Johnny Cash is remembered in many ways by many fans. Some think of him as the Man in Black, champion of the underdog. Some think of him as an Outlaw Country hero and one of the Highwaymen. Others remember him for his songwriting or his booming voice. However, many overlook how much he seemed to love Christmastime.

Over the course of his career, Cash recorded several Christmas specials. Some were standalone affairs in which he and his musically talented friends and family shared holiday songs and laughs. In 1970, during the second season of his TV show, he put together an abbreviated Christmas special that surely warmed hearts across the nation.

The video above features the show’s opening number, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Cash is joined by the Carter Family, including June Carter Cash, the Statler Brothers, and his band for the occasion.

A Johnny Cash Christmas Special Led to a Legendary Supergroup

Johnny Cash regularly gathered his musician friends for his Christmas specials. For instance, he traveled to Switzerland to tape a holiday special in 1984. That year, the lineup included Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, among others.

While they weren’t working on the special, Cash, Kristofferson, Nelson, and Jennings spent some time hanging out and playing songs together. After a great jam session and a successful holiday show, they decided they wanted to perform together more often.

John Carter Cash, who was a teenager at the time, recalled the hotel room jam session that led to the formation of the group. “I did remember the essential spirit of eager excitement, and the idea said, ‘let’s do a record together.’ The idea just came up sort of out of the joyous camaraderie that everyone was sharing,” he said. “It was a very natural endeavor. It just seemed like the right thing.”

They made things official and released their first album, Highwayman, in May 1985. However, the group would actually take on the Highwaymen moniker until their 1990 sophomore release, titled Highwayman 2.