By Jack Whatley—

The wide-ranging mix of Joe Strummer’s songs had us all musing on his love affair with Ska, Dub, Reggae and other Jamaican-influenced genres. Island life may have been a dream of Joe’s before his untimely death. But while many songs of his and The Clash are generally homages to the sound, one particular tribute to the island came from an unlikely source, with Johnny Cash joining Strummer on vocals for a special cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’.

Strummer’s love for Ska, reggae and other notable Carribean exports are entrenched in his and The Clash’s identity. The band grew up in London during a time of unprecedented racial integration and as such aligned with their values aligned and twisted with one another. It’s a staunch part of The Clash’s makeup, you only need to look at their seminal album London Calling to see that.

Back to our musing, musing time can tend to get away from you and the Autoplay function on YouTube can catch you unaware. This time though, we didn’t have another cat video on our screens, and there was no Joe Rogan prescribing DMT for our souls. No, this time YouTube came good and delivered a truly special cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’. Our excitement reached fever pitch when we saw who was involved. not only was Joe Strummer at the mic but he was sharing it with none other than The Man In Black, Johnny Cash. With Rick Rubin behind the desk and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello on guitar – this was a behemoth of a cover.

The story starts with Johnny Cash recording at Rick Rubin’s house. The pair were sifting through songs for the LP American IV: The Man Comes Around when a familiar face entered the studio; Joe Strummer. Strummer had been hanging around the studio while he was on vacation in L.A. just to watch Cash sing. Understandable.

Cash was preparing to release the fourth album in the ‘American’ series which saw him take on some other artists’ songs and truly turn them into his own. It would see Cash make Trent Reznor’s ‘Hurt’ into a mass-appeal anthem for the downtrodden and act as his swansong. The album would be the last released in his lifetime and act as a shining reminder of his undoubted devotion to his craft. During this time Cash was near his peak as a wind-beaten bastion of art and music.

Naturally, Strummer, who would also sadly pass away just a few months after this recording, was awe-struck. Joe died after suffering from an undiagnosed heart defect, which would shock the musical world and leave his fans in mourning for many years to come. But before then, Strummer was in his element, watching Johnny Cash – one of the greatest singers to have ever graced this earth – perfectly performing songs that should’ve been nowhere near his reach.

Strummer extended his vacation so he could spend time with one of his idols. He and Cash caught up about everything, about The Clash, about the early days of rock and roll, and also about Jamaica. Strummer had been brought up with Jamaica as part of his lifestyle and Cash owned property out there. They spoke about the island at length and eventually decided, after much pushing from Rick Rubin who was likely salivating at the prospect of having two legends in one booth, they should celebrate it the only way they know how; with a song.

They chose Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’. A track born out of Marley facing his own mortality the lyrics are so pertinent that they even find their way into political speeches and moments of civil rights. A stripped-back, solo-acoustic number, it allows both Cash and Strummer to effectively hang the track on their vocals and the incisive lyrics, a fact which was not lost on Cash.

Rick Rubin remembered: “There was one line I was wary about because it was not good English and I said, ‘Johnny do you want to change this word to say it the way you’d say it?’” Cash looked at Rubin and said, “Bob Marley wrote that. I can’t change that!” and they didn’t. What they did add though was the guitar work of none other than Tom Morello, with the Audioslave and RATM guitar impresario doing some fine work.

While we could go on about this story and the intricacies we which we knew, the best way to enjoy this moment is by listening to the track. So sit back and listen to Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash and Tom Morello perform Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ below.