Always Been There

Starred review from September 29, 2009
Author and music journalist Streissguth, having already written a biography of Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash: The Biography), joined Johnny's daughter Rosanne to document the creation of an album (and tour) that in many ways reflects the complicated relationship between daughter and legendary father. Having achieved musical success in her own right, Rosanne's project is based on a lost list of 100 songs that Johnny gave her at the beginning of her career, which he felt every young musician should know. In the process of reconstructing "the List," Rosanne and Streissguth explore Southern music, the family legacy, and Rosanne's memories of the Cashes and the Carters. Streissguth is a skillful biographer, investigating Rosanne's relationship with work and art as well as with her famous parents. Unfortunately for music enthusiasts, the actual "list" never materializes, but that doesn't stop it from giving this intimate, illuminating narrative a satisfying sense of history that should please any fan of modern American music.