Oldham recently released his 22nd album as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, The Purple Bird

Will Oldham is an American singer-songwriter who also performs under the name Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. (David Kasnic)

Will Oldham has been a Johnny Cash fan for almost his entire life. He remembers listening to Cash’s music with his older brother when they were just four or five years old. So imagine his surprise when he got the chance to work with Cash in 2000.

Last month, Oldham released The Purple Bird, his 22nd album under the moniker Bonnie “Prince” Billy. The record was produced by his friend David Ferguson, whom he first met 25 years ago during his serendipitous recording session with Cash.

In an interview with Q‘s Tom Power, Oldham explains how that “bizarre and wonderful opportunity” to work with Cash came about. It all started when producer Rick Rubin picked out his song I See a Darkness as a potential track for Cash to cover on American III: Solitary Man, the third album in the music legend’s American series.

“They were casting a net after exploring the possibilities with the first American record and plumbing the depths of what Cash had to offer,” Oldham tells Power. “Rubin, I think, picked out that song, put it on a tape I found later from June Carter Cash, sent the tape to John and June, and they would listen to the songs and review them.”

Oldham learned some time later that when Carter Cash heard his song, she turned to her husband and told him he had to record it.

So after getting the go-ahead from Cash, Rubin approached Oldham backstage at one of his shows and invited him to play piano on Cash’s cover.

“The only thing I can think to say is, ‘Yes, I will do that,’” Oldham recalls. “He gives me his phone number and I guiltily call him the next day and say that I don’t know how to play the piano.

“[But] I got my foot in the door and I just said, ‘So I can’t play piano. I understand anything could happen with this. Whatever. If there’s any way I could just turn this moment into the chance to meet John and June.’ And he was very sweet and very gracious and said, ‘OK, in a couple of weeks there’s a session. You’re welcome to come.’”

When Oldham eventually turned up to the session, Rubin immediately introduced him to Cash as the songwriter behind I See a Darkness.

“Johnny Cash incredibly, unbelievably, mind-blowingly said, ‘Well, let’s work on that song right now then,’” Oldham says. “He explained to me that he loved the song but had issues with the way he was singing it and didn’t feel confident…. They even played me his scratch vocal take, as they say, and I could not hear anything but greatness, you know? But if it’s going to expand my time with Johnny Cash, I’m going to pretend I see some problems in there. I’m like, ‘OK, let’s work on this.’”

Oldham ended up doing a guide vocal for Cash to sing along to, which led to someone suggesting that he conduct Cash beside him in the vocal booth.

“What can you feel? What would you feel?” Oldham tells Power. “Anything you can imagine you would feel is what I was feeling. It’s using a significant portion of my conscious energy to suppress disbelief.”