Rosanne Cash collaborated with Gibson to recreate her father’s iconic guitar as well as a new companion guitar honoring her own legacy.
The Man in Black has made unparalleled contributions to music history. During his vast career, Johnny Cash sold over 90 million records, was inducted into six halls of fame, received 13 Grammy Awards, and was honored with a Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts, all with his iconic custom Gibson SJ-200 strapped across his back.
Gibson is giving Johnny Cash lovers a chance to own a piece of history with the Johnny Cash SJ-200, a recreation of the country music star’s custom 1950s Gibson, complete with a distinctive pickguard designed by Cash and his name inlaid in mother of pearl on the fretboard. The Johnny Cash SJ-200 is a limited addition, with only 100 handmade by the expert luthiers at Gibson Custom in Bozeman, Montana.
The legacy guitar company has taken this homage one step further, collaborating with acclaimed singer-songwriter and daughter of the Man in Black, Rosanne Cash, on a custom Gibson of her own. The Rosanne Cash J-185 pulls elements of her father’s unique guitars designs together with her own touch.
“Guitars were always around in the house and my Dad would always have a guitar in his lap, even if he wasn’t playing it. It speaks to … personal, professional legacy … it is so essential to my family,” Rosanne Cash said while chatting with Gibson at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. “I have known that guitar, my Dad’s Gibson, for so many years. That guitar is part of Dad.”
Rosanne Cash’s personal touches to her custom J-185 include a warm, burnt orange finish and a feminine, wave-like, curved pickguard along with a recreation of the Man in Black’s Air Force patch which Rosanne Cash had sewn into her own guitar. “After my dad died, I went through his desk. There was a little patch with “Cash” on it that had been on his uniform when he was in the Air Force. I took the patch and had it sewn into my guitar strap,” she told Gibson. “We took this “Cash” and modeled it on the patch that’s on my guitar.”
One hundred of the handmade Rosanne Cash J-185 are available for a limited time along with the Johnny Cash SJ-200. Complete with custom hardshell guitar cases, these pieces of history can be purchased now worldwide at authorized Gibson Custom dealers and on www.gibson.com.
Watch Rosanne Cash’s full conversation with Gibson at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
From our February/March 2024 issue:
Read more about the iconic musicians who have made Gibson guitars a part of their brand and musical legacy.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Gibson
