"Hurt" by Johnny Cash

The legendary Johnny Cash, one of the top 100 artists of all-time, has graced us with his gritty songwriting style and trademark vocals. His career began back in 1956 when his classic, "I Walk The Line", strutted to #17. Towards the end of his life in 2003, he put his own spin on several other artist's classics in his "American Recordings" series.

A song that seemed to be written for Cash is "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails. NIN took the song to #54 in 1995. Cash's interpretation on little more than acoustic guitar suits the lyrics perfectly, and the video will linger in your mind as a haunting epitaph.

Cash's version of "Hurt" did not chart, but the digital track went gold and helped score a ranking of #22 for his "American IV" album released in 2002.