Today in 1932, the birthday of Johnny Cash.
He was one of music’s true originals, one of those singers and songwriters who seemed like he’d seen and done it all.
And in some ways, that was true: for example, Johnny Cash is one of the few music stars who ever got in a fight with an ostrich.
This was in 1981, when Cash wasn’t exactly in his prime.
He wasn’t lighting up the charts with hit records like “Folsom Prison Blues” or “I Walk The Line”, and he wasn’t hosting TV variety shows anymore either.
Still, he would record some, perform some and tend to business on his property known as House of Cash.
One day, he was out for a walk near House of Cash’s exotic animal park (yes, there was an exotic animal park), when an ostrich named Waldo stepped onto the trail and started hissing and waving his wings around.
According to Cash, Waldo didn’t normally have a attitude, but he may have been in mourning for his ostrich mate at the time, and was maybe taking out some stuff on the singer.
Cash realized that to get back out of the woods and return to his house, he would have to get Waldo off the trail.
To do that, he got himself “a good stout six-foot stick.”
But when he swung the stick at the bird, Waldo jumped out of the way.
And his counterattack proved that coming at an ostrich with a stick is maybe not the best choice.
Waldo kicked Cash in the midsection, and remember ostriches are like 300 pounds when they’re full grown; their feet have sharp talons.
The kick broke several of Cash’s ribs and cut his stomach open.
The star said later that it would’ve been worse except that the big thick belt he was wearing at the time got in the way of Waldo’s attack.
Cash said he got the bird to run away with the help of the good stout six-foot stick; then he got some help tending to his injuries.
The story came out a few weeks later in the newspapers, to Cash’s chagrin; as his spokesperson said at the time, he didn’t want the story to come out because “it sounded so dumb.”
Cash eventually wrote about the fight in his memoir, and he eventually had a career resurgence with the acclaimed “American Recordings” series.
As for Waldo, Cash sent him to a zoo.
Today in 1953, the birthday of singer Michael Bolton.
He became a huge star in the 90s with his soulful take on adult contemporary pop, but his musical career could have turned out very differently.
According to Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, in the early 80s, after singer Ronnie James Dio left the band, they auditioned a number of replacements, including Michael Bolton.
Bolton says it’s just a rumor, but man, what a lineup that would’ve been!
Johnny Cash once tried to fight an ostrich and, predictably, suffered a heavy defeat (Farout)
Tony Iommi says Michael Bolton once auditioned to be in Black Sabbath (NME)
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