Where has this been hiding all my life?
Johnny Cash certainly had his share of iconic moments throughout his career, from getting banned from the Grand Ole Opry, to refusing to record until then unknown Kris Kristofferson was allowed to sit in on the session.
Of course, there’s plenty more, including a few legendary concerts at San Quentin and Folsom Prison, but maybe one of the more under-looked aspects of his career was his run as host of The Johnny Cash Show.
Running from June of 1969 to March of 1971, Johnny hosted 58 episodes and brought country acts to the mainstream in a way not many were able to do. The show featured the likes of Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Tammy Wynette, and many others.
But one artist he hosted on the very first episode joined him for a duet of one of his song that I firmly believe should go down as one of the best performances of all-time.
Joni Mitchell was in the first stages of an incredibly successful career when she accepted the invitation to be one of his first guests and the two teamed up for a rendition of “I Still Miss Someone”.
The song was written by Johnny and his nephew Roy Cash Jr. and was recorded as the B side to “Don’t Take Your Guns To Town” in 1958. It was included in his 1968 performance at Folsom Prison and was a set list staple for most of his touring career.
While the studio and solo live version is obviously great, it just seems like this was begging to be a duet and Joni took the song to new heights.
When two music icons get together for an acoustic version of a song, you stop what you’re doing and listen, and I’ll sure be doing a lot more listening to this from here on out.