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

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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