WOMAN IN BLACK

Her surname precedes her (whether she likes it or not). But as Gibson releases a limited-edition recreation of her fabled father's SJ-200 – alongside her new J-185 - Rosanne Cash tells us she's comfortable in her skin and proud of her own legacy

- Henry Yates

Glance at them under the lights and there's no mistaking the rock 'n' roll dynasty behind Gibson's latest signature models. Even if you never saw Johnny Cash driving his beloved brimstone SJ-200 back in the 1950s, it's hard to miss the Man In Black's moniker snaking up the neck of this recreation in inch-high mother-of-pearl letters. Meanwhile, for the avoidance of doubt, the J-185 released in tandem also salutes country's first family with a stern upper-case 'CASH' punched into the pickguard.

Decades back, when she was starting out as a young songwriter, and ambivalent about her father's long shadow, you sense Rosanne Cash might not have signed off on such a family affair. Now, as a formidable artist in her own right, and with four Grammy awards and a fistful of chart-topping singles, the 69-year-old tells us she was glad to partner with Gibson's master craftspeople and join the dots between her past, present and future.

How did it feel to recreate your dad's famous Gibson SJ-200 model?

"Well, in the beginning, I thought, 'Do I really want to do that?' You know, did it seem like encroachment on something that was iconic? And then my husband John [Leventhal] and I talked about it, and I said, 'In this point in my life, it's not like I'm a kid and just starting out and trying to co-opt something.' It just made sense. My dad and I are the only father and daughter in the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame. And I thought, 'Well, this is something like that.' The generations go on, and we have a family business."

Was the original SJ-200 a familiar sight around the house as a kid?

"Oh yeah. It was like, 'Oh, that's my dad.' That guitar is inseparable from my idea of who my father is. I think the original is in the Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum now."

Would Johnny typically play acoustic more than electric at home?