# Johnny Cash has died aged 71 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171 "2003-09-12T10:05:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/1 "2003-09-12T10:05:39Z")
☹ ☹ ☹ > **[The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News](https://news.sky.com/)** > > Sky News delivers breaking news, headlines and top stories from business, politics, entertainment and more in the UK and worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/2 "2003-09-12T10:24:12Z")
Just [one of many obituaries](http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0903/12cash.html) that are coming through now, and in days to come. Another music legend, gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/3 "2003-09-12T10:31:10Z")
Shite. I watched a doco on Johnny Cash’s life just last week. Please tell me that the Australian Broadcasting Commission does not have preminatory visions. Please? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/4 "2003-09-12T10:36:31Z")
He went so soon after his wife - funny how often that happens. In Johnny’s own words: _Oh, no I never got over those blue eyes I see them every where I miss those arms that held me When all the love was there._ Sweet dreams, Johnny and June. You’ll never have to miss someone again. ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/5 "2003-09-12T10:42:51Z")
I think I’m going to Cry,Cry,Cry. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/6 "2003-09-12T11:06:01Z")
[The thread in Cafe Society on his death.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=210823) ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/7 "2003-09-12T11:57:11Z")
Aww damn. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/8 "2003-09-12T12:01:42Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/9 "2003-09-12T12:18:19Z")
> [@](#): > > He went so soon after his wife - funny how often that happens. I expected he would die soon, after hearing about June. The morning news was well into his obituary when I turned the television on this morning. What a crappy thing to wake up to. And right after that, they said John Ritter died. All I could say was, "What the _f_ck?\* IMO Johnny Cash’s version of _Hurt_ is superior to the original. The Nine Inch Nails version sounds like just another commercial-alternative rock song. Johnny’s version had _feeling_. Without Johnny Cash, Wall of Voodoo would not have made their excellent rendition of _Ring of Fire_. And I remember when I was a little kid, thinking that _A Boy Named Sue_ was one of the funniest songs I’d heard. I saw a skiing film back in the 1980s called _Spirit_ where a guy in a frock coat and stovepipe hat was “hot dog skiing” (as it was called at the time) while reading a bible. It was filmed MOS, and they laid _The Reverend Mr. Black_ over it. I don’t know if it was Johnny Cash singing it, but it sounded like him; and I liked it. I’m not a country music fan. I prefer early punk, old-school New Wave, new alternative, and the commercial-alternative that gets all the airplay. But Johnny Cash’s music crossed the boundary. I like his stuff when I hear it, and even have two of his CDs. Most celeb deaths are just like, “Wow. That’s too bad,” or “I thought he was dead already.” But losing Johnny Cash hurts. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/10 "2003-09-12T12:18:47Z")
Like I said in the Cafe Society thread, I’ve been expecting this for quite a while; diabetes + autonomic neuropathy is a setup for infectious disaster. Johnny also looked 10 years older every time I saw a picture of him in the last few years. When he was too sick to make it to the MTV Video Awards (where his video–the best one ever made, if you ask me–was roundly screwed), I knew it couldn’t be good. That doesn’t make it any easier, though. I could recognize Johnny’s voice by the time I was able to form complete sentences myself. As the years went on and I listened to more and more of his music, I only became more convinced of his uniqueness and his genius. Someone who can cover a Nine Inch Nails song at the age of 70 and make it his own is the gold standard for how cool someone can be, IMO. We won’t see his like again. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/11 "2003-09-12T12:26:46Z")
Is the video of _Hurt_ still available online? ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Simple\_Dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Dreamer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/12 "2003-09-12T12:50:00Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/13 "2003-09-12T13:04:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DoctorJ \* > I only became more convinced of his uniqueness and his genius. Someone who can cover a Nine Inch Nails song at the age of 70 and make it his own is the gold standard for how cool someone can be, IMO. > > We won’t see his like again. > \*\* amen to that ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/14 "2003-09-12T14:26:19Z")
Oh no. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-cash-has-died-aged-71/201171/15 "2003-09-12T14:32:24Z")
I’ll be sure to tell the girls down at the Ritz he said hello. (I can’t beleive I’m actually shedding tears over a celebrity obit…but he was no ordinary celeb)