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Johnny Cash’s Early Life
Johnny Cash.Getty
The legendary musician was bornJ. R. Cashon Feb. 26, 1932 in Kingslon, Arkansas. He was raised on farm alongside three older and three younger siblings. Cash worked in cotton fields with his family starting at age five, singing to pass the time.
During his time in the Air Force, he bought his first guitar and started his first band called The Landsberg Barbarians before he was discharged and returned to Texas where he had trained.
02of 16Johnny Cash’s Marriage to Vivian LibertoMichael Ochs Archives/GettyCash metVivian Libertowhen she was 17 years old in San Antonio, Texas while he was in Air Force training. They began dating, but were apart for three years when the Air Force deployed Cash to Germany.To cope with the long distance relationship, Cash and Liberto exchanged thousands of letters. Those letters served as the foundation of Liberto’s 2007 memoirI Walked the Line, and Cash’s 1956 chart-topping hit of the same name.After Cash’s discharge, the couple married and hadfour daughters: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara. But Cash’s time away on the road, combined with hisdrug and alcohol addiction, led to Liberto filing for divorce in 1966.
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Johnny Cash’s Marriage to Vivian Liberto
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Cash metVivian Libertowhen she was 17 years old in San Antonio, Texas while he was in Air Force training. They began dating, but were apart for three years when the Air Force deployed Cash to Germany.
To cope with the long distance relationship, Cash and Liberto exchanged thousands of letters. Those letters served as the foundation of Liberto’s 2007 memoirI Walked the Line, and Cash’s 1956 chart-topping hit of the same name.
After Cash’s discharge, the couple married and hadfour daughters: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara. But Cash’s time away on the road, combined with hisdrug and alcohol addiction, led to Liberto filing for divorce in 1966.
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Johnny Cash’s First Recording
Cash auditioned a gospel arrangement for Sun Records' founder and producerSam Phillips, but Phillips responded to Cash’s rockabilly style instead and signed him. He released his first two recordings for the record company, “Hey Porter!” and “Cry! Cry! Cry!,” which were met with great success.
Cash went on to become one of the best-selling musicians of all time with more than 90 million records sold worldwide.
04of 16Johnny Cash’s Collaboration with Elvis PresleyMichael Ochs Archives/GettyElvis Presleycrashed a jam session with Cash, Carl Perkins, andJerry Lee Lewisin December 1956. While Phillips was in the studio cutting new tracks at the time of the impromptu jam, he left the tapes running.The candid collaboration was recorded and released under the titleMillion Dollar Quartet, and is considered a monumental moment in rock and roll history.
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Johnny Cash’s Collaboration with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presleycrashed a jam session with Cash, Carl Perkins, andJerry Lee Lewisin December 1956. While Phillips was in the studio cutting new tracks at the time of the impromptu jam, he left the tapes running.
The candid collaboration was recorded and released under the titleMillion Dollar Quartet, and is considered a monumental moment in rock and roll history.
05of 16Johnny Cash’s Carter Family StintCash left Sun Records in 1958 to sign with Columbia Records, and released one of his biggest hits, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” right out of the gate.As his star was on the rise in the early 1960s, Cash went on tour with the Carter Family, consisting of famed country artistMother Maybelleand her daughters Anita, June, and Helen. (You can see them cover “I Walk the Line” here!)June Carter would go on to be the great love of Cash’s life. The first time they met was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1956.
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Johnny Cash’s Carter Family Stint
Cash left Sun Records in 1958 to sign with Columbia Records, and released one of his biggest hits, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” right out of the gate.
As his star was on the rise in the early 1960s, Cash went on tour with the Carter Family, consisting of famed country artistMother Maybelleand her daughters Anita, June, and Helen. (You can see them cover “I Walk the Line” here!)
June Carter would go on to be the great love of Cash’s life. The first time they met was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1956.
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Johnny Cash’s Arrests
As Cash’s career took off, his personal life suffered due to his frequent usage of amphetamines and barbiturates.
In May 1965, Cash was arrested for picking flowers on a private property in Starkville, Mississippi (inspiring the song “Starkville City Jail”) and later again in October of that year for possession of narcotics in El Paso, Texas after agents found 475 Equanil tablets and 688 Dexedrine capsules stashed in his guitar case.
07of 16Johnny Cash’s First Grammy AwardChris Walter/WireImageCash won his firstGrammy Awardalongside future wife Carter for their song “Jackson” in the best country & western performance, duet, trio, or group category in 1967. This marked the first of many Grammy honors as the singer ultimately won13 and earned a total of 35 nominationsthroughout his career.
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Johnny Cash’s First Grammy Award
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Cash won his firstGrammy Awardalongside future wife Carter for their song “Jackson” in the best country & western performance, duet, trio, or group category in 1967. This marked the first of many Grammy honors as the singer ultimately won13 and earned a total of 35 nominationsthroughout his career.
08of 16Johnny Cash’s Marriage to June CarterLey, Charlie/Mirrorpix via GettyCash proposed toJune Carteron Feb. 22, 1968 in the place where they first connected: on stage. He popped the question during a performance at the London Ice House in Ontario, Canada in front of 7,000 fans and the two wed a few days later on March 1 in Franklin, Kentucky.Cash and Carter had one child together, sonJohn Carter Cash,on March 3, 1970.
