American Idol's Adam Lambert Does Persian Version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"

Some songs are simply classic. Those songs are not just the old songs that one might like but also the songs that continue to be in demand years and decades after they were first hits. They have longevity. "Imagine" by John Lennon is one such song. So is "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. "America, The Beautiful" by Ray Charles. And it does not matter if it is the original or some hot new artist performer the song (well, most of the time). A true classic strikes a chord today just as much as it did when the composition was first released. "Stairway To Heaven." "Dream On." Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony." "American Pie." "In The Mood." "Stand By Me." "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." "At Last." Thousands of others across every musical genre.

American Idol proves how classic songs still work. On Tuesday night's show, Megan Joy Corkrey performed Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight," a song that will go down as one of the greatest songs ever. Anoop Desai sang "Always On My Mind," another timeless classic. But the song that stood out was Adam Lambert's rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." Not that the song stood out because it was performed in a uniquely arranged way -- that it was. But it also stood out because the song itself is one of those musical constructs that leaves an indelible impression on the listener...

Although Adam Lambert shocked mentor Randy Travis with his Persian version of Johnny Cash's signature song, there is little doubt that Lambert can sing. There was a strange, wavering, Middle Eastern cast to the music. Adam Lambert kept his voice low for much of the song. And in a strange way, it worked. It sounded nothing like Johnny Cash's song but it was still "Ring of Fire" (recognizable by the lyrics). Lambert went a bit over-the-top with a high-pitched wavering scream about two-thirds through the performance, but otherwise it was an amazing vocal display. Lambert also proved he had total control of his voice.

The judges were split on the performance. Simon Cowell said it was "horrific" and that people were probably throwing out their televisions after Lambert's singing. He even said that what Randy Travis was thinking was, "What the hell was that?" But Randy Jackson totally disagreed and said that Lambert was good, it was young, something like "Nine Inch Nails doing a country song." (This could have been Randy Jackson pointing out that Johnny Cash had recorded a country version of "Hurt," which is a Nine Inch Nails song.)

In the lead-up to Adam Lambert's performance, Randy Travis had said he didn't know what Johnny Cash would have thought of it; he was "speechless." After the judges gave their critique, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest turned to the country music star and asked how he thought Adam had done. Travis sat there with a huge smile on his face. Ryan filled in for him, "Still speechless."

In fact, when Adam Lambert said he was going to sing "Ring of Fire," the first song to come to this reporter's mind was the Live (the band) version of "Walk The Line" that Chris Daughtry sang on American Idol Season 5. That version of "Walk The Line" was originally recorded for a 2001 Sun Records tribute album, "Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records." Besides Johnny Cash's version, the Live arrangement may be the best version ever recorded. If Adam Lambert had incorporated a little more of that style in his performance, he may have even swayed Simon Cowell.

But one might wish to give Adam Lambert a bit more credit. The original version of "Ring of Fire" sounded nothing like the version Johnny Cash recorded. Legend has it that Cash dreamed of recording the song with mariachi horns in it. At the time (1963), that was an unheard-of innovation for a country song.

"Ring of Fire" was written June Carter and Merle Kilgore. June Carter supposedly wrote it attempting to deal with her feelings for Cash. It became the biggest hit of Johnny Cash's career, remaining at the #1 position for seven weeks. June Carter would also later become his wife.

"Ring of Fire" placed at #87 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." It was ranked #4 on CMT's "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music" (2003).

"Ring of Fire" has been recorded by nearly 100 artists, according to a list found on Wikipedia. And that list does not include the first ever recording of the song by Anita Carter, June Carter's sister. But it does include such notable artists as Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Dwight Yoakum, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, and Coldplay.

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Source:

"American Idol," Fox Television

Rolling Stone

CMT

Wikipedia.org