In conjunction with the new Rosanne Cash album "The List", author Michael Streissguth has written 'Always Been There,' an extremely intimate and moving behind the scenes look at the creative process that launched the record.

In 1973, American icon Johnny Cash gave his daughter a list of 100 essential songs that he felt all young musicians needed to know. After 35 years, singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash has recorded a dozen of these songs for 'The List' just out in record stores.

Author Streissguth is perhaps the best known authority on the Cash family, having previously written three books on Johnny Cash. Based on interviews conducted on tour in Europe, at home in NYC, and in the recording studio, 'Always Been There' traces Rosanne's career from the early days in Nashville to her emergence as one of America's premier singer-songwriters. Along the way, Rosanne Cash has raised a family and overcome serious brain surgery.

In addition to her own struggles, this book deals with the loss of both Johnny Cash and June Carter, and how it affected Rosanne. What the reader will come away with is that even with her worldwide fame and fortune, Rosanne Cash is just as human as we are. And that she is as real as real gets. The daily ups and downs are often the same in this world for everyone.

Despite years of struggle seeking her own musical independence, 'The List' carries on the Cash family tradition, and with songs like Jimmie Rogers 'Miss the Mississippi and You', a new generation may hear these songs for the first time. Included in her new collection, is the most haunting version of 'Girl from the North Country' written by Bob Dylan, that this reviewer has ever heard.

Credit needs to be given to husband and producer John Leventhal whose talents as a musician and arranger mesh perfectly with the unique voice of Rosanne. Together they infuse this timeless music with passion and beauty.

'Always Been There' moved me like few musical books that I have ever read. And the new CD, 'The List,' is one of the finest records of Rosanne Cash's long and fabled career and without a doubt one of the best records released in 2009.

"Born into a tradition, Rosanne Cash has never feared the road less traveled."
      - Robert Gordon, author of 'Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters'

Always Been There: Rosanne Cash, "The List", and the Spirit of Southern Music
By Michael Streissguth
DaCapo Press

Purchase these books and/or CD on amazon.com while supporting WNTI by using any of these links:

• Always Been There: Rosanne Cash, "The List", and the Spirit of Southern Music (subject of this book review)
• The List (CD - Rosanne Cash)
• Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters (book by Robert Gordon)

Review by Scott Acton:
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