Spider continued to write and record music with various bands, including the James Walbourne, Filthy Thieving Bastards, Dropkick Murphys and Astral Social Club. Shane MacGowan founded Shane MacGowan and The Popes in 1992. They only managed two studio albums but struggled on until 2002. His autobiography ''A Drink With Shane MacGowan'', co-written with his journalist girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke, was released in 2001. Jem Finer went into experimental music, playing a big part in a project known as "Longplayer", a piece of music designed to play continuously for 1,000 years without repeating itself. In 2005, Finer released the album ''Bum Steer'' with DB Bob (as DM Bob and Country Jem). James Fearnley moved to the United States shortly before leaving the Pogues. He was a member of The Low And Sweet Orchestra and later the Cranky George Trio. Philip Chevron reformed his former band The Radiators, which briefly included former Pogue Cait O'Riordan. Terry Woods formed The Bucks with Ron Kavana, releasing the album ''Dancin' To The Ceili Band'' in 1994. Later, he formed The Woods Band, releasing the album ''Music From The Four Corners of Hell'' in 2002.

Reunion

The band, including MacGowan, re-formed for a Christmas tour in 2001 and performed nine shows in the UK and Ireland in December 2004. In 2002 ''Q'' magazine named The Pogues as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". In July 2005, the band—again including MacGowan—played at the annual Guilfest festival in Guildford before flying out to Japan where they played three dates. Japan is the last place they all played together before MacGowan was originally sacked in 1991, and they have a strong following there. They played a date in Spain in early September. The reunited Pogues played dates in the UK with support from the Dropkick Murphys in late 2005, and re-released their 1987 Christmas classic "Fairytale of New York" on 19 December, which went straight in at #3 in the UK Singles charts on Christmas Day 2005, showing the song's enduring popularity. On 22 December 2005 the BBC broadcast a live performance (recorded the previous week) on the Jonathan Ross Christmas show with Katie Melua filling in for the late Kirsty MacColl, the first time the band had played the song live on television. The following week they performed live on the popular music show ''CD:UK''.

Shane MacGowan wrote a blog for ''The Guardian'' website in 2006, detailing his thoughts on the current tour. The band was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the annual Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006. In March 2006, the band played their first U.S. dates with Shane in over 15 years. The band played a series of sold-out concerts in Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Boston, and New York. Later they played a series of highly acclaimed and sold-out gigs during mid-October 2006 in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, and toured Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Dublin, and Nottingham in mid-December 2006. They began a second U.S. tour in March 2007, once again to coincide (and conclude) with a Roseland Ballroom New York City show on Saint Patrick's Day. 2007 has proved to be the most prolific year of touring since the reunion. A tour of the west coast of America and eleven dates in the UK in December complement the headlining festival appearances made in the summer across Europe (Sweden, Belgium and Spain). They continue to be in huge demand, often selling out very large venues, despite criticism of selling out, and claims that arenas and festivals do not suit the band's sound. Guitarist Phil Chevron has stated there were no plans to record new music or release a new album. Chevron said that one way to keep enjoying what they were doing was to avoid making a new album, although he did say that there still is a possibility in the future for new music, but certainly not in the near future. Terry Woods has commented that MacGowan has been writing, and most of it sounds good. In 2008 the band released a box set ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'', which included rare studio out-takes and previously unreleased material.

The band has received mixed reviews of some recent performances though they continue to pull the crowds. Reviewing a March 2008 concert, The ''Washington Post'' described MacGowan as "puffy and paunchy," but said the singer "still has a banshee wail to beat Howard Dean's, and the singer's abrasive growl is all a band this marvelous needs to give its amphetamine-spiked take on Irish folk a focal point." The reviewer continued: "The set started off shaky, MacGowan singing of `goin' where streams of whiskey are flowin,' and looking like he'd arrived there already. He grew more lucid and powerful as the evening gathered steam, through two hours and 26 songs, mostly from the Pogues' first three (and best) albums". In December 2010 the Pogues (with support from Crowns) played what was billed as a farewell UK Christmas tour.

In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sold out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues" visiting Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Boston, and New York (in that order), with only the last three cities getting more than one show. It may, or may not, be the last time they tour the States. Stacy said “I think we are basically pretty certain this is the last tour of this type we’ll be doing in the States. There might be the odd sort of one-off here and there. We’re not saying this is absolutely, definitely the end.”

