JOHNNY CASH > The Johnny Cash Christmas Specials, 1976-1979

Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame serve up holiday footage unseen in more than 30 years from the classic CBS series, The Johnny Cash Show. Broadcast from Cash family homes in Bon Aqua and Hendersonville, Tenn., the previously-released ‘76 episode features guests Roy Clarke, Merle Travis…

Label: SHOUT! FACTORY
[Rating: 3 Stars]

Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame serve up holiday footage unseen in more than 30 years from the classic CBS series, The Johnny Cash Show. Broadcast from Cash family homes in Bon Aqua and Hendersonville, Tenn., the previously-released ‘76 episode features guests Roy Clarke, Merle Travis, Manhattan-born pop star Tony Orlando and Billy Graham. The ‘77 Christmas Special, also released in 2007, includes an all-star tribute to the late Elvis Presley with fellow Rockabilly pioneers Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. Cash moves the Tennessee-based taping to Los Angeles for the unreleased ‘78 show, where guests include Kris Kristofferson, singer Rita Coolidge and up-and-coming comedian Steve Martin. The then-annual holiday special returns to Nashville for the unreleased 1979 broadcast, where guests include Canadian pop and country star Anne Murray, country music’s Tom T. Hall, and comedian Andy Kaufman from the hit network show Taxi. Simple and familiar as a hearty serving of June’s snake and potato stew on a Tennessee December day, The Johnny Cash Christmas Specials, ’76-’79, will bring holiday warmth to any veteran fan.