You may have heard the rumor of a possible collaboration involving one Country Music darling Leann Rimes and one not so darling Hip-Hop guru, Snoop Dogg, in the works. But that, so far, is just a rumor. Not a rumor, but just as strange a collaboration, is Snoop Dogg on a CD of remixes with the late Man in Black, Johnny Cash. The CD, Johnny Cash Remixes, has the blessing of Johnny and June Carter Cash’s son, John Carter Cash. “While it stays true to the original recordings, this CD touches on undiscovered ground," said John Cash, who was also executive producer of the Academy Award winning film about his father, Walk the Line. "This is what my father was about: staying true to tradition while creating groundbreaking new music.” And it’s true. When Nashville turned its back on Cash in the early 1990s, Rick Rubin, a record producer best known for his success with heavy metal and hip-hop artists, recreated Cash’s image by staying true to his revered Man in Black image and creating a groundbreaking new sound that reached a new, younger audience, far beyond what anyone in Country Music expected of a man they considered all but done in the industry. The CD features the work of some of the best of the best in the music industry. “I Walk The Line” features Snoop Dogg. Cash’s first No. 1 song on the Country charts in 1956, “Get Rhythm”, is remixed by Philip Steir, the only person who was allowed to work with Frank Sinatra’s collection at Reprise Records. Johnny Cash Remixes aims to continue the Rubin path that shot Cash into fresh young America with classics that infuse modern sounds, such as “Leave that Junk Alone”, which was graced by Alabama 3, otherwise known for The Sopranos theme song “Woke Up This Morning”. “Folsom Prison Blues” got the magic remix touch of Pete Rock, a rapper/producer/DJ mega-man whose career spans 20 years of work with a dizzying number of labels and hip-hop icons. The CD sounds like a cocktail of the most respected gurus of a music genre performing surgery on some of Country Music’s most beloved classics. But, John Cash insists it’s something his father would have blessed. “My father made his stead by defying the expected,” said Cash. "He set the standard at the same time. He would have loved this remix record." A documentary that follows the making of Johnny Cash Remixes is currently in production. The CD will be available in stores and online Oct. 14.
