Personal Johnny Cash items to be auctioned

Julien’s Auctions will go black attire on December 5th for a historic auction.  No, it’s not a formal occasion but instead an eye popping event featuring a treasure trove of personal Johnny Cash, aka The Man in Black, items including the embroidered blue jumpsuit he wore to the rehearsal of his legendary recording, “Live at San Quentin” (seen above).

This is going to be one heck of an event. In my humble opinion I believe you will see a number of these historically significant and seemingly priceless items go for far more than the listed ranges.  Among the many incredible pieces, bidders will find 3 separate autographed guitars extensively used by Cash during various parts of his legendary career.  From Julien’s:

— a vintage 1951 Martin guitar used by Cash in studio that later became the designated tour bus guitar (Est. $20,000/30,000). The second guitar is a Grammer Johnny Cash model used extensively by Cash on The Johnny Cash Show and later inscribed by Cash, “To Richard,/ Play It Pretty/Johnny Cash.” ($30,000/40,000) The third guitar offered for sale is also a Martin used by Cash in the 1980s and gifted to his friend Bill Miller. This guitar can be seen on the cover of the live album The Survivors. It has been inscribed by Cash with the first four lines of “I Walk the Line.” (Est. $20,000/30,000)

That alone would be enough.  It’s hard to get my head  around  just how much musical history those three guitars represent.  Here are images of the six strings from Julien’s Johnny Cash catalog:

This truly is a comprehensive auction of all things Johnny Cash.  The online catalog alone is 172 pages!   A portion of the proceeds from the auction will go to benefit MusiCares, a charity spearheaded by the Recording Academy that assists musicians in need.  If you aren’t heartbroken enough that you’re not loaded, other items up for sale include hand written lyrics, poems and even Cash’s passport!

The late Johnny Cash is arguably the most important artist in the history of Country music and is also transformative in the field of Rock-N-Roll stemming from his timeless Sun Records recordings.  He is a member of both the Rock-N-Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame. 

As a tip of the hat to the Man in Black, one of my musical heroes and pillars, here is the song “Walk the Line Revisited” by Rodney Crowell who was married to Cash’s daughter Roseanne Cash for a number of years.

“I never will forget that day I know the time and place. It sounded like the whole thing came right down from outer space… I’ve seen the Mona Lisa heard Shakespeare read real fine. Just like hearing Johnny Cash sing ‘I Walk the Line'” – Rodney Crowell

All images Julien’s