Johnny Cash
2003-07-05
The Final Concert
The Carter Family Fold,
Hiltons, Virginia
Soundboard
01. Intro by Janette Carter
02. Folsom Prison Blues
03. I Walk The Line
04. Sunday Morning Coming Down
05. Ring Of Fire
06. Angel Band
07. Big River
08. Understand Your Man
Johnny Cash - 2003-07-05 - Hiltons, VA (SBD)
On May 15, 2003, Johnny cash lost his wife of 35 years, when June Carter Cash passed away at the age of 73. June had told Johnny Cash to keep working, so he continued to record, completing 60 more songs in the last four months of his life, and even performed a couple of surprise shows at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia. This soundboard recording captures his final public performance.
Before singing Ring Of Fire, Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage:
“The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and heaven. She came down for a short visit, I guess, from heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has.”
Just over 2 months later, Cash died of complications from diabetes on September 12, 2003 while hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Many have suggested that Johnny’s health worsened due to a broken heart over June’s death. That day we lost a legend, but his spirit lives in the music he left behind.
Credit: So Many Roads
