Since our latest lesson featured “Ring of Fire” by the inimitable Johnny Cash, we thought we’d send out a link to another one of his classic tunes, “Get Rhythm.” This song was recorded in Los Angeles in 1958, back when Johnny was only 26, and only about three years into his career of almost 50 years! As you’ll see, this was also before he had developed his fashion style as “The Man in Black.”
One thing that *IS* present in this early video, besides Cash’s distinctive baritone voice, is the unmistakable rhythm that would come to define him. Although he did blues, folk, gospel, country, and rock, Cash is most famous for that rockabilly-type “boom-chicka-boom” train rhythm that you can hear in “Get Rhythm” and many other of his big hits. It’s a sped-up variation on the “Boom Chuck-a” strumming pattern that you can learn in the “Boom Chuck-a” lesson from our technique library. Check it out!
Awesome post! It’s very informative and well written, and it clearly demonstrates a tremendous amount of knowledge when it comes to rock history. I especially like the “before the man in black” part, it must have been interesting for him to be defined by his music. It’s truly amazing to see these early videos.