Johnny Cash sings about redemption at Agabus (mark adams)

Johnny Cash sings about redemption

If you visit Agabus.com regularly, you know I’m a great admirer of Johnny Cash. “Redemption” — not to be confused with Cash’s cover of “Redemption Song,” by Bob Marley — is one of the Man in Black’s finest songs, one of his finest ever. I first heard “Redemption” watching a Billy Graham crusade on television. Cash came onto the stage, and he introduced “Redemption,” as a new song. This was in the 1990s, when Cash was content to let his career fade. Producer Rick Ruben had approached Cash about making an album, not just any album, but the one Cash had wanted to produce all his life: him and his guitar. So, in the twilight of his career, Cash once “got rhythm.” His next few albums, produced by Ruben, won several Grammies. His cover of Nine Inch Nail’s “Hurt,” on the fourth album, gained him a new, younger audience. But in the end, it was Jesus. He had recorded four albums for Ruben’s American Recordings label, and one, special release, a gospel album. That album was not his finest, but one senses it was his finest effort. Plain, ordinary, simple. Just a man, his guitar, and songs of praise.

Other people singing “Redemption.”