Johnny Cash seemed so imposing, even somber. It's hard to imagine him being a class clown. But I assure you that he was indeed funny and witty. He had a wicked sense of humor that he could scarcely conceal. We compiled a few instances of Cash's high-spirited antics that will show you a very different side of the iconic Man in Black.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Johnny Cash Impersonated Elvis Presley In The 1950s
This must have been something to behold. Per nashvillescene.com, Cash humorously riffed on the young and staggeringly electrifying Elvis. He really admired the guy, as evidenced by what Cash wrote about him per the outlet via his autobiography. "Elvis was so good. Every show I did with him, I never missed the chance to stand in the wings and watch. We all did. He was that charismatic."
They toured together in 1959. Like a couple of naughty schoolboys, Elvis and Cash performed impressions of each other. Cash did a hilarious send-up of Elvis doing "Heartbreak Hotel." He really laid it on thick, with "grunts and herky-jerky hip-swivels and hair-flops." It was all in good-natured fun.
He Recorded 'The Chicken In Black'
I could never understand how anyone was talented and as serious about music as Johnny Cash could record a weirdly spoofy song like "The Chicken In Black." You can view it as crummy or campy, take your pick. Cash himself once referred to it as "intentionally atrocious." Some theorize that Cash deliberately did it just to extricate himself from his contract with Columbia Records, per Wide Open Country. That assertion has been pretty credibly debunked, however.
According to the outlet, "In his 2013 biography Johnny Cash: The Life, writer Robert Hilburn disputes these claims. He wrote that Columbia first approached Cash with the song...."
Just in case you are not familiar with this wacky tune, it's about Cash's brain being transplanted into a chicken. What fowl play!
Cash Did A Sardonic Breakup Song Called 'Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart'
Written by Jack Clement, this clever 1968 song likens all the ways that the narrator's gal has gotten rid of him to everyday occurrences. The tune paints quite a relatable picture of what the painful dissolution of a relationship feels like. For example, "I've been washed down the sink of your conscience / In the theater of your love I lost my part / And now you say you've got me out of your conscience / I've been flushed from the bathroom of your heart...." Cash must have had a ball singing this. Per Wide Open Country, it's "good stuff."
'Boa Constrictor' Was Another Far-Out Gem He Sang
Shel Silverstein was the writer of Johnny Cash's classic, "A Boy Named Sue." "Boa Constrictor" was his work also. While this tune never attained the fame of "Sue," it bears looking at. The 1966 song talks about the narrator being methodically swallowed, body part by body part, by this immense, scary, slithering reptile. Funny, maybe. Creepy? Definitely! Offbeat? Yes. for sure.
