Johnny Cash photo courtesy of Lost Highway
September 17, 2007 — Rarely seen performances by Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell and others have been unearthed for "The Best of the Johnny Cash TV Show," a two-disc DVD set due in stores tomorrow.
Johnny's series ran on ABC from the summer of 1969 to March 1971 and provided a national showcase for singer/songwriters of all genres. Artists on the Sony release include Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Glen Campbell, Derek and the Dominos, Pete Seeger, Louis Armstrong, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, James Taylor, Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The package features a total of 66 performances.
Meanwhile, the AP reports that Johnny is set to be pardoned 42 years after being arrested and jailed overnight in Starkville, Miss., for supposedly picking flowers from someone's garden while drunk. The pardon will come during the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival scheduled for November 2-4.
Johnny was arrested in May of 1965, according to his autobiography, while walking from his motel room to a grocery store after partying on the Mississippi State campus. He recalled the night in prison. "I was screaming, cussing, and kicking at the cell door all night until I finally broke my big toe. At 8 a.m. the next morning they let me out when they knew I was sober."
Johnny wrote "Starkville City Jail" after his experience.