Johnny Cash's 'Camelot' burns down

by Kaitlin | April 11, 2007 at 08:36 am

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The Tennessee house in which Johnny Cash and June Carter spent thirty-five years together has burned down. Carter called the house and its grounds "Camelot"--she and Johnny treated it as a sanctuary. They often invited other musicians to spend time at the house, including Bob Dylan, whose song "It Ain't Me Babe" Johnny and June often covered in their live shows in the sixties.

Now, I'm a huge Johnny Cash and June Carter fan, so the destruction of this house is very sad to me--it's the equivalent of Abbey Road studios burning down. This house was where Johnny and June wrote, sometimes recorded, and raised their kids; it was where Johnny came clean off drugs; it was where they filmed the video for Johnny's NIN cover "Hurt" and it's where both of them lived their last days.

Recently, the house was being remodeled by BeeGee Barry Gibb as a summer home. Now, I'm not flaky or anything, but maybe Johnny was feeling territorial, and couldn't bear to see his beloved home changed...by a disco singer. Just sayin'...

RIP, Camelot.

The Cashes' Camelot is in ruins, the victim of a Tuesday afternoon fire that destroyed the more than 13,000-square-foot property. Its new owner, Barry Gibb of Bee Gees fame, bought the house for $2.5 million in early 2006, and he and wife Linda were renovating it for use as a summer home.

Built in the late 1960s, the home had 18 rooms, including a signature round living room and a bedroom that overlooked Old Hickory Lake. It was important for reasons that had nothing to do with size, architecture and design. Like the Cashes' Virginia home — the one that used to belong to June's mother, legendary guitarist Maybelle Carter — this was a house of music.