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Johnny Cash’s Marriage to June Carter
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Cash proposed toJune Carteron Feb. 22, 1968 in the place where they first connected: on stage. He popped the question during a performance at the London Ice House in Ontario, Canada in front of 7,000 fans and the two wed a few days later on March 1 in Franklin, Kentucky.
Cash and Carter had one child together, sonJohn Carter Cash,on March 3, 1970.
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Johnny Cash’s Prison Concerts
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Not only did the record reach No. 1 on theBillboardcountry album chart, but its lead single, “Folsom Prison Blues,” became Cash’s first top 40 hit since 1964.
The popularity of the prison performances didn’t stop there, as Cash played and recorded a live concert at California’s San Quentin State Prison the following year.
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Getty
Cash hosted the eponymous variety television seriesThe Johnny Cash Showon ABC from 1969 to 1971. With the Statler Brothers serving as the consistent opening act, the show featured the day’s hottest musicians, includingJames Taylor,Ray Charles,Joni Mitchell, andRoy Orbison,during its 58-episode run.
11of 16Johnny Cash’s Work with Bob DylanMichael Ochs Archives/GettyOne of Cash’s most iconic duets was with rock iconBob Dylan, a collaboration that spawned from a spontaneous studio jam session in which they sang covers of each other’s songs.While their “Girl From the North Country” duet appeared on Dylan’sNashville SkylineLP, and several snippets of their recording session leaked, Dylan released a three-CD package on Nov. 1, 2019 with never-before heard material from the legendary session with Cash, titledThe Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru, 1967–1969.
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Johnny Cash’s Work with Bob Dylan
One of Cash’s most iconic duets was with rock iconBob Dylan, a collaboration that spawned from a spontaneous studio jam session in which they sang covers of each other’s songs.
While their “Girl From the North Country” duet appeared on Dylan’sNashville SkylineLP, and several snippets of their recording session leaked, Dylan released a three-CD package on Nov. 1, 2019 with never-before heard material from the legendary session with Cash, titledThe Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru, 1967–1969.
12of 16Johnny Cash’s NicknameMichael Ochs Archives/GettyCash established the nickname, “The Man in Black,” in the early 1970s due to his regular performances donning head-to-toe black. Famed for his long black coat that hung to his knees, Cash’s getup was quite the contrast from other country acts who often sported sequins and rhinestones.He also released a song titled “Man in Black” in 1971 and wrote the 1975 autobiography,Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words.
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Johnny Cash’s Nickname
Cash established the nickname, “The Man in Black,” in the early 1970s due to his regular performances donning head-to-toe black. Famed for his long black coat that hung to his knees, Cash’s getup was quite the contrast from other country acts who often sported sequins and rhinestones.
He also released a song titled “Man in Black” in 1971 and wrote the 1975 autobiography,Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words.
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Johnny Cash’s White House Performance
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Johnny Cash’s Acting Roles
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Though music was Cash’s first passion, he dabbled in acting as well, having appeared in various television and film titles over the course of his career.
1971’sA Gunfightwas one of his biggest movie gigs, where he starred alongsideKirk Douglas. However, 1973’sGospel Road: A Story of Jesuswas the project he was most proud of, as he produced and financed the movie himself.
Cash made a handful of guest appearances on shows in the 1970s and 1980s such asColumboandLittle House on the Prairie.
While Cash and Carter dabbled in the film industry themselves, their lives were dramatized in the2005 biopic,Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
15of 16Johnny Cash’s Country Music Hall of Fame InductionGettyCash was the youngestCountry Music Hall of Fameinductee (48 years old at the time) to receive the honor in 1980. He was also inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 1992, making him the only person to hold both honors until Presley was inducted.In 1998, Cash’s “I Walk the Line and “Ring of Fire” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the following year.Cash was later inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
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Johnny Cash’s Country Music Hall of Fame Induction
Cash was the youngestCountry Music Hall of Fameinductee (48 years old at the time) to receive the honor in 1980. He was also inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 1992, making him the only person to hold both honors until Presley was inducted.
In 1998, Cash’s “I Walk the Line and “Ring of Fire” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the following year.
Cash was later inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
16of 16Johnny Cash’s DeathJack Vartoogian/Getty ImagesCash suffered from an incurable degenerative disease and often found himself in and out of hospitals as he grew older. In addition, he faced diabetes complications and as a result,passed away at age 71on Sept. 12, 2003 in Nashville.Cash’s passingoccurred four months after Carter, his wife of 35 years, died on May 15, 2003.The couple’s continues to influence generation after generation of musicians today.
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Johnny Cash’s Death
Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
Cash suffered from an incurable degenerative disease and often found himself in and out of hospitals as he grew older. In addition, he faced diabetes complications and as a result,passed away at age 71on Sept. 12, 2003 in Nashville.
Cash’s passingoccurred four months after Carter, his wife of 35 years, died on May 15, 2003.
The couple’s continues to influence generation after generation of musicians today.
source: people.com
