Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The story of Glenn Danzig's collaboration with Johnny Cash
Podcast on Apple Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383
Johnny Cash, the gravel-voiced titan of country music, and Glenn Danzig, the muscular, horror-obsessed punk-metal icon, seem like they’re from different planets. By the early 1990s, Cash was a written-off legend, dropped by Columbia after 28 years and drifting through forgettable records. He needed more than a new deal; he needed a resurrection.
Enter Rick Rubin. Known for Def American and loud, confrontational records, Rubin saw Cash as an outlaw on the same level as Slayer and Public Enemy. After watching Cash at a 1992 Bob Dylan tribute, Rubin invited him to simply sit in his living room with a guitar and two microphones and “sing to your heart’s content.” The plan was to strip everything back to voice, guitar, and story. Rubin began hunting for dark, powerful songs that could reconnect Cash with the mythic outlaw at his core.
That search led him to Glenn Danzig. By then, Danzig had already built a legacy with The Misfits, Samhain, and his solo band—songs about demons, skeletons, and pure menace. He’d previously worked with Rubin on “Life Fades Away” for Roy Orbison, and Cash’s nephews were fans. When Rubin’s camp called and asked if he knew who Johnny Cash was, Danzig replied, “Of course I fucking know who he is.” Then came the question: would he write a song for him? Danzig didn’t hesitate.
He hung up the phone and almost immediately started writing. No old notebooks, no overthinking—just his impression of who Cash was and what he meant. In about 20–30 minutes, “Thirteen” poured out: a dark, folkloric ballad about cursed fate, bad luck, and a man branded by the number thirteen. It wasn’t a country song; it was a Danzig song, filtered through his understanding of a kindred outlaw spirit.
On December 7, 1993, Danzig arrived at Rubin’s minimalist home studio—just mics, drapes, and a living room. Songwriters were coming in one by one to play for Cash. Danzig sat down, played “Thirteen,” and watched as the Man in Black’s voice filled the room. Cash loved it so much he recorded it that same night. Onstage later, he joked about how Rubin only introduced the writer as “Glenn,” and he didn’t realize it was Glenn Danzig until they were leaving.
“Thirteen” became one of the standout tracks on 1994’s American Recordings, the stark, critically acclaimed album that reignited Cash’s career and introduced him to a new generation. Danzig had nailed the duality of sinner and saint that defined Cash, with lines like “Never had me a name / They just gave me the number when I was young,” echoing Cash’s own nameless beginnings as J.R. Cash.
The collaboration opened doors: soon Danzig was getting calls from Cash’s friends like Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, asking him to write for them too. He even wrote another song, “Come to Silver,” intended for Cash, though it ultimately ended up on Danzig’s own 1996 album Blackacidevil after he left Rubin’s label.
Later, Danzig recorded his own version of “Thirteen” for 6:66 Satan’s Child, adding a more menacing arrangement and an extra verse about playing “21 with the Devil.” That version would find a new life in the opening credits of The Hangover, blasting the song into yet another corner of pop culture.
The story of “Thirteen” isn’t just trivia—it’s proof that a great song can bridge worlds. A punk-metal antihero from New Jersey tapped into the mythic soul of an aging country outlaw and, in under half an hour, wrote a song that became a key part of that legend’s final, triumphant chapter.
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The story of Glenn Danzig's collaboration with Johnny Cash
Podcast on Apple Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383
Johnny Cash, the gravel-voiced titan of country music, and Glenn Danzig, the muscular, horror-obsessed punk-metal icon, seem like they’re from different planets. By the early 1990s, Cash was a written-off legend, dropped by Columbia after 28 years and drifting through forgettable records. He needed more than a new deal; he needed a resurrection.
Enter Rick Rubin. Known for Def American and loud, confrontational records, Rubin saw Cash as an outlaw on the same level as Slayer and Public Enemy. After watching Cash at a 1992 Bob Dylan tribute, Rubin invited him to simply sit in his living room with a guitar and two microphones and “sing to your heart’s content.” The plan was to strip everything back to voice, guitar, and story. Rubin began hunting for dark, powerful songs that could reconnect Cash with the mythic outlaw at his core.
That search led him to Glenn Danzig. By then, Danzig had already built a legacy with The Misfits, Samhain, and his solo band—songs about demons, skeletons, and pure menace. He’d previously worked with Rubin on “Life Fades Away” for Roy Orbison, and Cash’s nephews were fans. When Rubin’s camp called and asked if he knew who Johnny Cash was, Danzig replied, “Of course I fucking know who he is.” Then came the question: would he write a song for him? Danzig didn’t hesitate.
He hung up the phone and almost immediately started writing. No old notebooks, no overthinking—just his impression of who Cash was and what he meant. In about 20–30 minutes, “Thirteen” poured out: a dark, folkloric ballad about cursed fate, bad luck, and a man branded by the number thirteen. It wasn’t a country song; it was a Danzig song, filtered through his understanding of a kindred outlaw spirit.
On December 7, 1993, Danzig arrived at Rubin’s minimalist home studio—just mics, drapes, and a living room. Songwriters were coming in one by one to play for Cash. Danzig sat down, played “Thirteen,” and watched as the Man in Black’s voice filled the room. Cash loved it so much he recorded it that same night. Onstage later, he joked about how Rubin only introduced the writer as “Glenn,” and he didn’t realize it was Glenn Danzig until they were leaving.
“Thirteen” became one of the standout tracks on 1994’s American Recordings, the stark, critically acclaimed album that reignited Cash’s career and introduced him to a new generation. Danzig had nailed the duality of sinner and saint that defined Cash, with lines like “Never had me a name / They just gave me the number when I was young,” echoing Cash’s own nameless beginnings as J.R. Cash.
The collaboration opened doors: soon Danzig was getting calls from Cash’s friends like Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, asking him to write for them too. He even wrote another song, “Come to Silver,” intended for Cash, though it ultimately ended up on Danzig’s own 1996 album Blackacidevil after he left Rubin’s label.
Later, Danzig recorded his own version of “Thirteen” for 6:66 Satan’s Child, adding a more menacing arrangement and an extra verse about playing “21 with the Devil.” That version would find a new life in the opening credits of The Hangover, blasting the song into yet another corner of pop culture.
The story of “Thirteen” isn’t just trivia—it’s proof that a great song can bridge worlds. A punk-metal antihero from New Jersey tapped into the mythic soul of an aging country outlaw and, in under half an hour, wrote a song that became a key part of that legend’s final, triumphant chapter.
My second YouTube Channel
youtube.com/@RockNRollTrueStories2
Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Comment below or send in your idea: bit.ly/3stnXlN
CONNECT ON SOCIAL
TIKOK:tiktok.com/@rocknrolltruestory
Instagram: instagram.com/rnrtruestories
Facebook: facebook.com/RNRTrueStories
Twitter: twitter.com/rocktruestories
Blog: rockandrolltruestories.com
#glenndanzig #johnnycash #danzig
These videos are for entertainment purposes only. DISCLAIMER rockandrolltruestories.com/youtube-disclaimer
