by Robert Hilburn (Get the Book)The bare bones of Cash's story are widely known: the singer-songwriter's childhood years as a farmer's son longing to make music, his early hits, his descent into substance abuse, his tumultuous personal and professional life. Here, Hilburn, who covered music for the Los Angeles Times for more than 30 years, puts some meat on those bones. Did you know, for example, that when Cash moved to Memphis, he hadn't heard of producer Sam Phillips, or Sun Records? And did you know that the lyrics of Cash's early hit, Folsom Prison Blues, were lifted, not quite word-for-word, from Gordon Jenkins' Crescent City Blues? The book is based on previously published material and on the author's interviews, over the years, with numerous sources, including Cash and his family; Phillips; musicians such as Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty; and many of Cash's friends and colleagues (each chapter is thoroughly sourced). It's always tricky to call a biography definitive, but this one must surely come close. --Booklist
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