As we know, Johnny Cash was not only known for his legendary songwriting, but his ability to take songs previously recorded by other artists, put his own twist to it, and turn these covers into hit making machines.
We saw it with “Hurt,” which was originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails, and hell, the majority of his American album series songs were covers.
Speaking of his iconic American album series, there’s one specific cover on one of the projects that always stuck out to me, and it’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” off of his American V: A Hundred Highways, which was released in 2006, three years after Cash’s death.
The song is an iconic American folk song that’s been passed down generation to generation, first recorded by the Heavenly Gospel Singers back in 1937.
The badass boot stomper about meeting your maker one day was one of the last songs ever recorded by Cash, and you can pretty much feel the pain and grit in the man’s performance, knowing that his time on Earth is coming to an end.
With that being said, I have somehow gone the past 16-years without watching the music video, which I had no idea featured so many stars within both the music industry, and acting.
Directed by Tony Kaye, the music video, which was filmed in Joshua Tree, California and released in 2006, features David Allan Coe, Travis Barker, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Depp, the Dixie Chicks, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Harrelson, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kid Rock, Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, Owen Wilson, and a number of others.
Talk about a video that proves The Man in Black had a massive impact on the entertainment industry.
It’s one hell of a MLB walkup song too…
