The Gospel Music of Johnny Cash.

Covering Johnny Cash gospel songs live at Robert's Western World.

“When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder” and “I Am A Pilgrim” are the two songs that I performed.

Johnny Cash is no doubt a one-of-a-kind American icon. He grew up in poverty in the Mississippi valley of rural Arkansas. He came from a home where his parents honored and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to their seven children. Their trust in Jesus that they faithfully practiced gave their family hope and joyful times in the face of heart breaking circumstances such as unemployment, floods, family deaths and the general conditions and lifestyle of abject poverty.

The whole family was required to work in the fields; and to make the time pass they would sing the hymns of their religion. Carrie Cash encouraged the little ones to sing out loud and JR, known as Johnny in his childhood, would willingly oblige her. His mother, hearing little JR’s enthusiasm, encouraged him by telling him that he had a gift for singing and worship, and that his would sustain him throughout his life. Of course, a mother’s wisdom regarding her children’s fate should never be underestimated.

Johnny Cash’s gift not only sustained and provided handsomely for himself and his family for decades, it also sustained many of his fan’s desires for genuine salt-of-the-earth gospel balladeering. I am a fan of the Man In Black, and although I admittedly have a lot to learn about his life and times, I am certainly well acquainted with the affect his rendering of classic church hymns has on my heart and soul.

As I attempt to sing these two hymns in his style, my hope is that some of the essence of his unwavering faith in Christ, the humility of a man that owes it all to his savior, and the hope of being reunited with one’s most beloved kin will come across in at least some small measure, as the listener takes this brief gospel journey across the River Jordan where time shall be no more.

Thank you for listening, and God bless Johnny Cash!