Heroes (Cash and Jennings album)
| Heroes | ||||
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| Studio album by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings | ||||
| Released | June 1986 | |||
| Recorded | December 4, 1984 - May 23, 1985 | |||
| Genre | Outlaw country, folk | |||
| Length | 30:30 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Chips Moman | |||
| Johnny Cash chronology | ||||
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| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Heroes is an album by country singers Johnny Cash (his 72nd overall album release) and Waylon Jennings, released on Columbia Records in 1986 (see 1986 in music).
Cash and Jennings first met in the mid sixties. Cash, who had fallen in love with June Carter but could not move in with her because her divorce was not final, rented a one-bedroom apartment in Madison so he could be close to her (the period is documented in the Cash biopic Walk the Line, with Waylon played by his son Shooter Jennings). "It was like a sitcom; we were the original 'Odd Couple,'" Jennings wrote in his memoir. "I was supposed to clean up, and John was the one doing the cooking. If I'd be in one room polishing, he'd be in the other room making a mess...making himself a mess." Comically, although both men were taking amphetamines by the fistful, each tried to hide it from each other. In 1978, in the midst of Waylon's superstar success as a key figure in the outlaw country movement, the pair scored a #2 hit duet with "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang." The duo had previously worked with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson to form the highly successful Highwaymen, with whom they would work together again in the early 1990s, but Heroes was their first and only full-length LP.
Heroes was Cash's second-last original release on Columbia, with which he parted ways soon after the record's release (though he later returned to Columbia alongside Jennings for Highwayman 2 in 1990). It was produced by Chips Moman, who had helmed the Highwaymen sessions and had produced several Jennings albums, including 1977's Ol' Waylon. Despite the success of the single "Highwayman" and Waylon's chart topping album Will the Wolf Survive (his first album for MCA after leaving RCA after twenty years), their presence on the charts had diminished compared to previous years. "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," the single from Heroes, reflected this state of affairs, reaching #35 on the country charts. The song was composed by Cash's son-in-law Rodney Crowell, who also contributes "I'm Never Gonna Roam Again." The duo also included "Love Is the Way," written by Kristofferson.
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