Alex Orbison has transformed an unpublished Johnny Cash poem for June Carter Cash into a new recording featuring Erika Orbison, with Roy Orbison’s sons and John Carter Cash completing the music.
by Paul Cashmere
Alex Orbison will release “Let’s Put It To Music” featuring Erika Orbison on August 28, marking the third single from his forthcoming debut album Love And Loss. The song gives musical form to previously unreleased words written by Johnny Cash for June Carter Cash during the early stages of their relationship in the 1960s.
The recording brings together members of the Cash and Orbison families across generations. The music was composed at Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, Tennessee, by John Carter Cash alongside Roy Orbison’s sons Roy Orbison Jr., Wesley Orbison and Alex Orbison.
For Alex Orbison, the project has a direct personal connection. The poem was written by his godfather Johnny Cash for his godmother June Carter Cash, while Orbison now performs the words with his own wife, Erika Orbison. That connection places the recording within both families’ long musical histories while establishing it as part of Orbison’s own emergence as a recording artist.
Orbison said completing the song with John Carter Cash and his brothers was a career highlight. He described Cash’s 1960s poem as a declaration of love to June and said singing those words to Erika reflected his own feelings for her.
The central phrase, “Let’s put it to music”, functions as both the title and the premise of the recording. Cash’s original poem called for a private love to be expressed openly through song. More than half a century later, that idea has been interpreted by the children and godchildren of the people at its centre.
Erika Orbison contributes to the recording, including the closing section as the song builds towards its final crescendo. In live performances, Alex and Erika have also invited audiences to sing the title phrase, extending Cash’s original sentiment beyond the personal relationship for which it was written.
“Let’s Put It To Music” follows Orbison’s “Fairweathered Friend” and his duet with Erika, “Wouldn’t Know Love”. The three songs introduce the musical direction of Love And Loss, which is scheduled for release in autumn 2026.
The album is described as exploring devotion, heartbreak, disappointment and grief. “Let’s Put It To Music” adds another dimension to that theme by connecting contemporary songwriting with an intimate piece of Cash family history.
Alex Orbison, born Alexander Orbison on May 25, 1975, is the youngest son of Roy Orbison and Barbara Orbison. He grew up in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where the Orbison family lived near Johnny and June Carter Cash. His early musical education included violin, guitar and piano before he settled on drums.
The family relocated to Malibu, California, in 1985. Orbison subsequently developed a career that has encompassed performing, production, publishing and the preservation of his father’s catalogue. He is president of Still Working Music Group and, with his brothers, is involved with Roy’s Boys, the organisation responsible for managing Roy Orbison’s musical legacy.
His early performing career included Backbone69, a band formed with Chris Williams, Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr., connecting several generations of notable American musical families. He later performed with Whitestarr and worked as a drummer and producer on a range of projects.
Orbison’s catalogue work has included significant Roy Orbison archival releases. He was involved with the 2014 Mystery Girl Deluxe edition, the 2015 release One Of The Lonely Ones, the MGM Years 1965-1973 collection and the 2016 Roy Orbison: The Ultimate Collection. He also worked on Black & White Night 30 and A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Those projects established Orbison as a custodian of his father’s catalogue. “Let’s Put It To Music” represents a different role, placing him in front of the microphone and presenting material shaped around his own artistic identity.
Orbison has been developing that identity around Americana and alt-country influences while retaining the production experience accumulated through years of archival and studio work. His move into singer-songwriter territory does not sever the connection to the Orbison legacy, but places it alongside a new body of work carrying his own name.
The Cash collaboration also demonstrates how musical archives can continue to generate new recordings when previously unpublished material is approached by artists with a direct relationship to its history. In this case, a poem written privately by Johnny Cash has become a recording involving his son and the three sons of Roy Orbison.
“Let’s Put It To Music” was released on August 28, with Love And Loss scheduled to follow in autumn 2026. The release continues Alex Orbison’s transition from drummer, producer and custodian of his father’s catalogue into the role of recording artist in his own right.
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