If you were worried Jamey Johnson would take another decade plus between projects, you can put that worry to bed.
Yesterday was Johnny Cash’s birthday and to honor The Man in Black and his legacy that continues fueling music and culture today, Jamey Johnson let us in on some very interesting and exciting news.
Jamey made a triumphant return of sorts to music after a 14 year gap between albums (he never stopped playing life shows, just with old material). This may have been due to a head injury sustained years ago, but Midnight Gasoline proved he’s still got a lot of gas in the tank. In fact, we’re not that far off from hearing more from this new era of Jamey Johnson.
In a post celebrating a specific part of Johnny Cash’s life, Jamey let us know he recorded new music and is fired up to share it, especially due to where it was recorded.
Cash Cabin
To escape from the hectivity of life on the road, Cash purchased a 40 acre plot of land in rural Henderson, Tennessee back in 1970’s as a sanctuary to unwind and explore the simple, but beautiful, side of life often depicted in his music. What started as a simple getaway turned into his own personal zoo, with a nine-foot barbed wire fence surrounding the grounds and an assortment of exotic animals, such as buffalo, fallow deer, ostrich, and wild boar, allowed to roam freely.
As the 70’s came to a close, Cash decided he needed somewhere to rest his head on the property and commissioned a cabin to be built the old way, with hand hewn logs, in 1978. It was completed the following year and his wife June Carter immediately began putting her own touches on the home, though she often let Johnny retreat into solitude alone to recharge.
The cabin stayed just that for years until June’s sister moved in and made it her home in 1991. She was the first to think about recording music there and slowly began transforming Cash Cabin into a studio. It was here that Cash recorded some of those iconic tracks with Rick Rubin for the American Recording series.
After his death, John Carter (only child of Johnny and June) took control of the property and began turning it into a top of the line recording studio that retained the imprint of Johnny’s life embedded in the walls and still hanging in the air.
Many great artists have created projects here (Loretta Lynn tracked over 105 songs in the cabin) and coming soon will be a new one, from an artist uniquely qualified to carry on the soul of Johnny Cash.
New Jamey Johnson Album Coming Soon
In a social media post honoring what would have been Johnny Cash’s 93rd birthday, Jamey Johnson posted a video from Cash Cabin that both honored the past and gave us something to look forward to; something that itself may be looked back on with reverence in years to come:
The captions in the video read:
“In 1979 Johnny Cash built this cabin. A place to write songs, poetry, and relax. The Cabin was meticulously designed, it is made out of hand hewn logs. June decorated an added her own personal touches.
Many stars have recorded in this cabin, Tom Petty, Waylon Jennings, Bono, Loretta Lynn and many more. June Carter’s “Press On” album was recorded here. Jamey Johnson recently recorded his entire new album in this cabin. Happy heavenly birthday Johnny Cash.”
At first I thought he may be saying that he recorded Midnight Gasoline in the Cabin, which actually was recorded there, but when you read the caption you realize that he’s talking about more new music on the way:
“Some places hold history in their walls, and the Cash Cabin is one of them. It’s a sacred space where stories come to life, just like the Man in Black intended. Happy birthday Johnny Cash. The music, the words, and the spirit still vibrate through those doors.
I can’t wait for you all to hear the new music we recorded at the Cash Cabin.”
As it turns out, Midnight Gasoline wasn’t the only project he recorded at the iconic Cash Cabin, but rather, it’s just the first record in his Cash Cabin Series. Johnson recently said that he went in to the Cash Cabin to record 10 or 12 songs for an album, and he came out with about 40.
After such a long hiatus, it’s amazing to know that Jamey has a TON of new music waiting in the wings.
In a world of fast fame, viral trends, and bending the knee to the powers that be, Jamey Johnson holds the line, just like Johnny did. There is no artist who deserves more credit in today’s scene and I hope this project becomes something that we all treasure, just like Johnny did his Cabin, and just like we all do with Johnny.
Cheers, Jamey. Can’t wait to hear it.
