Rock Country

Rock Country

Is Johnny Cash considered country or rock?

I know a lot of people who love rock music, can't stand country, but love Johnny Cash even though he has a country sound. So, what is he? Rock or country?

Johnny Cash was raised on country music and never considered himself anything but a country singer.

However, he had a love of all types of music. He recorded folk songs and rock songs. When his TV show aired on ABC in the late 60s and early 70s he had rock bands and folk acts on there side by side with the Statler Brothers and the Carter Family.

Also consider that Cash began right at a time when music was changing. Other acts -- all on Sun at the time, coincidentally -- were also performing country music but in a decidedly different way. Most notably, Elvis, who appeared on country shows like the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry long before he became "the king of rock and roll." The different sound in the music, where there was more emphasis on the beat than had ever been seen in country music (even though Cash at the time didn't use a drummer, it was just Luther and Marshall as the "Tennessee Two"), gave Cash a popularity in the fledgling "rock and roll" (at that time just called "rockabilly") movement.

Cash was the first person inducted into both the Country AND Rock halls of fame as a performer (other were in both before him, but their induction into the Rock hall was as an "early influence" on the advent of rock, not as a performer).

One thing for certain: he was definitely GOOD.