JOHNNY CASH AND FRIENDS {JIM VARNEY, ROY CLARK, STEVE MARTIN, TANYA TUCKER} {SHOW 1 OF 4} (TV)
Summary
The first in a series of four musical variety programs, a revival of "The Johnny Cash Show," filmed at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee and hosted by Johnny Cash.
Johnny opens with "I Walk the Line," and then welcomes wife June Carter Cash, with whom he trades banter about their debatable similarities to another famous musical couple, Sonny and Cher. The pair then performs "Jackson." Next, comedian Steve Martin salutes the "bottom four" songs of the week, and Jim Varney offers a "rhyming service" for country music lingo.
Musician Roy Clark plays a banjo number, and George Washington (as played by Howard Mann) stops by for a history lesson. Clark and Johnny duet on "Rock Island Line," and Martin performs a few unusual impressions. Cash comments on the honor of performing at the iconic Grand Ole Opry, and then performs "Ragged Old Flag," his semi-spoken word tribute to the American flag, followed by "Michigan City Howdy Do."
June is joined by sisters Anita and Helen Carter for "Wildwood Flower"; after Johnny performs "Let There Be Country," he gives a sports-style "interview" to an eager Martin, who offers a "play-by-play" discussion of his songs. The Cashes joke about adapting his 1975 autobiography, "Man in Black," into a motion picture, and Tanya Tucker performs "Here's Some Love." After more jokes from Varney and Martin, Johnny introduces The Baptist-Catholic-Methodist Choir and performs "I'll Fly Away," then closes the program with "Man in Black." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: August 29, 1976 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:79713
- GENRE: Music/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Music/Variety; Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1976
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Joseph Cates … Producer, Writer
- Walter C. Miller … Co-Producer, Director, Writer
- Chet Hagen … Co-Producer, Writer
- Bill Siegler … Associate Producer
- Jere Jacob … Associate Producer
- Frank Slocum … Writer
- Howard Weinberg … Writer
- Johnny Cash … Host, Performer
- June Carter Cash … Guest, Performer
- Steve Martin … Guest, Performer
- Jim Varney … Guest, Performer
- Roy Clark … Guest, Performer
- Helen Carter … Guest, Performer
- Anita Carter … Guest, Performer
- Tanya Tucker … Guest, Performer
- Baptist-Catholic-Methodist Choir, The … Guest, Performer
- Howard Mann … Cast, George Washington
- Sonny Bono
- Maybelle Carter
- Carter Sisters, The
- Cher