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

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

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