An Interview with Country Music's Tommy Cash

Traditional Country Hit-maker Talks About His Music & Famous Roots

Oct 22, 2009

The Cash surname is royalty in country music circles, but its legacy didn't start, nor end, with The Man in Black. Johnny's brother has long carried on the hit tradition.

After 40-plus years as a performer, he’s scored a string of chart-topping hits, recorded with everyone from George Jones to Marty Stuart—not to mention his iconic brother—and been designated an honorary colonel.

Nevertheless, at 69, the living legend known as Tommy Cash is far from retirement. These days, in fact, he’s touring in support of his newly released, 15-song Fade To Black CD from InLight Records, logging more than 120 shows annually, with no signs of slowing down.

Never one to ride coattails, the hit-making Cash named Tommy entered the country realm as a professional entertainer after serving in the U.S. Army. And while his eldest brother had long since hit music’s big time, for Tommy, making music was a calling that couldn’t be denied.

Probably best known to country fans for his former No. 1, Six White Horses, Tommy’s discography boasts a healthy stash of country hits, including a pair of top-10 singles, One Song Away and Rise and Shine, as well as So This Is Love and I Recall a Gypsy Woman, both of which hit country’s top 20. He's also amassed numerous top-40 hits, including The Tears on Lincoln’s Face, I’m Gonna Write A Song, You’re Everything, That Certain One, Listen, Workin’ on A Feelin’ and She Met A Man, I Met A Train, to name a sampling.

In October 2009, Cash took time to field questions from Suite101 about his current album and decades-long career. The following is an excerpt from that conversation.

S101: When you set out to record your new album, Fade To Black, did you intend it to be a tribute album to your late brother, Johnny Cash?

Tommy Cash: "No, I wanted to record some songs that I’d written, but never had recorded. The producer insisted that I record some of my brother’s great songs, so it became an album of tunes I love and a tribute to my brother as well. There’s a great variety of songs on this album and I’m very proud of it."

TC: "The album turned out just about the way I had hoped it would, and it met my expectations with the exception of when I put a final vocal on Skip a Rope and Ghost Riders in the Sky. My voice was tired from touring, and I would love to have done better vocals on these songs. Other than that, it’s exactly as I envisioned it."

TC: "Although this CD is a combination of many songs I wrote and songs I’ve always wanted to record, Fade To Black is a song I co-wrote about my brother. It never mentions his name. It’s a subtle, subtle song ... but I think it embodies the overall album quite well."

S101: You have big-name duet partners on this CD, as well as members of the Cash family. How did you match songs with duet partners?

TC: "I wanted to record with my sister, (gospel artist) Joanne, and have always wanted to cut Wings of A Dove. And I wanted my son, Mark Alan Cash, to sing a song with me. Marty Stuart said, ,I’ll do (the album), if you let me record Six White Horses.' The remake came out great with Marty’s hot guitar licks and good vocal."

S101: Your voice, even when speaking, is reminiscent of Johnny's. Has that been a mixed blessing for your music career?

TC: "I worked a whole year with my brother Johnny Cash in 1976. We did 121 concerts that year in the United States and Canada. I know I have always been compared to my great brother, but it never bothered me as much as it did other people. Long ago I accepted the fact that Johnny is bigger than the earth, and I feel like I played my life very well in and out of the shadow. I am very, very proud of him and his accomplishments, but I do have my own life as well—you see, I played a lot of golf and he didn’t (smiles)."

S101: Although the Cash name is synonymous with country music, gospel is part of your family's story, too, isn't it?

TC: "I feel at home with both country and gospel. My sweet mother played piano and taught us the county- gospel songs of the day when we were kids. I’ve only had one gospel album so far and about 21 other albums of mainly country songs."

S101: You have a devoted fan following not just in the United States, but overseas as well. Do you tour there frequently?

TC: "Yes, I have had good acceptance on the European market. I think I receive strong airplay and I have toured many, many times in Western Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland."

TC: "My live show is a family oriented show, with some stories about my brother that only I know. Some of my own hits, a few jokes and a couple of gospel tunes. I see people of all ages at my shows, which is something I am very grateful for. ... I feel very fortunate to have toured and played shows in every state in the Union, including Alaska and Hawaii, and many, many foreign countries. I dress up for my shows; I think the audience deserves it."

TC: "I don’t know about my legacy, but I hope people will remember that I tried to do my best, tried to treat others with respect, and I recorded the best songs I could find."

Conclusion

A one-time guitarist for Hank Jr., Tommy is a traditional-country star in his own right—never mind that his world-famous older brother beat him to the top of the music charts by virtue of birth order. Moreover, through his own “classic Cash” stylings, Tommy has not only found his own niche and fan base, but forged an impressive and enduring place among traditional country's greats.

AIC101

The copyright of the article An Interview with Country Music's Tommy Cash in Traditional Country Music is owned by Lisa L. Rollins. Permission to republish An Interview with Country Music's Tommy Cash in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.