#5 "A BOY NAMED SUE"
JOHNNY CASH, 1967

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Nobody can sing a song like Johnny did.  With his deep voice, he could be both friendly and scary all at once.  And his storytelling song style have added outstanding works of art to the world.  Though many may pick the line from Folsom Prison Blues, where Johnny admits, "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die", as a brutal favorite, I'll have to go with the payoff near the end of "A Boy Named Sue".  We learn that the singer was named "Sue" by a no good dad that left him and his Ma when he was still a baby.  After years of abuse and torment from people teasing him about his name, he tracks that no good jerk who gave him such an awful moniker.  He finally sees him in a bar, and brazenly exclaims, "MY NAME IS SUE...HOW DO YOU DO?  NOW YOU GONNA DIE!!!"  How could you not sing along to that? 

It's worth noting that this great song was written by the legendary poet, artist, and all around great guy, Shel Silverstein, and that Cash's success with it helped get Shel more acclaim to do his own records and books!

-Robert Berry

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