"BARRY'S
HOUSE IN TENNESSEE BURNS DOWN"
(April 2007)
APRIL 10, 2007:
Fire reported at Johnny Cash Tenn. home
(news.yahoo.com)
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - Firefighters were battling flames in a major fire at the home of the late country singer Johnny Cash on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
No injuries were reported.
Dispatchers said all but one of the city's engines had responded to the fire in the suburb northeast of Nashville.
Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived at the home until their deaths in 2003. The lakefront property was purchased by Barry Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, in January 2006.
Hendersonville Fire Department officials said construction crews were working there when the fire started. The cause was unknown.
Johnny Cash's Former Home Burns Down
(By EILEEN FINAN, People.com)"It literally burned to the ground," said Cash's brother, Tommy, of the house which is now owned by singer Barry Gibb. "I watched it burn to the ground. I couldn't believe that it was happening. It was just horrible."
On Tuesday, dispatchers for the local fire department said that all but one of the city's fire trucks had responded to the blaze in the suburb northeast of Nashville, the Associated Press reports.
The home where Cash and his wife, singer June Carter Cash, lived at until their deaths in 2003, was purchased by Gibb last year. Gibb is a member of the Bee Gees.
"We are both saddened and devastated by the news," Gibb and his wife, Linda, told PEOPLE in a statement through his rep.
The couple had said they planned to restore the home, which is located on Old Hickory Lake, and hoped to write songs there.
No injuries were reported.
According to the Hendersonville Fire Department, construction crews were working on the house when the fire started, but the direct cause is unknown.
Cash Home Fire: Wood preservative fumes ignited, caused blaze, chief says
(By JENNIFER BROOKS, Tennessean.com)
Fumes from a wood preservative ignited by a spark are the likely cause of a mid-afternoon fire at the home at the late Johnny and June Carter Cash, according to Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele.“We’ve got a pretty good idea what happened,” said Steele, who said he would offer more on the fire Wednesday.
Three hours after firefighters were alerted to the blaze, the roof had collapsed and flames and smoke continued to billow from the home. The trees and grass outside the home was charred black and all that was visible inside the structure was metal scaffolding that was being used by the workers.
Steele said the home’s unique multi-leveled design made it difficult for firefighters. “For a firefighter, when you hear unique it’s going to be hard. All the things that made it a unique and attractive home made it harder to fight the fire,” the chief noted.
Also the nearest hydrant was several blocks away, forcing firefighters to roll out several hundred feet of hose.
All but two of Hendersonville’s fire units came out to the scene and were joined by one unit from the Gallatin Fire Department.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries. All the workmen escaped the flames.
The fire brought out several famous spectators, including members of the Oak Ridge Boys and Marty Stuart, who live nearby.
This is not the first time firefighters had responded to a fire there. They came twice in the 1980s, said Steele, who noted the Cashes were very gracious and appreciative.
APRIL 11, 2007:
Fire destroys Johnny Cash’s former home
‘It was a sanctuary and a fortress for him’ says singer Marty Stuart
(msnbc)HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - Johnny Cash’s longtime lakeside home, a showcase where he wrote much of his famous music and entertained U.S. presidents, music royalty and visiting fans, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday.
Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived in the 13,880-square-foot home from the late 1960s until their deaths in 2003.
“So many prominent things and prominent people in American history took place in that house — everyone from Billy Graham to Bob Dylan went into that house,” said singer Marty Stuart, who lives next door and was married to Cash’s daughter, Cindy, in the 1980s
Stuart said the man who designed the house, Nashville builder Braxton Dixon, was “the closest thing this part of the country had to Frank Lloyd Wright.”
When Cash moved there, the road was a quiet country lane that skirts Old Hickory Lake. Kris Kristofferson, then an aspiring songwriter, once landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to pitch him a song. Roy Orbison was his next-door neighbor for a while.
Parts of the landmark video for Cash’s song “Hurt” was shot inside the house.
“It was a sanctuary and a fortress for him,” Stuart said. “There was a lot of writing that took place there.”
Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys lives on the same road as Cash. “Maybe it’s the good Lord’s way to make sure that it was only Johnny’s house,” Sterban said.
