Description
Rosanne Cash Says "'I have wonderful memories of my dad's decades-long friendship with the wonderful Henry Vaccaro, and his book vividly brought them back to life. Henry's conversational tone and crystal clear recollections make 'Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine' instantly engaging." Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine by Henry Vaccaro Chronicles a NJ businessman's 30 year friendship with Johnny Cash, jam packed with over a 200 never before seen photos and behind the scenes anecdotes, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine provides a glimpse into this legendary private national treasure of man we know as the Man in Black. Even though it has been almost ten years since the great mans death, Johnny Cash lives on in American music legend as if he were still here, his guitar slung over his back, walking down a lonesome highway somewhere in our collective imaginations. If nothing else, thanks to his long and prolific career, that boom chicka boom sound still rings out from jukeboxes and stages across the land, and will for hundreds of years to come. But while many movies and books and interviews talk about the star, few that I've read talk about the man himself or at least, not the way I knew him. My book, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine, details my 30-year friendship with one of the best men I've ever known. I was not one of Johnny's musically skilled friends or one of his celebrity friends, but yet I was often there on the bus or backstage in his dressing room. I was even, on one of the saddest days of my life, an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. Johnny and I took our families to Bimini for vacations, and we spent many an evening gorging on Italian food in my hometown of Asbury Park, NJ. We even bought a hotel together there. Johnny and June loved Asbury Park so much they made it part time home. Via a little bit of my own life story as a successful New Jersey businessman, building contractor and co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Kramer Guitar Company, this book tells about that other side of Johnny, the side that wasn't constantly tanned and weathered by the limelight that always (and rightly) shone upon him. Because we all know how talented Johnny was musically and professionally, this book instead tells of his quiet side, his helpful side, his humanitarian side. It talks of his partnership with June, an amazing person in her own right, and it details the rare times in his hard-working life when he got a chance to slow down and catch a breath. Complete with pictures and anecdotes, Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine was almost as fun to compile as it was to be with the Man in Black himself. For those of us who knew him personally, this book will create a lot of, Oh yeah I remember that ?-moments, and for those who didn't have the honor and pleasure, this book will help you get to know him.
About the Author
At age 20, Henry Vaccaro's passion for all things construction lead him to establish, The Henry V. Vaccaro Corporation, in his Jersey Shore hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Through decades of hard work and dedication, his company thrived and he found himself as one of New Jersey's premier contractors, building over $ 1 Billion worth of projects. Fate brought Vaccaro to develop his own warehouse industrial park in nearby Neptune, which soon housed the newly-formed Kramer Guitar Company. With Vaccaro's investment and guidance, Kramer became the leading American-made guitar manufacturer in the world through the 1980's with endorsements from Rock and Roll greats Eddie Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue and top country artists Hank Williams JR, The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers and the band behind his idol, Johnny Cash's Tennessee Three. Through this introduction Cash would become a close friend to Vaccaro for decades to come. This friendship lead to business partnerships and fishing trips, as they purchased and restored the Berkeley Carteret Hotel in Asbury Park. The families often went to Bimini in the Bahamas for Big Game Fishing. Their hotel opened to rave reviews and won numerous awards and jump started Asbury Park's Beachfront Redevelopment which Vaccaro spearheaded. While their friendship flourished, in the late 1980's the real estate market crash left Vaccaro bankrupt. With Johnny's support, Vaccaro eventually returned to church and back to his first love, construction, now demolishing the deserted, distressed buildings of the past to clear the way for Asbury Park's new beachfront development. Vaccaro, perhaps almost single-handed, brought Asbury Park back to life once again, decades later working tirelessly behind the scenes negotiating a new redevelopment deal affording both the man and the city a second chance. Vaccaro after losing Kramer Guitar from a failed venture with the famous Jackson Family, prevailed in court, that resulted in Vaccaro obtaining the largest collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia in the world including rare master recordings, photographs, and films. Today Vaccaro's passion leads him to visit World War II battlefield sites around the world to pay homage to those who have fought and died for his country; the home that allowed him to become a successful businessman, sport fisherman, contractor, father, equipment operator, Johnny Cash fan, patriot and history buff and now author with "Johnny Cash is a friend of Mine"
