Rosanne Cash kicks off "The List" at Country Music Hall

Cash accepted this invitation to return to Nashville at the event sponsored by the museum and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) as a way to honor her father Johnny's legacy, as well as to pay tribute to the artists whose songs she re-interprets, and to the songs themselves. Each song was written or popularized by a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame or by an artist who seems destined for that honor.

"The List" features Cash's contemporary interpretations of 12 classic songs culled from a list of essential country tunes that Johnny gave her in 1973, and filtered through her own unique perspective. Produced and arranged by Grammy Award winner John Leventhal (Cash's husband), the album includes Cash's covers of songs written and/or recorded by The Carter Family (Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow), Hank Williams (Take These Chains From My Heart), Jimmie Rodgers (Miss The Mississippi and You), Hank Cochran/Patsy Cline (She's Got You), Merle Haggard (Silver Wings) and Bob Dylan (Girl From the North Country, done by Dylan and Johnny Cash in 1969).

"I could not think of a more perfect union of entities to launch "The List" than myself, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is the repository and protector of so many important treasures and artifacts of my family, and BMI, my performing-rights organization for the past 35 years, which comprises my entire life as a songwriter," Cash said. "The songs on "The List" are the very songs that BMI and the Hall of Fame exist to honor, share, archive, and perpetuate. I am thrilled to premiere "The List" with the family-like support of both organizations, in a city where these songs have never faded in relevancy."

"Rosanne's new collection is as cutting edge and deeply personal as anything she has ever recorded," said Museum Director Kyle Young. "By making them her own, she has made each of these historically important songs sound newly minted. With her quicksilver, drop-dead voice and careful interpretation of these golden standards, Rosanne gives us proof positive that the past has meaning in the present. As we endeavor to preserve the many chapters of country music's evolving history so that new generations can understand and benefit from its cultural importance, we welcome Rosanne Cash as country-music royalty. We are honored to join BMI in presenting Rosanne's premiere performance of music from 'The List.'"