Barry Gibb had planned to restore the home
The property was purchased by Barry Gibb, a former member of the Bee Gees, in January 2006. Gibb and his wife, Linda, had said they planned to restore the home on Old Hickory Lake and hoped to write songs there. They had not yet moved in to the home, which they bought for a reported $2.3 million.
Gibb’s spokesman, Paul Bloch, said the singer and his family are “both saddened and devastated by the news.”
Dixon built the three-story house in 1967 for his own family, but Cash fell in love with it. Dixon was reluctant to sell, but Cash kept after him.
“It was a very, very unusual contemporary structure,” said Cash’s brother, Tommy Cash. “It was built with stone and wood and all kinds of unusual materials, from marble to old barn wood. I don’t think there was a major blueprint. I think the builder was building it the way he wanted it to look.”
The younger Cash said many holidays and family get-togethers were spent at the house. And while Johnny and June also owned a house in Jamaica and a second house in Tennessee, they considered this one to be their home.
“Johnny and June lived there the entire time they were married,” Tommy Cash said. “It was the only house they lived in together until they both passed on.”
The fire, in this suburb about 20 miles northeast of downtown Nashville, started around 1:40 p.m. Fire trucks arrived within five minutes, but the house was already engulfed in flames, Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele said.
Just a few hours later, there was almost nothing left except stone chimneys.
The cause is unknown, but Steele said the flames spread quickly because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative to the exterior of the house. The preservative was also being applied inside the house.
No workers were injured, but one firefighter was slightly hurt while fighting the fire, Steele said.
Cash’s long career, which began in the 1950s, spanned rock ’n’ roll, folk and country. His hits included “Ring of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line.”
Investigation Underway After Fire Destroys Former Home Of Johnny Cash
(kwtx.com)
Investigators are looking for the cause of the fire Tuesday that destroyed the akeside home of the late country singer Johnny Cash in Hendersonville, Tenn. The house was already engulfed in flames by the time fire trucks arrived.
The cause is unknown.
The Hendersonville fire chief says the flames spread quickly because construction workers had recently put a flammable wood preservative on the exterior of the house.
Cash and his wife June Carter Cash lived at the home until their deaths in 2003. Barry Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, bought the property in 2006. He and his wife, Linda, said they planned to restore the home and hoped to write songs there.
Gibb's spokesman says they are "both saddened and devastated by the news."
While the Cashes lived there, the 13,880-square-foot home was visited by everyone from US presidents to ordinary fans.
'The fire went wild'
(dailyitem.com)
Sad news out of Tennessee, that one can’t help but make a lame “Ring of Fire” reference about, I confess. Johnny Cash’s house has burned down. Of course, Johnny probably doesn’t care too much, since he’s been dead for four years. But still, it had been a landmark, and all.
I have to say, that there is a fascinating theory about the incident, put forth by one of the Oak Ridge Boys. Maybe it was just Johnny’s way of making sure the Bee-Gees couldn’t move in.Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys lives on the same road as Cash. ‘’Maybe it’s the good Lord’s way to make sure that it was only Johnny’s house,’’ Sterban said in The AP story about the fire.
Because, for some reason, Johnny’s house had been bought by Barry Gibb.
Small world.
APRIL 12, 2007:
Fire at Cash house appears accidental
(By JENNIFER BROOKS, rctimes.com)
The rubble of Johnny Cash's longtime home smoldered in the rain Wednesday as investigators searched for the cause of the blaze.There were 14 workers in and around the lakeside home on Caudill Drive when the fire began early Tuesday afternoon, according to the contractor — plumbers, heating and air conditioning technicians, electrical contractors, painters and carpenters.
The home was full of fumes from wood preservatives and other flammable chemicals. At some point, something — a blowtorch, a cigarette lighter, an electrical spark or even static electricity from someone walking across a carpet — set off a fast-moving fire that engulfed the historic home within minutes.
"The actual ignition source almost doesn't matter," said Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele, whose crews stayed at the fire scene around the clock as rain drenched the neighborhood around Old Hickory Lake without extinguishing the fire. "Any time you have possibly flammable vapors in an enclosed space, it's just waiting — there are dozens of things that could have created the spark."
