More Johnny Cash Christmas Specials Coming to DVD

The holidays promise to be especially nostalgic this year as two more Johnny Cash Christmas Specials will come to DVD on October 7th. After the 1976 and 1977 specials were released last year, this year we'll get the release of Cash's 1978 and 1979 specials, both of which haven't been seen in 30 years. Taped in Los Angeles, the 1978 broadcast features Cash joined by Kris Kristofferson, Rita Collidge and wife June Carter Cash. Adding to the fun is "one of America's hottest new comics," some dude named Steve Martin. In 1979, Cash moved the special back to Nashville, bringing along country stars Anne Murray and Tom T. Hall. Andy Kaufman provides the comic relief in the 1979 broadcast, appearing as his Taxi character Latka Gravas. The DVDs — sold individually and also as a box set featuring all four specials — will be released by Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Check out highlights from the 1978 special above, including a trio with Cash, Martin and Kristofferson.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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