30 Years Ago Today, Johnny Cash “Reset the Spiritual Clock of Country Music” With a Masterful Comeback Album Backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

On this day (November 5) in 1996, Johnny Cash released his 82nd studio album, Unchained. It was the outlaw country legend’s second offering produced by Rick Rubin for Rubin’s American Recordings label. At this time, the producer was better known for his work with hip-hop acts including LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Public Enemy and Geto Boys. Cash, meanwhile, had made his name in country music with songs like “I Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues”.

On Unchained, the Country Music Hall of Famer turned his creative focus outward, covering songs including “Rusty Cage” by ’90s grunge pioneers Soundgarden and early country star Jimmie Rodgers’ “The One Rose (That’s Left in My Heart”). The former earned Cash a Grammy nod for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and Unchained took home Best Country Album honors in 1998.

Unchained also notably featured backing vocals and instrumentals from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Other cameo appearances include veteran country singer Marty Stuart, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.

Today, we’re exploring the legacy of Johnny Cash’s Unchained 30 years after its groundbreaking release.

How Rick Rubin Engineered Johnny Cash’s Comeback

With his gravelly vocals and middle-finger-to-the-world persona, Johnny Cash was a seismic force in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s and 1980s. However, major record labels were expressing little interest in the legendary singer-songwriter by the mid-1990s.

That changed when Rick Rubin saw the “Ring of Fire” singer perform at Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert in late 1992. Feeling that Cash still had much more to say, Rubin approached him about making an album, offering no guidance other than, “Do whatever feels right for you,” according to author Graeme Thomson.

In 1994, Cash released American Recordings. Recorded mostly in his Tennessee cabin with only his guitar, the album rose to No. 2 on the UK country albums chart.

In contrast to the stark nature of its predecessor, Rubin thought Unchained needed a more robust sound. He asked Tom Petty if he would like to play bass on Cash’s new album.

“He loved to play bass and he loved Cash, so he agreed,” the producer told Rolling Stone in 2016.

A Fruitful Partnership

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Rick Rubin likened the recording of Unchained to “musician summer camp.”

“It was no risk and all fun,” he said.

After the success of American Recordings, Johnny Cash was also open to more bold experimentation. And he certainly strayed into rock territory with “Rusty Cage”, Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents”, and Beck’s “Rowboat”. However, the singer also included some true-blue country tunes. One example was Jimmie Rodgers’ “The One Rose (That’s Left in My Heart)”.

“To hear Johnny Cash sing a Jimmie Rodgers song towards the end of the 20th century in the middle of Los Angeles … it’s almost like the spiritual clock of country music was reset during that song,” Marty Stuart told Rolling Stone.

Johnny Cash would record two more albums with Rick Rubin before his death in 2003. In 2000, he released American III: Solitary Man.

[RELATED: 4 Johnny Cash Lyrics That Still Stop Us in Our Tracks]

Two years later brought the Man in Black’s final act, 2002’s American IV: The Man Comes Around.

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