Keb' No! - 2-12-03

My God, I can't believe I haven't "Soapboxed" on this yet!

Late last year, Marty Stuart produced the CD "Kindred Spirits - A Tribute To Johnny Cash," full of big names doing Cash tunes. For what is probably Johnny's most famous song, "Folsom Prison Blues", the huge honor of doing that song was given to blues artist Keb' Mo'. Although they might have found somebody a bit more suitable to do that "big" a tune, I thought at first glance it was a pretty cool choice nonetheless. Keb' Mo' does acoustic-based bluesy stuff, plays acoustic Delta slide guitar, is one of the few "new" black blues artists to come out in a while, and from what I have heard of his stuff is a pretty talented guy.

BUT ... Mr. Mo' wanted to make one little change to the song! He didn't feel "comfortable" with THE line, "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die". Here's a quote from Marty Stuart: "He said, 'That's a good song, but I can't sing it,' He said, 'That line about 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die,' that turns my stomach.' As if that's not appalling enough, here's the cherry on top: Marty Stuart's reply? "So I say 'I understand that, so let's change it.' We recorded it, and he changed the line to 'They say I shot a man in Reno, but that was just a lie." Right, guys ... 'Mortified' and 'disgusted' are two other words that come to mind.

Now, this is a JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE RECORD, mind you.... not his own record, on which he can do anything the hell he wants, and we can just plain ol' not like the cut if we want. But a tribute record should be a tribute to the artist's ART, an homage to what was already created!

Someone once pointed out to me that Johnny had changed "Cocaine Blues" to "Transfusion Blues" in the 1960's, so what's the big deal? Sorry, but that is TOTALLY different! At the time "Cocaine Blues" was written (by T.J. Arnall, first released in 1947 by Roy Hogshead), cocaine was thought of as relatively benign (though illegal), even having positive uses in medicine. But when Johnny got around to recording it on his 1960 album "Now There Was A Song", it was fiercely illegal, a social taboo, it's dangerous properties realized, and in 1960 it would have been fairly scandalous for a rising country star like Johnny Cash to release it under that name, especially on a major Nashville label. So, he changed it. Plus, it was Johnny's own record that he changed it on, not a tribute record.

And what was Mr. Mo' (his real name's Kevin Moore - Keb' Mo' is his 'showbiz' name) "uncomfortable" with, anyhow? He's a Delta blues guy, for God's sake -- half those tunes are about killing somebody! Have we really become that PC, folks?? Keb' Mo', The PC Bluesman!! -- "Singin' the blues, tellin' it like it is... as long as it doesn't make him feel all icky or piss anybody off"... Or maybe was he afraid that the teeming hordes of manic Johnny Cash/Keb' Mo' crossover fans would all just start shooting people in Reno, just to watch them die? And 'cause "The Keb'ster told us to"?

Here's a couple of quotes from 'Mo's website that pretty much sum it up, I think: 1) On the cover of his record "Big Wide Grin" (my God...), it says in quotes, "Life...love...family...may this music put a big smile on your face too." Again I say, "My God..." I don't care if he is from South Central LA, he's so white-bread he's gleaming! And, 2) In his bio he says "With my songs I hope to create a sense of community." I know -- how about if you just create good music instead? Or how about if you just don't be such a (fine, I'll say it) BIG PUSS, and create a sense of respect when you pay tribute to an American icon and one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century?

As I said before, I've always been OK with Keb' Mo' until now. And, with the exception of the hair (would you call that a Nashville mullet?), have always thought Marty Stuart was pretty OK, a helluva picker who's had some good tunes and been involved in some cool things. But get this -- in an interview on CMT, Mr. Mo' said he "wasn't familiar with Johnny Cash", and just did the record because Marty Stuart asked him to!! 'Mortified and disgusted' doesn't even begin to describe how I felt when I heard that one.

SO... screw 'em both. Putting him on the record at all, much less to do THAT tune THAT way, was just plain big fat stinkin' WRONG. Did Marty Staurt even ask Johnny what he thought? I really don't know, and it really doesn't even matter. Even if he did ask Johnny, and Johnny said OK, do you really think a guy in Johnny Cash's situation is really going to feel like putting his foot down and causing a big stir, or doing anything negative? I seriously doubt it. Marty Stuart having him on that record, and Keb' Mo' changing that line, THE line, one of the most memorable song lyrics in American culture, was simply disrespectful of great art and a great man's music.

Maybe if I"m ever in Reno and I meet Keb' Mo', I'll shoot 'im with a Tequila-filled water gun -- just to watch him cry.

Roger