Happy Birthday Johnny: 10 Ways to Celebrate The Man In Black’s Birthday

February 26th is Johnny Cash’s birthday and he would have been 75 this year. I’m sure you all have plans to celebrate it, but for those who need some ideas here are 10 ways to make sure you do it up right:

1. Watch The Simpsons episode “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer” where Johnny plays Homer’s coyote spirit-guide.
   
   Best part: Johnny’s inner-coyote takes over and he starts chewing on Homer’s leg.
2. Track down The Cowsills and beat them senseless for their cover of “Folsom Prison Blues”
3. Watch other artists pay their respects to him in the posthumous video for his song “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. Think Johnny had a profound effect on culture. Just check out the people that appear in the video: Iggy Pop, Bono, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Keith Richards, Johnny Depp, Kris Kristofferson, Brian Wilson, Chris Rock, and more. It’s a selection that cuts a wide path across our culture.
   

   While you’re at it, head over to MashupTown and check out DJ Schmioli’s mashup of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
   DJ Schmolli Vs Johnny Cash Allstar Band- Gods Gonna Cut You Down
   

4. Take a pilgrimage to Dyess, Arkansas to see where Johnny grew up. It’s probably not as flashy as Graceland, but I bet it gives you a great sense of how a boy named J.R. became Johnny Cash
5. Post a video of yourself covering one of Johnny’s songs on YouTube
6. If you’re not musically-inclined, listen to other people cover Johnny:
   Ray Charles - Busted
   
   Eutaw Chapter - Long Black Veil
   
   Live - I Walk The Line
   
   Yes, I’m aware that “Long Black Veil” isn’t actually Johnny’s song. It was written by Danny Dill, but Johnny’s recording of it is the most famous, so I’m counting it.
7. Listen to Johnny with Bob Dylan on “Girl From the North Country”, off of Dylan’s Nashville Skyline album.
   Bob Dylan Johnny Cash - Girl From The North Country
   
   The two men apparently had great respect for one another, but this is the only collaboration they ever released (though there’s a documentary that shows them recording “One Too Many Mornings” for this session.)
8. Watch Walk the Line (and try not to think about how much hotter Reese Witherspoon is than June…)
9. Read Johnny’s autobiography: Cash: The Autobiography (or if you don’t have time to read it, just watch High Fidelity up to the part where Rob lets us know it’s his favorite book)
10. Try not to cry watching the video for Johnny’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”. It kills me every time.
    

Happy Birthday Johnny. Thanks for the memories.