September 12 marks 20 years since legendary singer Johnny Cash passed away.
Although rightly recognized for the famous sound that echoes out of his early recordings, like a chugging locomotive heading across the plains or singing about shooting a man just to watch him die, some of his most unique and underappreciated work is his gospel music.
Cash was born in the heart of the Bible Belt in Arkansas during the years following the Great Depression, when religion played a huge role in people’s everyday lives. Songs from the radio filled the air as a young Cash and his family would pick cotton, and singing along was a way to help pass the time.
After his early success in the mid-’50s and early ’60s, Cash’s career took a downswing. Drug addiction, personal problems, and a difficult reputation led to a relatively unfruitful period of forgettable albums; but Cash returned…
