“And when I reach the other side
I’ll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again”
I am a major rock and roll guy, which I’ve told you before. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other music. Over the weekend I saw the remarkable PBS American Masters episode on The Highwaymen – the legendary country foursome of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
These guys were men. Nowadays people scoff when you refer to someone as a man but I dare you to listen to these four guys sing and come up with any other word to perfectly describe who they are. They grew up in the dirt, from the depths of poverty, and by sheer talent, determination and dedication to their craft they became musical icons.
They gave up a lot to live the lives they chose – addiction, poor health, financial challenges. But they weren’t going to conform to expectations. They believed, correctly so, that they had to live hard lives to tell hard truths in the music.
More importantly, each man was the embodiment of something profound that ties directly to the work of Areena.
Kris Kristofferson gave up everything to be a recording studio janitor. Just to be near the music. To be near his soul.
Waylon Jennings was real. Was raw. He was the outlaw country scene defined because he wasn’t going to fit nicely into a Nashville jean pocket. He was going to do his own thing.
Willie Nelson decided government wasn’t doing anything to help farmers, who were literally losing their life’s work. Farms that had been in families for generations, farms that had been responsible for feeding generations of Americans, were being lost. What did Willie do? What men of substance always do! He acted. Nelson conceived, organized and headlined Farm Aid. The first concert alone raised over $9 million. In 1985!
Johnny Cash was Johnny Cash. Does anybody really need to have Johnny Cash explained to them anymore? What guy doesn’t want to be, at least in some part, Johnny Cash?
And while each of them was a powerful voice individually, The Highwaymen proved the power of the collective. During their concerts each sang the songs that made them famous. Willie did Always on My Mind. Johnny did Folsom Prison Blues. But it was when they came together, as one voice, the audiences jumped to their feet.
One man can make a difference. Men, collectively, can change the world.
Art Gurwitz
Founder, Areena
Author
