We often think of Billy Bob Thornton in acting contexts. It's not often we consider his work as a musician as much. However, he had so much rub in both industries that apparently he was out here collaborating with all time musicians.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Recently, Thornton spoke with The Guardian for an interview. There, he tackles a myriad of readers' questions from his days working in film to trying his hand at being a musician. Particularly, one person plainly asks, "You've met Johnny Cash. What was that like?" Then, Billy Bob drops a bombshell on everyone. "I never got over being nervous around Johnny Cash because it was like God walked in the room," he recalls. "I stayed at his house a couple of times and I did not want to get caught in my drawers looking in his refrigerator. So I just stayed in my room all night long. But he was very kind to me. We did a duet together of one of his songs, 'I Still Miss Someone,' that I've never put out."
Billy Bob Thornton Goes Old School With Johnny Cash
Billy Bob Thornton puts a little more detail into what that day was like with Johnny Cash. "Cash said to me, 'What's your idea, son?' And I said, 'Well, I thought we'd do the first verse and bridge and then you could do your recitation.' This was at a point where Johnny was in a little more ill health. And I said, 'Then you do the recitation and then we'll come back and do the last verse and bridge.' He said, 'Yeah, that sounds good to me.' And then he said, 'I might even have an idea or two myself. After all I wrote the fucking thing.' And I was like, 'Yes, sir, sorry,'" Billy Bob adds.
By the end of their time together, Thornton leaves with one hell of an artifact. Cash apparently wrote about the day they spent together on 4 pieces of paper. "It was partly truth, partly fiction," Billy Bob says. "And on the last page are three autographs by him: 'John R Cash,' 'Johnny Cash,' 'John Cash.' And I said, 'John, why did you write three autographs on that paper?' He says, 'Son, if you ever get broke, cut those into three pieces and you'll be all right.'