Members

;Current

Shane MacGowan: vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhrán (1982–1991, 2001–present)

Spider Stacy: vocals, tin whistle (1982–1996, 2001–present)

Jem Finer: banjo, mandola, saxophone, hurdy-gurdy, guitar, vocals (1982–1996, 2001–present)

Andrew Ranken: drums, percussion, harmonica, vocals (1982–1996, 2001–present)

James Fearnley: accordion, mandolin, piano, guitar (1982–1993, 2001–present)

Philip Chevron: guitar, vocals (1985–1994, 2001–present)

Darryl Hunt: bass guitar (1986–1996, 2001–present)

Terry Woods: mandolin, cittern, concertina, guitar, vocals (1986–1993, 2001–present)

;Former members

Cait O'Riordan: bass, vocals (1982–1986, 2004)

Joe Strummer: vocals, guitar (1991-1992; also replaced an ailing Phil Chevron for a U.S. tour in 1987)

Dave Coulter: mandolin, violin, ukulele, percussion (1993–1996)

James McNally: accordion, whistles, percussion (1993–1996)

Jamie Clarke: guitar, vocals (1995–1996)

Discography

Hit-song 'Fairytale of New York'

"Fairytale of New York" was released as a single in 1987 and reached #1 in the Irish charts and #2 in the British charts over Christmas (the time of peak sales). The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in polls by music channel VH1 UK, despite not achieving Christmas Number One when it was released. It was also voted as the 27th greatest song never to reach UK#1 in another VH1 poll, and also voted as the 84th greatest song of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in their "Sold on Song" top 100 poll. In 2007 the record was briefly censored by the BBC because of the word "faggot" being deemed potentially offensive to gay people. Following protests from listeners, including the mother of Kirsty MacColl, the censorship was lifted.

Albums

''Red Roses for Me'' (1984): #89 UK

''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'' (1985): #13 UK

''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' (1988): #3 UK, #88 US, #15 NO

''Peace and Love'' (1989): #5 UK, #118 US, #13 NO

''Hell's Ditch'' (1990) #12 UK, #187 US

''Waiting for Herb'' (1993): #20 UK

''Pogue Mahone'' (1996)

Live albums

''Streams of Whiskey: Live in Leysin, Switzerland 1991'' (2002)

''The Ultimate Collection including Live at the Brixton Academy 2001'' (2005): #15 UK

Compilation albums

''The Best of The Pogues'' (1991): #11 UK

''Essential Pogues'' (1991)

''The Rest of The Best'' (1992)

''The Very Best of The Pogues'' (2001): #18 UK

''The Ultimate Collection'' (2005): #15 UK

''Dirty Old Town: The Platinum Collection (Budget CD)'' (2005)

''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'' (Anthology/Box Set of rare and unreleased tracks) (2008)

Video

''The Pogues: Live at The Town & Country Club St Patricks Day 1988'' VHS 1988

''POGUEVISION" Music Video Collection - VHS 1991

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
! style="width:35px; text-align:center;"	! style="width:35px; text-align:center;"	! style="width:35px; text-align:center;"	! style="width:35px; text-align:center;"
	"Dark Streets of London"
"Boys from the County Hell"
	"A Pair of Brown Eyes"
"Sally MacLennane"
"Dirty Old Town"
						-
	"Irish Rover" (featuring The Dubliners)					-
"Fairytale of New York" (featuring Kirsty MacColl)
	"Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah"					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
"Misty Morning, Albert Bridge"					''Peace and Love''
	"Summer in Siam"					''Hell's Ditch''
"Jack's Heroes" (featuring The Dubliners)					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
					Red Hot + Blue (Produced by the Red Hot Organization)
						''Hell's Ditch''
"Rainy Night in Soho (remix)"					''Poguetry in Motion''
"Fairytale of New York" (re-issue)					''If I Should Fall from Grace with God''
1992	"Honky Tonk Women"					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
2005	"Fairytale of New York" (re-release)
2006	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry of re-release)
2007	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2008	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2009	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2010	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2011	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)

References

External links

Official Pogues site

Official Shane MacGowan site

''The Guardian'' article

"dirty old town"

Category:British punk rock groups Category:Buskers Category:Celtic punk groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982 Category:Musical groups from London Category:People from Kings Cross, London Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Category:Musical septets

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