Laughlin Entertainer: Cover Stories

The images and names associated with Johnny Cash are numerous: “The Man in Black”-June Carter-a hardened look that spoke of rebellion-Sun Studios-Folsom Prison ...and on and on.

But the one thing that really stands out and just shouts, “Hello, I'm Johnny Cash” is that sound-that sound of the Tennessee flat top box guitar and its “boom-chicka-boom” rhythm. When it starts, you can almost hear the train a ‘comin'.

Throughout Cash's long ride and wide swath through the American musical scene, there were a few guys that rode shotgun-guys who backed him up and logged as many miles on the road and time in the studio. In 1955, those guys were Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant. In 1960, they became the Tennessee Three when drummer W.S. Holland left Carl Perkins and joined Luther Perkins and Grant. When Luther Perkins died in an accident in 1968, Bob Wootton sidled into the all-important “boom-chicka-boom” lead guitar spot and the “Three” continued on their way without missing a beat.

When Cash finally quit the stage due to illness in 1996, his band consisted of Holland, Wootton, Dave Roe and Earl Poole Ball. With Cash's death in 2003, it looked like the live music was silenced forever.

But Holland and Wootton weren't ready to walk away from the line-they still had a passion for the music of Johnny Cash. So the two musicians continued on together for a while as direct contacts to one of American music's biggest icons. Then a few years ago, Wootton and Holland went their separate ways, leaving Wootton to carry on the Tennessee Three tradition. He does just that at the Riverside Resort Wednesday, July 23 through Sunday, July 27.

The Laughlin entertainer recently talked with Bob Wootton about Johnny Cash, their careers and the show he's bringing to the Riverside Resort.

Q. Last time you were here as the Tennessee Three, it was you and W.S. now there's only you. Why the split?

A. W.S. decided he wanted to do something on his own. Besides, riding on a bus day and night becomes tiresome. It takes it's toll.

We still keep in touch and keep tabs on each other.

Q. What's the new show like?

A. It's still the same show with everyone except W.S. here. There's Lisa Horngren on bass; my wife Vicky plays rhythm guitar and sings; my daughter Scarlett does the June Carter Cash vocals-and a couple of John's newer songs that the young people like. Rodney Powell is on drums. He's toured with several different bands including Randy Travis, Journey and a couple other big rock and roll bands. He's doing a real good job for us.

Q. Is it true Vicky toured with the Carter Family?

A. Oh, yeah, that's where I met her. She was playing five-string banjo and bass guitar. She's a great songwriter and singer, but it's hard to get her to sing on her own. She loves performing the Carter Family stuff and audiences really like that.

I also have a 10-year old daughter who's locked in her room right now writing a song. She's got perfect pitch and is self-taught on five different instruments-but I can't get her on stage. Whenever she's ready, she'll let me know.

Q. Can you tell us a little more of the specifics of the show?

A. To establish the history of our show, we open with John introducing me through the years at some of the places we played. Audiences can watch me age along the way.

I want everyone to know that this is a family show-so people don't have to worry about being embarrassed by something that was said on stage. When we're outside talking to people after the show they thank me for putting on a show they can bring their families to.

When I was with John, there was this one guy who probably went to 40 or 50 of our shows. He was from Iowa-or Wisconsin-and came to so many shows, he'd walk in and out, without a ticket. Everybody knew him. A couple of years ago, he was at my show and he said, “I loved what John did, and I love what you're doing, and I wanted to pay you the same respect.” Sometimes I look out and there he is sitting in the front row. I'm very proud of our show and what we're about. I feel blessed to do this and have our family included.

Q. Your show is more than just the music-it also includes some stories you tell about your years with Johnny Cash, right?

A. Yes. I tell stories. People always ask me why I don't write a book, but if I put everything I know in a book, people won't come to the show. We've been doing this for three years now and some people have seen the show as many as 11 times. They tell me they come because they love to hear all the stories. One person said, “I could listen to them all night.”

Q. Do people expect you to dress up as Johnny? Are they expecting the show to be a tribute?

A. At first, people thought we just played instruments. They didn't know anyone in John's band could sing. I don't try to imitate him. I don't try to look like him, sing like him or dress like him-it's a tribute to the songs and the sound that was him. No body else can do that.

Q. Were you at the Folsom Prison concert?

A. No, that happened in January 1968. I didn't join until September 1968, after Luther died. But I was at the San Quentin concert which gave John his only million seller album, with the song, “A Boy Named Sue.” That was February 24, 1969.

Q. Did you expect it to be the commercial success that it was?

A. No. I loved the Folsom Prison show. That's where the “Hello, I'm Johnny Cash” came from and it was a success.

Then we went to do San Quentin. John called and said he was trying to write a song but it wasn't commercially good. Shel Silverstein had written a poem about a boy named Sue and sent it in a letter to John. He read the poem to all of us and we all laughed, thinking it was the funniest thing we'd heard-and that was the end of it-or so we thought.

During the San Quentin show, John wasn't doing well like he did at Folsom. He said he needed something new. “What can I do?” he said. He thought for a minute and then he said, “Bob, hand me my briefcase”. He started reading the letter to the convicts and we started playing-and it tore the house down. When it talked about being no good and putting down the system, they loved that.

Q. So was that the oddest place you ever played with Johnny Cash?

A. No, we actually played several prisons-four in one day.

We played at the prison in Angola, Louisiana. It was a maximum security prison-they had rough people in there. We got back on the plane and went to Leavenworth, Kansas for lunch and a show for the lady prisoners. Then we did a show on the men's side of the prison. Then we took a plane to a Michigan prison for our fourth prison. Talk about strange. It was kind of spooky hearing those doors click behind us. By Michigan, I wasn't paying any attention-I got so used to it. That was one long day.

