Marshall Grant, photo by Nancy Jacobs (2007)
Major Works
Books
- I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash (memoir)
Albums
- Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison
- Johnny Cash At San Quentin
- Johnny Cash At Madison Square Garden
- Johnny Cash Orange Blossom Special
- Johnny Cash Gospel Collection
- Johnny Cash Carryin’ On
Biography of Marshall Grant
Bass player Marshall Grant was born in May 1928. He and Luther Perkins were the Tennessee Two, the band which backed Johnny Cash. Marshall Grant was an important part of the boom-chicka-boom sound of Johnny Cash that changed country music. Before his band was signed by Sun Records, Grant was a mechanic in Memphis. In addition to playing bass, Grant also served as road manager, stage manager, and driver for Johnny Cash. Raised in Bessemer City, North Carolina, Marshall Grant currently lives in Hernando, Mississippi, with his wife Etta.
After the death of Johnny Cash, Grant managed the Statler Brothers until his retirement in 2004. In Walk the Line (the biographical film about Johnny Cash), Marshall Grant is played by the actor Larry Bagby. Grant’s memoir I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash(co-authored by Chris Zar) tells the story behind his career and that of Johnny Cash. Grant reveals many events unknown to the general public about the troubled life of Johnny Cash. He tells all about the “Man in Black from the Man in Back.” Grant is now a regular fixture at Starkville, Mississippi’s, annual Johnny Cash Flower-pickin’ Festival held in October.
Interview with Marshall Grant
Marshall Grant takes a break from book signing at program sponsored by Starkville Reads at Johnny Cash Festival, 2007. Photo by Nancy Jacobs
Related Websites
- Rockabilly site tells about Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant, and Johnny Cash.
- Johnny Cash talks at San Quentin about his arrest for picking flowers in Starkville. Marshall Grant is seen to the left.
- Marshall Grant’s (as Cash’s bass player) discography.
- Video of Cash singing “Starkville City Jail” and printed lyrics.