UNC faculty experts can help with stories about Johnny Cash

The following faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are available for interviews about the life, music and contributions of Johnny Cash, who died early today:

• Dr. William Ferris is senior associate director of UNC Center for the Study of the American South, a professor of history, adjunct professor in the folklore curriculum and former director of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He co-edited the Pulitzer-nominated "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture" and founded the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. Ferris has taught about Cash's music for many years in folklore classes. His expertise centers on Cash as an icon of Southern culture. 919-968-8280.
  
  
• Dr. Jocelyn Neal, assistant professor of music, teaches courses on the history of country music and also researches the genre. She spoke recently on Hank Williams at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and has written books and articles on country music:
  
  • "Gospel Songs on Country Records: Ernest Stoneman and the Hymns from 1927," forthcoming from MacFarland Press;
  • "The Voice of the Song: Faith Hill, Country Music and Reflexive Identity" in "The Women of Country Music: A Reader" (University Press of Kentucky, 2003); and
  • "The Metric Makings of a Country Hit" in "Reading Country Music" (Duke University Press, 1998).

  She is best reached via email at jneal@email.unc.edu; her office number is 919-962-1070, and the music department phone is 919-962-1039.
  
  

• Dr. David Whisnant, a UNC professor emeritus of English and folklore, taught about Cash and his music in his classes. Recently he gave keynote address at the Australian Institute of Country Music and traveled across Australia, observing its vibrant country music scene. 919-968-4259.

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News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589