Q. You're helping to keep his music alive. Do you think the interest in Johnny Cash continues to be strong with a younger audience?

A. I think so. We've played in Whistler, British Columbia at their biggest ski resort 11 times. The guy that books us there said we're the only time both the white-haired grandma and the kid with the punk hair cut and rings in his nose come in-they love the same music.

Q. What song gets the most response?

A. We've gotten standing ovations on “Walk the Line.” I remember when John sang that song and didn't get standing ovations. Vicky and I do “Jackson” and that's a popular song. But the biggest song that the kids love and start hitting the floor is “Ring of Fire.” Old and young love it-it's a wonderful song.

Q. What song do you like to sing?

A. I found an old 78 record three or four months ago called “Don't Make Me Go” from Sun Records. We do that one in the show now. It's a beautiful love song and that's the song people talk about. We just do it because we liked it-apparently other people do, too.

Q. What was the song Johnny Cash always liked to go to-his money song?

A. He liked the gospel stuff. If he was having a rough time, he'd always go in the back somewhere and do the gospel stuff. He always treated “Walk the Line” like it was something special. It became the most recorded song in history. He lost that feeling about the song later on because so many other people in the business started doing it.

Q. Is there a Cash song you hate?

A. He wrote a song in 1970 called “Melba's Wine.” I hated it and every time we played it, we messed it up. We were in the dressing room during intermission and John comes up to me and asked, “Bob, what is wrong? Why can't you play it like it's supposed to be heard?” I told him, “I hate that song.” He told me, “I don't pay you to like or dislike a song.” I answered, “I can't play a song I don't like.” It registered with him. We never had that conversation again. I don't know what it was, but that song irritated me.

Q. Do you do any songs outside the Johnny Cash catalog, but give them the JC treatment?

A. There are a couple of songs we do in the Johnny Cash style that were not his songs. My wife wrote a song years ago called “How A Cowboy Has to Ride”-and there was an Elvis song called “What Now, What Next, Where To?” She said, “Johnny Cash can sing these songs and make them hits,” but he wouldn't listen to them. I think he had the earphones on about 15 seconds and said, “No, not my style of stuff.” I thought, “Oooh kay.”

Q. Where are you from and how did you learn to play? Are you self taught?

A. I'm an ol' country boy from Oklahoma. I learned to play guitar from my dad. He grew up playing fiddle and mandolin. He bought me a guitar from the Speigel catalog so I could play music in church.

Q. Where did you hook up with Johnny Cash?

A. In Arkansas. I was in a band in Oklahoma and we did a lot of music of guys like Merle Haggard and Hank Williams. But we did more and more Johnny Cash songs because that's what people wanted. I couldn't find anyone who could play the guitar like Luther (Perkins) did, so I learned to do it myself.

One day, I went to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where John was doing a rally for Rockefeller. Marshall Grant and Luther were stranded in Memphis because of fog and couldn't get a flight out. John was playing on a flatbed truck with W.S.

June Carter was standing there behind it. My girlfriend went up and asked her if she'd like to find a guitar player for Johnny and she said, “Do you know one?” My girlfriend said, “Yeah, that guy with the guitar at the front of the stage with his chin on John's foot.” That's how it started for me.

When I walked on stage with him, it's like I'd known him all my life. We had a lot in common-not just similar vocals, but we're both originally from Arkansas, both Pisces, both Cherokee and both had the same religious background.

Q. Tell us about the distinctive “boom-chicka-boom” guitar style - that was Cash's signature sound?

A. Luther started it and I took it a step further. I cleaned it up and made it so simple...taking it one note at a time. Guys like Chet Atkins and Waylon Jennings were asking me “how'd you do that?” If you know too much guitar...or if you're really good and try to put in different stuff half way through...you can't play this stuff...it doesn't fit.

Q. What made you guys decide to continue on without the “Man in Black?”

A. When he died, people were immersed in Johnny Cash and I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon. Before he died, I'd given all my guitars away. I had to borrow one when I was invited to go to Minnesota to be part of a tribute to him. People loved it - they treated me like I was somebody. I couldn't believe it. I got the bug, so I did stuff myself for a while. W.S and I cut a record. We got so much attention we decided to go to Ireland a couple times a year. It was just like before, working for John. We were in the right mood and it sprung up from there.

Q. Any recording projects in the works?

A. We're working on an album now that we hope will be out in September. I wish it was ready now. We were thinking about calling it Guaranteed Cash, but then we had the idea of calling it One More Ride, because we believe John has one more ride.

Q. Does it feel strange to be on stage without him?

A. The first time... during a couple of songs...I had trouble getting through them. It seems to be getting easier when people tell me they're happy about us getting back together and doing this. Every night someone will tell me, “I swear it's like Johnny on stage.” I don't try to imitate him. The reason people think I sound like him is in the music...it's in the guitar.

THE TENNESSEE THREE

Wednesday, July 23

through Sunday, July 27

at 8 p.m.

Don's Celebrity Theatre in the

RIVERSIDE RESORT

Tickets are $34 (two-for-one tickets for locals with ID)

For tickets, see the Entertainment Ticket Office next to Don's Celebrity Theatre or call 702-298-2535 ext 616; 928-763-7070, ext 616; or

1-800-227-3849, ext 616