Steele expects to be able to issue a final report on the cause of the blaze by late today. His inspectors have turned over their preliminary findings to private investigators for the insurance companies.
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash shared the home until their deaths in 2003. Former Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb bought the seven-bedroom house last year and was restoring it.
Once the fire dies out, crews will pull down the last parts of the house standing, the teetering stone chimneys. Only then will it be safe to go on the property and take a closer look at the charred wreckage.
Family asks for prayers
Joanne Cash, Johnny Cash's sister, surveyed the wreckage sadly from the roadside Wednesday morning. A parade of cars passed by her in both directions as drivers slowed to stare. Many snapped pictures.
Well-wishers have flooded the Cash family with calls and e-mails and offers to set up flower memorials at the home. Joanne Cash asked for prayers instead — prayers for herself and her brother Tommy and for the Cash children, who have been devastated by the loss of their family's former home.
"We are going to keep singing," she said. "We are going to keep on going. We are going to leave all the questions people have about what happened to God."
Mike Elmore, president of Cardinal Construction Service, said his work crews were nearly finished with the restoration when disaster struck.
"We had promised them they would be in by July 4. We probably would have beat that (deadline) by over a month," Elmore said.
Elmore said the only furniture in the building was a Gibb family bedroom set — not Johnny Cash's famous round bed that Gibb had also purchased for the home.
Elmore said he has interviewed his workers who were at the site Tuesday and is "99 percent certain that this was simply an accidental thing."
All of his workers were experienced, he said. All escaped the blaze uninjured, although one man's shirt burned off his back.
"These were all good, honest hardworking people," he said.
No serious injuries in fire
One firefighter suffered minor injuries during the fire and was treated at the scene. Steele expects him to return to duty today.
"We're very grateful that no one was hurt," he said. "The fire moved so fast, the fact that there were no injuries was a huge blessing."
In addition to the fire crews and investigators, local police and sheriff's deputies have been patrolling to deter looters, Steele said.
APRIL 13, 2007:
Barry Gibb Holds Wake for Cash Home
(gactv.com)Barry Gibb arrived in Nashville yesterday to survey the devastation caused by a fire to the former Johnny Cash home he had bought and was renovating, Nashville's WKRN reports.
The former Bee Gee paid around $2.3 million for the 13,880-square-foot Hendersonville home that Johnny and June Carter Cash shared for 35 years. A fire destroyed it Tuesday.
Last night, Barry held an impromptu wake at The Palm restaurant in downtown Nashville. Among those present were Cash neighbors Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, the Oak Ridge Boys, T.G. Sheppard and Ricky Skaggs.
During the gathering, The Palm surprised Gibb with a signature caricature — right next to that of Johnny Cash.
Gibb declined to talk about the fire, saying the focus now should be on the Cash family and its loss.
Fire investigators focus on wood preservative used on Cash house
(By JOHN GEROME, wkrn.com)Johnny and June Carter Cash raised children, wrote music and grew old together in their home overlooking Old Hickory Lake. Ultimately, the big wood and stone house all but ended with the country legend's ownership, burning to the ground Tuesday before the new owners could move in.
"One could look at that philosophically _ that no one else was going to live there," Lou Robin, the late singer's longtime manager, said Wednesday.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials say the flames spread quickly because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative while preparing the house for the current owner, former Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb.
Gibb and his wife, Linda, bought the 13,880-square-foot house in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville for a reported $2.3 million last year and planned to use it as a songwriting retreat.
Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele said Wednesday that investigators know the exterior of the house was treated extensively with the wood preservative but are looking into whether the preservative also was used inside, and under what conditions.
"In general, depending on which product you are using and the flammability, there
will be very clear instructions about using it in a well-ventilated area. Some of it is so flammable that they recommend right on the container that it not be used indoors," Steele said. The chief said his investigators will share their findings with the insurance companies involved, which will likely conduct their own investigations.
The Cash family released a brief statement in which they said they were saddened by the loss of the house that Johnny and June bought in the late 1960s and lived in until their deaths in 2003.
