The Lure of the Grand Canyon

In Spoken Narration A Day In A Day

( Grand Canyon )

Johnny Cash’s magnificent talents as an interpreter of Americana are especially suited of this recording . Johnny’s own album Ride this Train ( CL 1464 - CS 8255  is a stirring combination of song and narrative unique in it’s feeling for American scene. Composer of many songs, Johnny Cash has won world wide fame as an artist with a deep understanding of the lives and dreams of his fellow citizens. Johnny Cash first began singing while at working on his family’s farm near Kingsland Arkansas. He achieved local fame for his talents inn high school, and continued his performance in impromptu shows during his military service. Soon he began to compose his haunting and dramatic songs. After his discharge, Johnny enrolled in a radio and television school but lack of finances forced him to change his plans. While working as a salesman, Johnny arrived in Memphis Tennessee, the center of country and western music. He sought out director of a small record company obtained an audition and was asked to record some of his own songs. Johnny’s sincerely as a composer and as a performer won him immediate success, and he was soon signed by Columbia record’s

Grand Canyon An Historical sketch by Ferde Grofe

Andre Kostelanetz

Andre Kostelanetz born in St. Petersburg Russia, began his music studies at and early age. As a young man he become choral conductor of opera, later assistant conductor and finally conductor of opera and ballet. He came to America, where his career began in 1928

The Lure Of The Grand Canyon

So sit back in your chair and close your eyes and listen to this Columbia record in stereo. A great Classic American Suite Conducted by Andre Kostelanetz featuring some actual sounds in the Grand Canyon and after it’s all over enjoy a great narration by Johnny Cash as he tells and describes what it would be like to spend a day down in the Grand Canyon. Someday I hope I can go and take a trip down the canyon just like Johnny Cash has done. A great piece work!!!!         Steven Menke

The Grand Canyon 

Grand Canyon National Park, national park established in 1919, originally a forest reserve established in 1893. Located in northern Arizona the park contains the world-famous Grand Canyon of the Colorado River and includes the river's entire course from the southern end of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the eastern boundary of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The great chasm has a maximum width of 29 km (18 mi) within the park, and it is about 1,500 m (5,000 ft) deep. The northern rim of the canyon is on the average 365 m (1,200 ft) higher than the southern rim and is closed to sightseers from October to May because of heavy winter snows. Paved roads wind around the rims of the Grand Canyon, and trails descend into the canyon, although only one of them, the Kaibab Trail, crosses the gorge from rim to rim.

The extreme variations in elevation from the depths of the canyon to the northern rim create four distinct zones of climate and plant life. Dense virgin forests of aspen, pine, fir, and spruce grow on the colder northern rim, and the southern rim is sparsely covered with piñon and juniper. Wildlife includes deer, antelope, cougar, and mountain sheep. Prehistoric Native American groups lived in the canyon and on its rims; ruins of pueblos and cliff dwellings remain. The park is bordered on the south by the reservation of the Havasupai people.

In 1975 the park was nearly doubled in size by the inclusion of Grand Canyon National Monument (proclaimed in 1932) and Marble Canyon National Monument (proclaimed in 1969) and portions of Glen Canyon and Lake Mead national recreation areas. The effects of tourism and federal water management policies led the government to take steps to protect the canyon's environment during the 1990s. In March 1996 a controlled flood through Glen Canyon Dam was generated as a way to re-create natural spring flooding through the canyon. The results of this led to a new water-management plan. This plan incorporates flooding to restore the canyon's natural ecosystems, which had been changed by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. In 1997 the government restricted small planes and helicopters from flying over the canyon and was considering other ways to limit the effects of tourism on the park. Administered by the National Park Service Area, 492,666 hectares (1,217,403 acres).

Revised: September 02, 2007