My Father and the Man in Black2012

Johnny Cash:
[On recording "Ira Hayes"] I am more full of piss and vinegar than ever. When I reach the top, I'll build another peak to climb. [Original Source: Letter to Saul Holiff, May 23, 1964]

Johnny Cash:
[On "Ira Hayes" failure to penetrate the Pop Charts] Classify me, categorize me - STIFLE me, but it won't work. This is NOT a country song." [Original Source: TBD magazine ad]

Editor, "Close-Up":
Mr. Cash, I am disgusted with you. You think that people who listen to Country are not intelligent. I am sorry that it was good Country and Hillbilly-type music lovers who put you where you are today. I am also sorry for you, Johnny Cash, that at your age, you have never learned the old lesson, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. You have a lot to learn and may you learn it on the way down. [Original Source: "An Open Letter To Johnny Cash," Close-Up, September, 1964]

Johnny Cash:
Saul, My only cure is solitude. Too many things work against my peace of mind. Only the desert with its purity and silence can help me now. Please tell them I sincerely regret these cancellations, but it's either cancel them, or cancel me for always... J.R. [Original Source: Letter to Saul Holiff, 1964]