The spirit of Johnny Cash still looms large over country music – and for Loretta Lynn, that spirit was once even in the recording studio with her.
The Man in Black passed away in 2003, leaving behind a legacy of being one of the most influential country artists of all time. His catalog of course contains classics like “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire” and “I Walk the Line.” But as much as he was known for his music, Cash also left his impact on country music as a pioneer of the “outlaw country” movement alongside artists like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
The legendary Loretta Lynn was also a longtime fan of Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, and has even said that The Carter Family were the first recordings she ever remembers listening to. And after both Johnny and June passed away, Loretta forged a close friendship with their son, John Carter Cash.
The younger Cash credited Loretta for being there for him when Johnny and June passed away within months of each other, and he even co-produced many of Loretta’s later albums.
In her final years, Loretta recorded most of her music at the Johnny Cash Cabin Studios in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.
The cabin was built by Johnny Cash in 1978, on land that he used to keep his extensive collection of exotic animals, just across from his residence. Originally, he built the cabin to serve as a sanctuary of sorts, somewhere he could write songs and relax. But in 1991, when June’s sister Anita Carter moved into the cabin, she brought in recording gear and set up a makeshift studio to record her own music there.
Then in 1992, Johnny met producer Rick Rubin and signed with his label to produce his American Recordings series. While he recorded a few songs from the first album in the cabin, he later began to record there more and more, turning the cabin into a magical place to make music.
So it’s really no wonder that Loretta chose to do her recording there too – or that Johnny would want to stay in the studio even after his death.
It was in the studio, while recording for her 2016 album Full Circle, Loretta recalls a moment when she was recording a Johnny Cash song and the Man in Black himself came to visit her:
“I was recording one of Johnny’s song, Johnny Cash. And I looked up and I thought that I’d seen this gray suit come in. And it looked like Johnny.
Of course, you know when you’re recording it’s dark kind of in the studio. I quit singing and I said, ‘I would have swore I saw Johnny Cash walking through that door.'”
It wasn’t the first time Loretta had paranormal encounters. Her Hurricane Mills home is said to be haunted by Civil War soldiers, and Loretta herself reported seeing ghosts on the property, including a woman standing on the balcony and a heartbroken woman wandering the property in mourning.
Loretta even memorialized her experiences in song with her 1964 hit “This Haunted House.”
I guess if you’re going to be visited by a ghost in the recording studio, Johnny Cash is a good one to have alongside of you.
You can hear more about Loretta’s encounter with the spirit of Johnny Cash from our friend Dillon Weldon over on TikTok.
@dillon.weldon Johnny Cash’s spirit paid a visit to Loretta Lynn. #johnnycash #lorettalynn #ghost #creepy #countrymusic #foryou #fyp ♬ Creepy and simple horror background music(1070744) – howlingindicator
And here’s Loretta performing on The Johnny Cash Show back in 1970.
