Johnny Cash and the paradox of American identity /

Johnny Cash and the paradox of American identity /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Edwards, Leigh H., 1970-
Imprint:	Bloomington : Indiana University Press, ©2009.
Description:	1 online resource (xi, 241 pages)
Language:	English
Series:	Profiles in popular music Profiles in popular music.
Subject:	Cash, Johnny -- Criticism and interpretation. Cash, Johnny. Country music -- History and criticism. Country musicians -- United States. Country music. Country musicians. United States. Electronic books. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11198913

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	0253003172 9780253003171 0253220610 0253352924 9780253220615 9780253352927 1282263218 9781282263215 9786612263217 6612263210
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index. Restrictions unspecified Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010. Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 English. digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve Print version record.
Summary:	From the Publisher: Throughout his career, Johnny Cash has been depicted-and has depicted himself-as a walking contradiction: social protester and establishment patriot, drugged wildman and devout Christian crusader, rebel outlaw hillbilly thug and elder statesman. Leigh H. Edwards explores the allure of this paradoxical image and its cultural significance. She argues that Cash embodies irresolvable contradictions of American identity that reflect foundational issues in the American experience, such as the tensions between freedom and patriotism, individual rights and nationalism, the sacred and the profane. She illustrates how this model of ambivalence is a vital paradigm for American popular music, and for American identity in general. Making use of sources such as Cash's autobiographies, lyrics, music, liner notes, and interviews, Edwards pays equal attention to depictions of Cash by others, such as Vivian Cash's publication of his letters to her, documentaries and music journalism about him, Walk the Line, and fan club materials found in the archives at the Country Music Foundation in Nashville, to create a complete, albeit fragmented, portrait of Cash and his significance as a cultural icon.
Other form:	Print version: Edwards, Leigh H., 1970- Johnny Cash and the paradox of American identity. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, ©2009 9780253352927

Table of Contents:

Introduction : Cash as contradiction
"What is truth?" : authenticity and persona
"A boy named Sue" : American manhood
Gender and "the beast in me" : ramblers and rockabillies authenticity and persona
Race and identity politics
Man in black : class and national mythologies
The gospel road : Cash as saint and sinner
Conclusion : "God's gonna cut you down" : cultural legacies.