Song By Song

Johnny Cash: Sunday Morning Coming Down (1x5)

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Johnny Cash was ready for primetime with his own network series on ABC, but primetime wasn’t ready for Johnny Cash. With his show filmed every week Johnny Cash shared with viewers the music he wanted to hear: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young acts that would alienate his own longtime and old friends that would puzzle his new generation of fans (Bill Monroe, Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger). He bucked against the Network’s wishes by talking about Vietnam and defiantly singing the lyrics “Lord, I’m wishing that I was stoned” in Kris Kristofferson’s classic “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” ABC canceled the controversial show, but its impact on future musicians would echo for years to come.