August 9, 2011 15:28

Johnny Cash's bassist passes away

Marshall Grant dies aged 83

Photo: PA

Marshall Grant, the bassist for the Tennessee Two, has passed away aged 83.

Grant played bass with Johnny Cash from 1954 to 1980 and can be heard on hits including 'Ring Of Fire', 'Folsom Prison Blues', 'Big River', 'Cry, Cry, Cry' and 'I Walk the Line'.

He was also instrumental in the much lauded "boom-chicka-boom" sound, associated with rockabilly, and the late country legend.

Marshall Grant, along with Luther Perkins, founded the band the Tennessee Two, which became the Tennessee Three when Cash joined in 1954.

Speaking to the Nashville Tennessean, Roseanne Cash, Johnny's daughter, described Grant as:

A solid, solid rock. I cannot imagine what would have happened on those tours without him. He understood how complicated my dad was, that he was a great musician who had real demons.

The bassist was set to appear at a Johnny Cash Festival and fundraiser in Arkansas when he suffered an aneurysm and stroke.

Grant is the author of 'I Was There When It Happened : My Life With Johnny Cash'. He is survived by his wife, Etta, and son, Randall.

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