Ruthie Foster, Rosanne Cash, Rhett Miller, et John Leventhal

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, US, to father Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto, Cash joined her father’s road show after graduating high school early-1970s, moving from laundry duty to becoming a backup singer and occasional soloist. She made her recording debut in 1974 on Johnny Cash’s “The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me,” featuring on the song, “Broken Freedom Song.” However, it was another four years before Rosanne decided to seriously pursue a career in music.

In 1978, Cash signed with Columbia Records, releasing her American debut, “Right or Wrong” in 1979, featuring three Top 25 hits. Her breakthrough came in 1981, “Seven Year Ache,” which brought Cash three number one singles in the country charts, with the title track also crossing over into the Top 30 of the mainstream Billboard pop charts. Cash took a stylistic turn in 1985, moving towards a country-pop sound with “Rhythm & Romance,” which gained praise from country and pop fans alike. Her next critical and commercial success came with 1987’s “King Record Shop,” featuring four number one singles, with Cash being named ‘Top Singles Artist’ by Billboard in 1988.

By the end of the decade, Cash released the retrospective album, “Hits 1979-1989,” summarising her ten years of success as a solo artist. The following decade, amidst personal upheaval following her divorce, Cash continued to release albums, taking a more introspective style of song writing. Cash moved away from the country pop of the past to a more mature, folk sound, displaying her musical diversity in albums such as 1993’s “The Wheel.”

It was another ten years before Cash would release her next full-length studio album, 2003’s “Rules of Travel.” Cash continued to record music until 2007, when she was diagnosed with Chiari malformation, with Cash taking a break from music in order to undergo treatment and recovery from her condition. She had overcome her illness by late-2008, returning to the studio in 2009 with “The List,” a collection of recordings of songs that her father had considered to be the 100 most essential American songs. Cash then set up the ‘Johnny Cash Music Festival’ in 2011, as a tribute to her father. She then returned to the studio, developing new original material, which culminated in 2014’s “The River & The Thread.”

Born Stewart Miller II, Rhett Miller began his musical career as something of a prodigy. He dropped out of his creative writing scholarship at the Sarah Lawrence College at the age of 19 to pursue a career in music and released his debut solo album “Mythologies” in the same year. “Mythologies” was produced by Miller's friend Murray Hammond, whom he found he had such creative chemistry with that after Miller's album sank without a trace, the duo teamed up with drummer Benjamin Warrenfells to form a new band called the Sleepy Heroes in 1990. The band released one album together before Miller and Hammond formed a new band together in 1993, called Old 97's. The Old 97's were the first project of Miller's to see genuine success, signing to Elektra Records in 1995, releasing several albums over the course of the decade.

However, come 2002, Miller had written a set of songs that didn't sound quite right played by Old 97's, and because of this, he decided to re-start his solo career after twelve years of dormancy. His second solo album “The Instigator”, received the kind of critical acclaim and radio play that his debut missed out on, and over a decade later, Miller's gone one better than most frontmen who start a solo career. To this day, he juggles his solo work and his work in his band pretty equally, releasing a further four solo albums alongside his further four albums with the Old 97's. Miller remains one of the true elder statesmen of alternative country, equally respected for his songwriting whether it's with his band or solo, and for that, he comes highly recommended.