The mid-90s was a really good era for Nine Inch Nails. They had just released Downward Spiral (1994) to critical acclaim which gave us the single "Hurt". Yes, it was written by Trent Reznor - not Johny Cash - it was Cash who covered it, not the other way around. It was one of Cash's final hits released before his death, and the related music video is considered one of the greatest of all time by publications such as NME. Reznor praised Cash's interpretation of the song for its "sincerity and meaning", going as far as to say "that song isn't mine anymore."
In this live clip of the performance of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails in 1995, they are joined on stage by David Bowie and it's pretty damn special. Bowie always has a way of adding depth and feeling to anything he touches, and here he does it in abundance, delivering the opening lines with so much emotion you'd think he wrote those words about his own pain.
Reznor and Bowie were friends and worked together on several projects over the years. Here's a great interview from 1995 with MTV where they talk about the influence they've had on each other.
