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W.S. Holland and Nashville's Bob Wootton helped their friend and employer Johnny Cash win nearly a dozen Grammy Awards over 35 years.
Since his death in September 2003, the two veterans of the music wars have tried to keep a bit of the distinctive "Cash Sound" alive.
That sound re-emerged on the national radar with the movie "Walk the Line," which covers Cash's early years. Holland and Wootton were among
those in the audience at New York's Beacon Theater for the premiere of the movie.
"Beats all you ever saw," Holland said.
Their album "We Still Miss Someone," put out by Country Country Records, was considered for Country Album of the Year and overall Album of the
Year. The group was on the list for Best Country Performance by a duo or group with vocals.
"We're No. 1 in Sweden," Holland said, laughing at the thought. "The record's selling good, but that's not what this is about. It's about having fun
and keeping the sound alive."
The Tennessee Three were among those walking the red carpet for the premiere of "Walk the Line" - the movie about Cash and his wife, June
Carter, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Two nights later, the Tennessee Three performed at one of the major parties following
the Country Music Association Awards show at Madison Square Garden, a party that was sold out.
When Cash retired in 1997, Holland didn't think too much of where he fit in the musical universe. "We played with John for 35 years, and we knew
the sound was distinctive, but we had no idea."
It was more for fun than anything else "that me and Bob would make this little old CD. People didn't know that Bob sings really good, maybe better
than John on some songs. We were just trying to keep the sound going."
"I gave away all my guitars when John got out of the business," said Wootton, an Arkansas native who joined the band in 1968 after Luther
Perkins died in a house fire. "When I went back in, I had to get me a new one, and (manufacturer) Fender gave me a new guitar and amp."
"After all these years, I actually sing a song. Actually, it's more of a recitation. The tune's about John and his legend," Holland adds. "But now I tell
kids who have trouble breaking into the business to keep at it, 'cause when things happen, they happen fast. Like me singing after 50 years."
As for Wootton's "Mad Dog," did the inspiration for the tune come from Cash's dark past with alcohol and drugs?
"Nah, it was my father-in-law," the Arkansas native said with a laugh. "He was a truck driver who liked to drink, and once he gave me a bottle of
what he called Mad Dog 2 0/20. Said you could see things after drinking it.
"He passed away a few years ago and stopped drinking a while before that."
For Wootton, it's still about family. His wife, Vicky, sings backup vocals. Country Country has signed his 21-year-old daughter, Scarlett, "and that's
why we're moving to Nashville" from Mississippi.
Even his surprise child, 8-year-old Montana, "loves to sing the harmony on the Carter Family gospel songs we sing. That's the fun part for me."
Since his death in September 2003, the two veterans of the music wars have tried to keep a bit of the distinctive "Cash Sound" alive.
That sound re-emerged on the national radar with the movie "Walk the Line," which covers Cash's early years. Holland and Wootton were among
those in the audience at New York's Beacon Theater for the premiere of the movie.
"Beats all you ever saw," Holland said.
Their album "We Still Miss Someone," put out by Country Country Records, was considered for Country Album of the Year and overall Album of the
Year. The group was on the list for Best Country Performance by a duo or group with vocals.
"We're No. 1 in Sweden," Holland said, laughing at the thought. "The record's selling good, but that's not what this is about. It's about having fun
and keeping the sound alive."
The Tennessee Three were among those walking the red carpet for the premiere of "Walk the Line" - the movie about Cash and his wife, June
Carter, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Two nights later, the Tennessee Three performed at one of the major parties following
the Country Music Association Awards show at Madison Square Garden, a party that was sold out.
When Cash retired in 1997, Holland didn't think too much of where he fit in the musical universe. "We played with John for 35 years, and we knew
the sound was distinctive, but we had no idea."
It was more for fun than anything else "that me and Bob would make this little old CD. People didn't know that Bob sings really good, maybe better
than John on some songs. We were just trying to keep the sound going."
"I gave away all my guitars when John got out of the business," said Wootton, an Arkansas native who joined the band in 1968 after Luther
Perkins died in a house fire. "When I went back in, I had to get me a new one, and (manufacturer) Fender gave me a new guitar and amp."
"After all these years, I actually sing a song. Actually, it's more of a recitation. The tune's about John and his legend," Holland adds. "But now I tell
kids who have trouble breaking into the business to keep at it, 'cause when things happen, they happen fast. Like me singing after 50 years."
As for Wootton's "Mad Dog," did the inspiration for the tune come from Cash's dark past with alcohol and drugs?
"Nah, it was my father-in-law," the Arkansas native said with a laugh. "He was a truck driver who liked to drink, and once he gave me a bottle of
what he called Mad Dog 2 0/20. Said you could see things after drinking it.
"He passed away a few years ago and stopped drinking a while before that."
For Wootton, it's still about family. His wife, Vicky, sings backup vocals. Country Country has signed his 21-year-old daughter, Scarlett, "and that's
why we're moving to Nashville" from Mississippi.
Even his surprise child, 8-year-old Montana, "loves to sing the harmony on the Carter Family gospel songs we sing. That's the fun part for me."
| Bob Wootton |
| W. S. Holland |
| Country Country Records |
copyright 2005 Country Country Records LLC.
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The Tennessee Three