Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash Premieres Landmark Album The List at Country Music Hall Of Fame® And Museum
NASHVILLE, TENN.—Rosanne Cash introduced her new album, The List, in a private performance co-sponsored by BMI and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum® on September 15.  Performing in the Museum’s intimate Ford Theater, Cash said that she felt honored to premiere her versions of classic country songs in an institution so closely connected to her family history, and pointed out that many of the songs she chose to record come from the repertoires of those enshrined within its walls. 

“I know some of you have thought of me as a prodigal daughter,” Cash said when thanking BMI and the Museum for hosting the event. “But I haven’t been. I feel like this evening is full circle for me in so many ways. I’m back here doing these songs, two of my daughters in the audience, the spirit of those who have passed on definitely here, and so many family mementos up there in the hallways—like a giant scrapbook for my family. I’m so honored and thrilled to premiere these songs for you.”

In front of a select crowd of family members, friends, country music heroes and industry dignitaries, Cash performed eight of the classic songs chosen for her new album, named for a list her father gave her in 1973. He provided this personal selection of country and folk classics as an instructional guide to his daughter after she had shown an interest in songwriting.

“I don’t think I could have made The List even five years ago,” Cash said. “My last record, Black Cadillac, really was about making a map about loss, and then stopping and thinking, ‘What is my legacy? What did they pass on to me, and what do I want to pass on to my children?’ The spirit of the list started to take over. It’s still growing in me. I can’t tell you how much I love this project, doing this record and these songs. What an honor it is to be an interpreter of them. A great song needs a lot of interpretations.”

Cash regularly cited audience members connected to the song she was about to perform. “Is Mr. Hank Cochran in the audience?” she asked before performing “She’s Got You,” a song Cochran wrote that Patsy Cline turned into a country standard. Cochran stood to a standing ovation from the audience.

Her husband, producer and guitarist, John Leventhal, suggested to Cash that she record “She’s Got You,” which at first drew a protest from the singer. “I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, I can’t approach that song,’” Cash said, speaking directly to Cochran.  She patted her shoulder and added, “I felt like I had Patsy Cline sitting right here. But I finally got her out of the way enough to attempt it. So this is for you, Hank.”

Cash also cited Bobby Bare, who sat directly in front of her, dedicating her version of “500 Miles” to him (which he recorded under the title “500 Miles Away from Home”). “In 1980, I had my first charted record; it went to #11 on the country charts,” Cash said. “It was a duet with my friend Bobby Bare, written by my friend Rodney Crowell, and called ‘No Memories Hangin’ Round.’ I’ve loved Bobby’s voice for as long as I can remember, and his version of this song is seared into my mind forever. I hope this does honor to you.”

Cash also recognized songwriter Paul Hampton, who with Hal David co-wrote “Sea of Heartbreak,” another song featured on The List (as a duet with Bruce Springsteen) and performed at the Museum concert.  The song was a hit for Don Gibson and also recorded by Johnny Cash, among many others. Hampton stepped from the crowd to hug Cash after hearing her live version.

Later, Cash told a story about aunt Helen Carter, sister to her stepmother June Carter Cash and daughter of Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family, and how Helen taught Rosanne acoustic guitar as a teen while traveling with her father’s road show.  “Helen really spent some time with me and taught me the lexicon,” Cash said in introducing “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow,” a song from the Carter Family catalog. “It felt like a real tribute to her.”

Before performing “Girl from the North Country,” Cash recalled that her father had just recorded it as a duet with the song’s writer, Bob Dylan, four years before giving her the list.

Cash also performed Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On,” Jimmie Rodgers’ “Miss the Mississippi and You,” the folk/blues standard “Motherless Children,” and Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil” (written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin) from her album. She added her own “Seven Year Ache” as the closing song of the regular set and encored with Porter Wagoner’s “Satisfied Mind,” a song from the list not included on the album but which Cash dedicated to Wagoner’s daughter, who was in the audience.

The audience included Chelsea Crowell, Cash’s daughter, who will release her debut album in 2010; Rodney Crowell, Cash’s first husband, producer and frequent co-writer; and Country Music Hall of Fame members Harold Bradley, Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers and Vince Gill.

Gill, president of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, joined the Museum’s welcoming committee to Cash, noting his longtime friend once hired him as a member of her band. Gill told of how Cash asked him to introduce her, using his nickname “Benefit”—a reference to Gill’s well-known generosity for appearances at charity events—when quoting her.

“She said, ‘Benefit, since you are the president, it’s only fitting that you introduce me tonight,’” Gill said. “I’m so flattered because what I heard in Rosanne’s voice was the passion she had for this project. It was amazing to hear that inner voice: She really understands the legacy of her family. It’s a beautiful thing, and what a gift to get from your father, a list of the 100 most important songs in country music history from the mind of Johnny Cash. He was such a musicologist and such a believer in what was fair and what was right.”

The List will be released October 6 on Manhattan Records. The album was produced by Cash’s husband, John Leventhal, who provided the new arrangements and played a variety of instruments throughout. Leventhal joined his wife on guitar for the Museum performance, leading her expert road band through fresh takes that bring new meaning to the age-old material. 

“This has been such an incredibly special night,” Cash said when thanking the crowd for attending. Afterward, she joined a reception in the Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda, visiting for more than 90 minutes with friends, family and well-wishers.

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture.  With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.