A new album, Johnny Cash: Forever Words, featuring Cash’s unknown poetry, lyrics, and letters set to music is set for release April 6 on Legacy Recordings. The album features performances of this new Cash material by a selection of artists including Chris Cornell, Ruston Kelly & Kacey Musgraves, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Kris Kristofferson & Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, John Mellencamp, Carlene Carter, Elvis Costello, The Jayhawks, and more. The 16-song album will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally. 

When Johnny and June passed, they left behind what son and album co-producer John Carter Cash describes as a “monstrous amassment” of things, including a treasure trove of undiscovered material that includes Johnny’s handwritten letters, poems and documents, penned across the entirety of his life. Over the past two years, John Carter Cash and producer Steve Berkowitz invited a stellar cast of musicians to create new music to accompany these newly discovered Cash writings.

“Determining the artist for each song was truly a matter of the heart,” said John Carter Cash. “I picked the artists who are most connected with my father, who had a personal story that was connected with Dad. It became an exciting endeavor to go through these works, to put them together and present them to different people who could finish them in a way that I believed that Dad would have wanted.”

Recorded primarily at The Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Johnny Cash: Forever Words, is also the musical companion to the best-selling “Forever Words: The Unknown Poems,” a volume of Cash’s unpublished writing edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon and curated by John Carter Cash and Steve Berkowitz.

Many of the album’s songs were directly inspired by material in the book, while others are drawn from different sources of Cash’s writings. The tone of the album is established with the opening track “Forever/I Still Miss Someone” featuring Kris Kristofferson reciting the last poem Cash ever wrote alongside guitar accompaniment from Willie Nelson, both lifelong friends of Johnny. The deeply personal “To June This Morning,” is a letter Johnny wrote to his wife, June Carter Cash, now interpreted by real-life couple Ruston Kelly and Kacey Musgraves. The album also includes a piece from Rosanne Cash, who interpreted her father’s “The Walking Wounded,” marking just the second time that she has collaborated on a record with her half-brother John Carter Cash. John Carter Cash also collaborated with his half-sister Carlene, on “June’s Sundown.”

Johnny Cash: Forever Words Track Listing:
1. Forever/I Still Miss Someone – Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson
2. To June This Morning – Ruston Kelly and Kacey Musgraves
3. Gold All Over the Ground – Brad Paisley
4. You Never Knew My Mind – Chris Cornell
5. The Captain’s Daughter – Alison Krauss and Union Station
6. Jellico Coal Man – T. Bone Burnett
7. The Walking Wounded – Rosanne Cash
8. Them Double Blues – John Mellencamp
9. Body on Body – Jewel
10. I’ll Still Love You – Elvis Costello
11. June’s Sundown – Carlene Carter
12. He Bore It All – Daily and Vincent
13. Chinky Pin Hill – I’m With Her
14. Goin’, Goin’, Gone – Robert Glasper featuring Ro James, and Anu Sun
15. What Would I Dreamer Do? – The Jayhawks
16. Spirit Rider – Jamey Johnson

MUSICARES is holding “An Evening of Acoustic Country Music Benefiting Music People in Need,” an event supporting The Recording Academy’s foundation, on April 24 at AJ’s Good Time Bar in Nashville. Lee Ann Womack, Randy Rogers Band, and Jackie Lee will perform acoustically on the third floor of AJ’s Good Time Bar at the event, which is being presented by AJ’s, Gibson Brands, and Shore Fire Media, and fans will be able to view the performances free of charge via live stream on the second floor, which is home to 11 televisions.

A silent auction benefitting MUSICARES will also be held, and all proceeds from ticket sales, plus 10% of all bar receipts, will benefit the organization. Tickets for the event can be purchased for $250, and VIP tickets can be purchased for $500. Capacity is limited. VIP Tickets include a pre-show acoustic set with Jackie Lee, a meet-and-greet with Jackie Lee, the Randy Rogers Band, and Lee Ann Womack, and a private rooftop reception with hosted bar. More ticket information can be found here.

Universal Music Group Nashville has promoted Brian Wright to Executive Vice President of A&R for the label group which is comprised of Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, Mercury Nashville and MCA Nashville.

Wright joined Universal Music Group Nashville over 17 years ago and previously served as Senior Vice President of A&R.  He will continue to oversee A&R initiatives for UMG Nashville’s artist roster. Wright was instrumental in such critically-acclaimed albums as Jamey Johnson’s Lonesome Song, Lee Ann Womack’s There’s More Where That Came From and George Strait’s Troubadour, Jon Pardi’s California Sunrise and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller as well as From A Room Vol. 1 and From A Room Vol. 2.

“We are nothing if we are not a company based on solid A&R principles,” says Mike Dungan, Chairman and CEO Universal Music Group Nashville. “From the minute I arrived at UMG it was apparent that Brian was a top-notch A&R executive and we are proud to recognize his leadership with this promotion to EVP.”

“I am blessed to work alongside the best team in the music business,” said Wright. The ability to develop talent and make records that last forever has always been a passion that drives me.  Mike, thank you for being an extraordinary mentor.  You have built a legacy on great artists, songs and most importantly people. I am humbled to be part of the best label anywhere!”