I knew nothing about his--or I wouldda tried to get it! There's good news in here about Johnny..some less than good news about Waylon--and notes on televising of this salute very soon. Barry ----------- He Walks The Line... to NYC An all-star tribute to Johnny Cash is bringing some big guns to town By BILL BELL Daily News Staff Writer Hold those obits ó the only place Johnny Cash is going anytime soon, it appears, is New York. In fact, barring the absolutely unexpected, the admittedly ailing Man in Black will be performing here April 6, at an all-star salute marking his first public appearance in nearly two years. Not only that, but Cash may even close the show, most likely by singing "Jackson" with wife June Carter Cash. It was a giant hit for them in 1967. The show, "An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash," is just that ó a taped-for-TV special featuring Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Isaak, Wyclef Jean, Brooks & Dunn, the Mavericks, daughter Roseanne Cash, ex-son-in-law Marty Stuart and, according to scuttlebutt, some neat surprises. It's a tremendous lineup, and the only songs anyone will sing are the ones Cash wrote. (This should not include "A Boy Named Sue," his biggest-selling pop song but one he did not write.) TNT will air it April 18 as part of its Masters Series, the last subject of which was Burt Bacharach. But, the big news is Cash's appearance. The reason is that for the past year or so, alarmed reports about Cash's health had him one step from the grave. "Cash Close to Death," a headline screamed last month in a British newspaper. The story said that his hair was white, his eyes dim, and his face bloated. He was described as a sad, almost unrecognizable sight. Newspaper dispatches aside, there's reason to worry: Cash, 67, is not in good shape. He spent a week in a Nashville hospital last fall with pneumonia, and 19 months ago, doctors said Cash was suffering from a rare neurological disease, Shy-Drager syndrome, a degenerative disorder that causes progressive damage to the nervous system. Its symptoms includes blackouts, tremors, stiff muscles and difficulty in moving. There is no cure. On the telephone the other day from their Nashville home, his wife said Johnny was feeling pretty good, and in the background, when he spoke, he did not sound nearly as enfeebled as reports suggested. "We're going to spend a few days in New York," said June. "Maybe see a few [Broadway] shows, do a little shopping, see a few friends." They spent the winter at their Jamaican hideaway, where June said Johnny played a lot of golf and loafed. He also did a little work ó Stuart, who once was married to Johnny's daughter Cindy, flew to Jamaica not long ago to record Cash reading a poem on one cut for an upcoming album. "He was cool," says Stuart, who will bring on the Fairfield Four as his guests and sing an old Cash gospel song, "Belshazah." Stuart said he was happy he was asked to take part. "John hasn't been in front of a microphone in a couple of years," he said. "I'm just hoping he's emerging, and if we need a big ol' pep rally to get him started, let's do it." It's doubtful that he'll ever tour again, but Cash, once one of country music's busiest and most prolific ó and rowdiest ó performers, and, along with Hank Williams Sr. the only country artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is reported as ready to work as he'll ever get. "Tanned, rested and ready," said June. "If he feels like singing, he'll sing," she said. "Right now, he feels like it." Putting this tribute together was like arranging D-Day. John and June invited many of the performers, among them Stuart, who once worked for Cash. "I guess I was the only ex-son-in-law available," he said. "We're taking everybody who worked for us," said June, "and all the roadies and spouses and staff. About 50 people in all." The Cashes don't know who is going to sing what, beyond that everybody will perform one or more Cash songs, and that's plenty ó he has written about 1,000 in a career that began in 1955 on Sun Records, home of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. One absentee will be Waylon Jennings, whose health is too poor for travel. He was, along with Cash, Kristofferson and Nelson, a member of a highly popular group that billed itself as The Highwaymen. "He asked Waylon," said June, "but they tell us he's not up to it." "We really enjoyed the time off," Johnny told June, "but, maybe it's time we went back to work." Tickets for the show, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, cost $70 and $85.