Blame It on the Bee Gees

As we watched news footage this morning of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee home going up in flames, my boyfriend turned to me and said, “Yet another reason to hate the Bee Gees.”
“Hate” might be a strong word for my feelings toward Barry Gibb, falsetto siren of the ’70s with such classics as “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever.” (I do harbor some resentment for his part in kickstarting John Travolta’s career.)
But I wasn’t happy to hear that the fire started while the home that J.R. and June shared for more than three decades was undergoing renovations for Gibb, its new owner.
According to authorities in Hendersonville, Tenn., the flames spread quickly because construction crews had applied a wood preservative to the house’s walls.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Bee Gee purchased the property just last year with plans of using it — not as a museum — but as a vacation home during hurricane season. Miami, it seems, gets too breezy for him.
With the destruction of the Cash family’s home, we lose relics, physical remnants of a country legend. This three-story house by the lake was where Johnny Cash made music, kicked back and mended a life torn by drug abuse, hurtful habits and the pressures of fame.
He walked these halls with his children and, later, alone while making the Grammy-winning video for his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt.” He probably penned part of his signature autobiography in these wood-and-marble rooms.
All those memories. Up in smoke.
It’s a shame it had to come during Barry Gibb’s watch.

Tags: Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, Johnny Cash