Johnny Cash’s lakeside home in Hendersonville, TN., was destroyed by fire yesterday. The forty-year-old home–which was undergoing construction–is probably one of the most musically significant buildings in history:
Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived in the 13,880-square-foot home from the late 1960s until their deaths in 2003. Barry Gibb, a former member of the Bee Gees, purchased the home in 2006 and had hoped to remodel it and eventually write songs there with his wife.
“So many prominent things and prominent people in American history took place in that house – everyone from Billy Graham to Bob Dylan went into that house,” said singer Marty Stuart, who lives next door and was married to Cash’s daughter, Cindy, in the 1980s.
Stuart said the man who designed the house, Nashville builder Braxton Dixon, was “the closest thing this part of the country had to Frank Lloyd Wright.” When Cash moved there, the road was a quiet country lane that skirts Old Hickory Lake. Kris Kristofferson, then an aspiring songwriter, once landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to pitch him a song. Roy Orbison was his next-door neighbor for a while.
Parts of the landmark video for Cash’s song “Hurt” was shot inside the house.
All we know is this: The ghost of Johnny is mighty pissed at that Bee Gees fella right about now.
Fire destroys Johnny Cash homestead [AP]
[Photo: AP]
first the bee gees spark the death of disco, now they kill johnny cash’s house…
i’m calling for barry’s head on a stick.
You are all crazy. “Jive Talking” is the jam. And the BeeGees put out great records for years, even before the 70s. “Massachusetts” is pretty unimpeachable.
You could just as easily make a “disco inferno” reference, but that’d be in poor taste.
Also, all you haters can’t lay the blame on Barry. He may not have Cash’s credibility, but he’s a phenomenal songwriter in his own right. And just because a bunch of music snobs hate the Bee Gees, that doesn’t mean God Himself burned down Johnny Cash’s house to prove a point. According to the Washington Post, “the flames spread quickly because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative to the exterior of the house”.
Now, my big question is: whose idea was it to use a FLAMMABLE WOOD PRESERVATIVE???
@JasonBob7: For what it’s worth, it was God’s idea to make wood flammable.
you know, at first I was pissed, but thanks to the Oak Ridge Boys, I now feel a sense of relief and well being that Johnny and June took the house with them, and didn’t let the Gibbs have any.
He is Barry Gibb, it’s his house, and you will show him some goddamn respect!! He’s BARRY EFFIN’ GIBB!!!!!
…..How many of the Gibb lovers actually remember the “Bee Gees Effect” of the late 1970s? 90% of the world’s male population were prancing around singing nasty falsetto in public. It was truly stomach-turning! Not the “throwing up in the mouth a little” stuff, but “driving the porcelain bus” awful!
…..Rant aside, building renovation causes a LOT of fires. You’ve got flammable stuff from paint thinner to preservatives to blow torches in use. Even a belt sander on a nail can set things on fire inside the wall. I’ve seen that happen. You’ve got wiring getting exposed, and construction workers who flick lit cigarettes on the floor along with whatever trash they can bring with them. And finally, construction, unlocked doors, and no one living at the house = nosy neighbors, plus neighborhood kids using the place to freebase or huff.
At least the mailbox is still intact.
I know Cash has been dead for 3 1/2 years but this just makes me sad for some reason.
Don’t be hatin’ on the Brothers Gibb. Except for that “Sgt. Pepper” movie…you can hate on that.
No “Ring of Fire” jokes. C’mon guys. I know you wanted to.
@Passion of the Weiss: Wanted to?
Some of us did.
And by “some of us” I mean “I.”
well played sir, well played.