How surreal would it be to meet one of your heroes and for them to ask you for your autograph? Well, such a wild interaction took place back in the day for Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson when he and Johnny Cash met.
At a recent spoken word event of his, Dickinson talked about the time he met Cash, and how the “Man in Black” ended up asking for Dickinson’s autograph.
Dickinson starts off by talking about how he is a big Cash fan, sharing (as transcribed by Classic Rock):
“He’s one of my heroes. You wouldn’t expect it, I suppose, [because] he’s a country and western singer and everything, but he’s an absolute legend.”
The Iron Maiden singer then talks about the interaction that took place between him and the legendary country artist:
So there we are, right, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto…we’re doing a soundcheck, sort of, like mid-80s. In the back of the arena are these old guys. We’re like, ‘Who are those old guys over there?’
“I’m just getting ready to leave,” he adds, “when this giant, wearing thigh-high leather boots, a leather coat and this stetson hat, walks up and goes, ‘Hi, my name’s Johnny Cash.’ And I’m just like…’I know!'”
Dickinson then goes on to add:
“I’m looking at him going, ‘Hi…yeah…yeah…wow…yeah…I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die…yeah!’ And he said, ‘Hey, uh, listen. I’m real embarrassed about this…you couldn’t sign this for my daughter? She’s a big fan.'”
Dickinson concludes the story by saying, “Sometimes, when you meet your heroes, it’s a wonderful experience.”
What a surreal and super wholesome experience that must have been for Dickinson. Imagine how cool it would have been to hear a collaboration between Dickinson and Cash.
You can check out a video of the Iron Maiden frontman sharing this story for himself via the video player below.
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