Rosanne Cash: Don't speak for Johnny

NASHVILLE, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash says she's "appalled" by others invoking the name of her father, music legend Johnny Cash, to "further their own agendas."

Writing on her Web site, Roseanne Cash, a Grammy winner with 11 No. 1 country music singles since 1979, took exception to unnamed people appropriating the memory of her father, who died five years ago. While not singling out anyone in the post, the message came only days after country music superstar John Rich said Johnny Cash would have supported likely Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain, The Nashville Tennessean said.

Rich, appearing at recent rally for McCain, reportedly said, "Somebody's got to walk the line in the country. They've got to walk it unapologetically. And I'm sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around."

Rosanne Cash wrote, "It is appalling to me that people still want to invoke my father's name, five years after his death, to ascribe beliefs, ideals, values and loyalties to him that cannot possibly be determined, and to try to further their own agendas by doing so.

"It is unfair and presumptuous to use him to bolster any platform."