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  • WEDNESDAY APRIL 11 2007 3:00 PM

Blaze Destroys Johnny Cash's Home

Submitted by erin_broadley

Edited by erin_broadley

Tags: johnny cash, hendersonville, house, fire



In what appears a heartbreaking instance of life imitating art, the Hendersonville fire department announced that Johnny Cash's lakeside Tennessee home burnt down today, leaving only its stone chimneys to commemorate where the late legend and wife June Carter Cash lived from 1968 until their deaths in 2003. Current owner Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, who snatched up the property in 2006 for a not-so-modest $2.3 million, was renovating the three-story house. Reports say Gibb is, “saddened and devastated by the news," while Cash is probably turning in his grave.

The Hendersonville fire chief, Jamie Steele, did not know the cause of the fire, but confirmed that a flammable wood preservative applied to the outside of the house during refurbishment helped spread the flames.

The fire began at lunch time and although fire engines were on the scene within five minutes they were unable to quell the flames.


Marty Stuart, Cash's former son in law, lives on the neighboring property and had this to say:

"So many prominent things and prominent people in American history took place in that house - everyone from Billy Graham to Bob Dylan went into that house."


In addition to being the watering hole for other legendary artists, the home was also used for Cash's music video for his final recording, a cover of NIN's "Hurt."


Let the "Ring of Fire" jokes commence....

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Comments
HorseheadFiddle

HorseheadFiddle

San Diego, CA
October 2004

APR 11, 2007 08:26 PM

I hate Joaquin Phoenix.

endvic

endvic

Tempe, AZ
December 2004

APR 11, 2007 08:30 PM

Umm, yeah, pretty sure that cover wasn't his last recording, hence why the last Rick Rubin album on American came out like last year.

More accurate to say his last video was filmed there.

endvic

endvic

Tempe, AZ
December 2004

APR 11, 2007 08:37 PM

Also, to this day I cant believe MTV in its short term idiocy didnt give that Hurt video the award for Best Video in 2003.

It got beat by that timless classic "Work It" by Missy Elliott. I think history tells us which of those was the better video.

wipis

wipis

Lambertville, NJ
February 2006

APR 11, 2007 08:39 PM

That really is a shame. I gotta call my friend tomorrow and see if he knows. I know he is a HUGE fan of Cash. The "renovations" might have been minor. Mostly to preserve it perhaps. Still a freaking BeeGee. Could have been some other rich asshole who might have done worse like add an addition or something.

Still first thing I thought was throw Barry in there and play disco inferno and listen to his high pitched squeaking as he's burned alive for fucking up a national monument.

spyder13

spyder13

San Francisco, CA
October 2006

APR 11, 2007 09:21 PM

"Hurt" is one of the few covers that evers eclipses the original (at least to me). The power and emotion, the disonant piano chords, all from Johnny Cash's perspective put something more into a song that was fairly good to begin with. It is a shame to lose a phyiscal piece of the history, but the music and videos will forever be and for that I am glad.

Proenneke

Proenneke

Farmington, MO
February 2007

APR 11, 2007 10:42 PM

shit.
i don't know which is worse:
a bee gee owning it...
or the fact that it's completely gone.

CitizenD

CitizenD

Australia
April 2006

APR 12, 2007 02:00 AM

HarManic said:
I think the house committed suicide to preserve its own honor.

A fucking BEE GEE?



Fuckin' A brother.

SocietysPliers

SocietysPliers

Ocala, FL
October 2004

APR 12, 2007 09:48 AM

PBRawwww said:
johnny's reaching from the grave.....no disco in my house!!!!!!
i think if this were to happen while johnny was alive he would be the least affected...
if hes taught us anything...it's just a house.

Good point. Thank you.

kraze

kraze

I'm lost
November 2003

APR 27, 2007 07:14 PM

That house was left to someone?
That someone sold it for money?
Mr. Cash would not be surprised one bit.
After all, human nature is just that.
I miss Mr. Johnny Cash...
-kraze baby the rivers run red-

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