"The beautiful house held many fond memories for the children of John and June as well as for all who were a part of the
Cash organization," the statement read. The couple's son, John Carter Cash, added that the family's sympathy goes out to Barry and Linda Gibb.
Robin, who was Cash's manager since 1969, said the Cashes were great entertainers who loved to have people over. Their guests included U.S. presidents, recording artists and celebrities.
"They had a lot of great parties there and guitar pulls where people like Bob Dylan would come for dinner and all sit around and trade songs later," Robin said. "Kris Kristofferson was there. Joni Mitchell sang 'Clouds' for John. The list was incredible as to who became big stars later."
Country singer Pam Tillis
said the home had a warm and creative ambience to it. She remembers visiting June Carter Cash's daughter, Carlene Carter, at the home to write and swap songs. "Having been in that house, I know how much love was there. It was really evident that they were people who celebrated their love for each other, for their kids, for music, for God. It was all around you," Tillis said. "I do think it was the loss of a landmark."
APRIL 14, 2007:
Let's support the Gibbs, encourage them to keep a house here
(By BEVERLY KEEL, ennessean.com)
While the media has reflected on the loss suffered by the family of Johnny and June Carter Cash this week after their former Hendersonville home burned, we also need to keep Barry and Linda Gibb and their five children in our thoughts.
While the fire destroyed the Cashes' past, it also wiped out some of the Gibbs' personal and creative dreams. This property was going to serve as the Miami-based family's second home. "I would like to come here and write songs," Barry told me in December. "I am planning on making a country album. That is really who I am."
After Johnny died in 2003, many feared the buyer of the Cash home would dismantle it or disrespect the physical or spiritual aspects of the home that held gatherings attended by Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Billy Graham. There was a sigh of relief when word broke that the new owner would be Barry, so respected here by songwriters.
"Do you realize how many hit songs have been written in that 4- or 5-acre area, including Roy Orbison next door?" he said. "The inspiration, being surrounded by the musical atmosphere that has been there for 35 years, we just had to do it."
He vowed to preserve it, honor the Cashes' memory and "bring it back to its original pristine condition." His respect of the property, and his love of the musical roots, went beyond what many dared to even hope.
The Gibbs are now members of our community — and two people who have made positive contributions here — and we need to support them in any way possible. My hope is that they won't give up on Middle Tennessee and instead will decide to either rebuild on that location or purchase another home here. Our city is better with them in it.
APRIL 16, 2007:
Cash fire investigation complete; results not released yet to public
(Music News Nashville Tennessee)The Hendersonville Fire Department has wrapped up its investigation of the fire that gutted Johnny Cash’s former home on Tuesday. But it may be some time before the public is told what exactly caused the fire.
Hendersonville Fire Chief Jamie Steele has turned his findings over to insurance company investigators working for the home’s new owner, former Bee Gee Barry Gibb, who was renovating the home at the time of the fire. Both the fire department and the contractor agreed that the fire appeared to have been sparked by fumes from a wood preservative that workers were using that day.Barry Gibb to build new house near site of burned Cash home
(iht.com)Barry Gibb, the former Bee Gee who purchased the former home of Johnny Cash, said on Monday he plans to build a new house near the original that burned down last week.
"Linda (Gibb's wife) and I have decided to build our own home on the higher ground surrounding the Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash home and the original foundations shall be kept in tact and preserved for the people of Hendersonville and the people of Nashville," Gibb said in a statement.
Cash's longtime lakeside home in Hendersonville, where he wrote much of his famous music and entertained U.S. presidents, music royalty and visiting fans, was destroyed by fire last week.
Cash and his wife June lived in the 13,880-square-foot (1,290-sq.-meter) home from the late 1960s until their deaths in 2003. Gibb purchased the home in 2006 and had hoped to remodel it and eventually write songs there with his wife.
Gibb said the land where the Cash house once stood is "sacred" and "must be protected forever."
"To the Cash Carter families we owe the highest respect and the deepest regret that our dream could not be realized. Now there is a new dream for us and a new beginning," he said.
Fire investigators have not yet released the cause of the fire.
APRIL 19, 2007:
Cash land and surrounding area unlucky for houses
(By BEVERLY KEEL, tennessean.com
