An ‘All Access’ Backstage Meeting with a Special Friend

On Feb. 16, I had a reunion with a special friend. The last time I saw her in person was in 2020, just before COVID-19 spread. This reunion was special, as I was able to introduce my friend of 20 years, Mike Stipher of San Juan Capistrano, to Rosanne Cash, the late Johnny Cash’s eldest daughter.

The reunion took place at the Musco Center for the Arts, at Chapman University, in Orange.

And why was it a reunion for

me?

Because I’ve known Rosanne for 46 years, since she was 18. She is a four-time Grammy Award winner and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Rosanne has recorded 15 albums of different genres— country, folk, pop, rock, and Americana. She is also a prolific songwriter.

In the mid-1970s, when I was the marketing director for Victoria Station—the boxcar and caboose restaurant chain—I hired Johnny and worked with him for two years. He was our company spokesperson and sang our radio commercials. I also co-produced an album with him of his train songs titled, Destination Victoria Station the ins and outs of senior dating. Whew, it’s tiring.

My friend Mike had met Johnny at the Victoria Station in Cincinnati in the 1970s, where he had been a bartender. He was thrilled to meet Rosanne.

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Johnny and I had a nice friendship; he took me into San Quentin Prison for a “prisoners-only” concert. I attempt to see Rosanne in concert when she performs in Southern California, as she is my last living connection to Johnny.

BY TOM BLAKE

When I published Middle Aged and Dating Again, my first book in 1997, Johnny endorsed the back cover with these words:

“In the 20 years I have known Tom Blake, he has become an authority on dating and relationships.”

I’m not sure how Johnny knew that, but I happily accepted his endorsement. Now, after 28 years of writing dating columns, I’m still trying to understand

by Lauren Gallegos