Please join us on June 1, 2012, at the Ozark Folk Center for our third Tribute to Johnny Cash Concert. This year’s tribute show will again feature two of Johnny’s sidemen, as well as some of our own performers. W.S. ‘Fluke’ Holland on drums; Dave Roe on bass; Charlie White on guitar. Also appearing are Ruby Pines and Mike McGhee.
W.S. Holland’s musical career began in 1954 at Sun Records as drummer for Carl Perkins and his brothers, J.B. and Clayton. He played on all of Carl’s Sun releases, including the original “Blue Suede Shoes”. He was also the drummer on the “Million Dollar Quartet” session with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.
After the success of “Blue Suede Shoes” began to wane around 1959, W.S. planned to “retire” from the music business and get a job back in Jackson where he and his wife Joyce lived. Just before reporting to a new job working for a land surveyor in 1960, W.S. got a call from Johnny Cash. Cash had two important dates booked up north and wanted him to go along and play drums on this two week trip. What started as a two week gig turned into almost 40 years with The Man in Black.
During his career with Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three, W.S. played on most of their records including the mega hits Folsom Prison Blues, Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, Boy Named Sue and others. He can be heard on live albums including At Folsom Prison, Live at San Quentin and the famous Dylan/Cash Sessions. Fluke was the first drummer to ever play a full set of drums on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry when it was still at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Serving as road manager for the Cash organization was another capacity in which Fluke worked in his career and was the only drummer Johnny Cash ever had. He stayed with the Cash organization until 1997, when health problems caused Johnny to retire from the music business. Johnny Cash is credited with giving Fluke the name “The Father of the Drums” and would introduce him from the stage as such.
Dave Roe, Nashville Bassist, has toured and recorded with Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Joe Shaver, and many more folks. He’s played on four Grammy winners, and toured the world several times.
Charlie White was the guitarist for the group Highway 101 from 1999 to 2002. Charlie is very active here at the Ozark Folk Center both as a performer and instructor, and also in Heber Springs. He is an excellent multi-instrumentalist and has a smooth country voice everyone can appreciate.
Born Feb. 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Ark., Johnny Cash was born John R. Cash, one of seven children belonging to Ray and Carrie Rivers Cash. When John was 3 years old, his father took advantage of a new Roosevelt farm program and moved his young family to Dyess Colony in northeast Arkansas. There the Cash family farmed 20 acres of cotton and other seasonal crops, and young John worked alongside his parents and siblings in the fields.
Music was an integral part of everyday life in the Cash household. John soaked up a variety of musical influences ranging from his mother’s folk songs and hymns to the work songs from the fields and nearby railroad yards. He absorbed these sounds like sponge absorbs water. In later years, Cash would draw from his life in Arkansas for inspiration: “Pickin’ Time,” “Five Feet High and Rising” and “Look at Them Beans” are all reflections on Cash’s early life.
Cash remains one of the few artists to sell over 90 million records.
Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $6.00 for children ages 6-12. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Season Passes accepted for this event.
