Johnny Cash [ tickets ] plans to enter his Hendersonville, Tenn., studios this week to begin work on his third album for Sony's American Recordings, according to a spokesperson. Among those expected to assist the country music legend with the project are producer Rick Rubin and musicians Marty Stuart [ tickets ], Norman Blake [ tickets ] and Randy Scruggs [ tickets ].

No release date has been set for the new album. Cash has been writing new material in recent years, but it is not clear if any new Cash originals will be recorded during the session.

Cash, 68, has rarely been seen in public since he was diagnosed in 1998 with Shy-Drager Syndrome, a disorder similar to Parkinson's Disease. Cash ''is doing extremely well--his health is the best I've seen him in in years,'' the spokesperson said.

Cash has been hospitalized several times in recent years, usually for pneumonia, a side effect of drugs prescribed to sufferers of Shy-Drager.

On Monday, Cash was one of 83 U.S. ''Living Legends'' honored at a bicentennial celebration for the Library of Congress. The list of honorees also included Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Benny Carter, Ahmet Ertegun, Mickey Hart, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Yo-Yo Ma, Tito Puente, Itzhak Perlman, Leontyne Price, Bobby Short, Stephen Sondheim, Isaac Stern and Barbra Streisand.