Publisher's Synopsis
Rosanne Cash Says "'I have wonderful memories of my dad's decades-long friendship with the wonderful Henry Vaccaro, and his book vividly brought them back to life. Henry's conversational tone and crystal clear recollections make 'Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine' instantly engaging." Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine by Henry Vaccaro Chronicles a NJ businessman's 30 year friendship with Johnny Cash, jam packed with over a 200 never before seen photos and behind the scenes anecdotes, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine provides a glimpse into this legendary private national treasure of man we know as the Man in Black. Even though it has been almost ten years since the great mans death, Johnny Cash lives on in American music legend as if he were still here, his guitar slung over his back, walking down a lonesome highway somewhere in our collective imaginations. If nothing else, thanks to his long and prolific career, that boom chicka boom sound still rings out from jukeboxes and stages across the land, and will for hundreds of years to come. But while many movies and books and interviews talk about the star, few that I've read talk about the man himself or at least, not the way I knew him. My book, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine, details my 30-year friendship with one of the best men I've ever known. I was not one of Johnny's musically skilled friends or one of his celebrity friends, but yet I was often there on the bus or backstage in his dressing room. I was even, on one of the saddest days of my life, an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. Johnny and I took our families to Bimini for vacations, and we spent many an evening gorging on Italian food in my hometown of Asbury Park, NJ. We even bought a hotel together there. Johnny and June loved Asbury Park so much they made it part time home. Via a little bit of my own life story as a successful New Jersey businessman, building contractor and co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Kramer Guitar Company, this book tells about that other side of Johnny, the side that wasn't constantly tanned and weathered by the limelight that always (and rightly) shone upon him. Because we all know how talented Johnny was musically and professionally, this book instead tells of his quiet side, his helpful side, his humanitarian side. It talks of his partnership with June, an amazing person in her own right, and it details the rare times in his hard-working life when he got a chance to slow down and catch a breath. Complete with pictures and anecdotes, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine was almost as fun to compile as it was to be with the Man in Black himself. For those of us who knew him personally, this book will create a lot of, Oh yeah! I remember that!?-moments, and for those who didn't have the honor and pleasure, this book will help you get to know him.
