Johnny Cash is the ultimate Rock n’ Roll and Country Music legend. He defined an era. He was one of the first performers to cross over into as many genres as he did. He was a bad boy before there were even such things as bad boys. His legacy and life have forever affected American culture and music.
Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas. His father, Ray, was a worker on sawmills and railroads. In 1936, the Cash family was one of the 600 families chosen to re-locate and reclaim the land known as Dyess in Arkansas. The land was next to the Mississippi River and was mostly swamp land. This project was known as the Dyess Colony Scheme. The family lived in Dyess until 1937 when the family was evacuated after the land was flooded. When Cash was twelve years old, he began writing his own music. He was inspired by listening to country songs on the local radio station. When he was in high school, Cash began singing on the Arkansas radio station, KLCN. In 1950, Cash graduated from college. He then moved to Detroit where he worked in an auto factory for a short while.
When the Korean War broke out, Cash enlisted in the air forced. While there, Cash received a scar on his face. A rumor would later circulate that the scar was from a knife wound. In truth, the scar was made after a drunk doctor attempted to remove a cyst from Cash’s face. Also, while hospitalized in German, a young German girl playfully stuck a pencil in the young man’s ear, and permanently damaged his hearing. While in the Air Force, Cash bought his first guitar. He then began to teach himself how to play the instrument. While in the air force, he wrote “Folsom Prison Blues.” In 1954, Cash left the Air Force. He then married a Texas woman named Vivien Leberta. The two would eventually have four children together. One of their daughters, Rosanne Cash, became a country singer like her father. Vivien and Cash then moved to Memphis. While in Memphis, Cash took a course in radio announcing at a broadcasting school on a GI Bill. During nights, Cash played music. He occasionally played with a trio composed of guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant. The group played for free and they also tried to get gigs.
After much work, Cash managed to get an audition for Sun records and Sun Record’s founder, Sam Phillips in 1955. At first, he told Cash he was a gospel singer. Phillips turned him down, and told Cash to return to Sun records when he could create more commercial and easily marketable music. He returned to Sun and they signed him. His first singles were “Cry Cry Cry” and “Hey Porter.” Phillips began calling cash Johnny. At first, Cash was upset about this. He felt Johnny sounded much too young. In 1955, “Cry Cry Cry” became a huge success, entering the charts at number fourteen. Cash soon got a leading spot on the Louisiana Hayride. He stayed there for one year. In 1956, Cash’s single, “Folsom Prison Blues,” was number five on the country charts. A few months later, “I Walk the Line,” was at number one for six weeks on the country charts and in the Pop Top 20.
1957 was a very good year for Cash. His single, “Give My Love to Rose,” was number fifteen on the charts. He also appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. Cash shocked people by performing on the prestigious show in a completely black outfit. At that time, every performer wore bright clothing adorned with rhinestones. He soon received the nickname, “The Man in Black.”
Cash became the first Sun artist to release his own full length album. The album, Johnny Cash His Hot and Blue Guitar, was released in November 1957. 1958 was also another highly successful year for Cash. His hit, “Ballad of a Teenage Queen,” was number one for ten weeks. The single, “Guess Things Happen That Way,” was also another success. In 1959, Cash asked Sun Records if he could record a gospel record. Sun Records told him he could not. Sun was also unwilling to increase Cash’s royalties. Thus, he decided to leave Sun Records. In 1958, Cash signed with Columbia Records. At the end of that same year, Cash released his first single for Columbia, “All Over Again,” which landed in the top five. Sun records continued to release un-issued and un-licensed Cash materials, singles, and albums. They would do this until the 1960s. Cash then came out with the song, “Little Brother.” The single was about Cash’s younger brother, Jack, who died after falling on an electric saw. Cash’s second single, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” was his second single with Columbia Records and one of his biggest hits. The single topped the country charts and in 1959 was at the top of the pop charts.
At this time, both Sun and Columbia were releasing Cash’s music. Columbia released “Frankie’s Man Johnny,” “I Got Stripes,” and “Five Feet High and Rising.” “Five feet High and Rising,” is about Cash’s family being evacuated from Dyess when he was younger. Sun released “Luther Played Boogie.” That same year, Columbia released Cash’s gospel album entitled Hymns by Johnny Cash. By 1959, Cash was becoming wearied. He began taking amphetamines to help him get through the 300 shows he was playing per year. In 1963, he abandoned his family and moved to New York. Cash was also having trouble with the law. He started a forest fire in the west coast which resulted in an $85,000 fine. He was also infamous for ruining hotel rooms and playing around with guns.
In 1964, Cash’s success returned. His drinking buddy, Carl Smith’s wife, June Carter co-wrote “Ring of Fire” with Mere Kilgore for Cash. The single spent seven weeks on top of the charts, and made it to the top twenty on the pop charts. The single, “Understand Your Man,” was another number one hit for Cash. Cash, however, was suffering from more addictions. He was arrested in El Paso in 1965 for attempting to smuggle amphetamines into the city through his guitar case. That same year, the Grand Ole Opry refused to let him perform. So, he wrecked their foot lights.
In 1966, Vivian filed for divorce. After the divorce was finalized, Cash moved to Nashville, Tennessee. At first he became even more destructive. Then he became close with June Carter, who by this time, had divorced her husband. Carter helped Cash fight his addictions. She also help convert him to fundamentalist Christianity. Cash soon had hit singles with “Jackson” and “Rosanna’s Going Wild.” In early 1968, Cash proposed to Carter during a concert. The two were married in the spring of that year.
In 1968, Cash released Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. The album was Cash’s most popular to that date. It was recorded during a prison concert. The title track, “Folsom Prison Blues,” was a number one hit and was on the pop charts. One year later, the album went gold. In 1969, Cash released Johnny Cash at San Quentin. The album contained the single, “A Boy Named Sue.” The single was number one on country charts and number three on pop charts. That same year, Cash was featured on Bob Dylan’s album, Nashville Skyline. In 1969, Cash began The Johnny Cash Show which aired on ABC. The show ran for two years; from 1969 until 1971.
In 1970, Cash had another peak of popularity. He performed for President Richard Nixon at the White House in Washington DC. He also co-starred in a film featuring Kirk Douglas called The Gunlight. Cash also had number one hits with the singles, “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “Flesh and Blood.” In 1971, his single, “Man in the Moon,” reached number three. At this time, Carter and Cash became more politically active. The two frequently worked with preacher Billy Graham and protested for more rights of Native Americans and prisoners. For years, Cash had claimed he was a quarter Cherokee. This story caused much publicity buzz for the singer. At this time, he admitted that he made the whole story up. In fact, he has lineage from 17th century Scotland.
In 1975, Cash released his autobiography he called Man In Black. In 1976, Cash released the single, “One Piece at a Time.” He also had a duet with Waylon Jennings entitled “There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang.” He also had the single, “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky.” In 1980, Cash became the youngest inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the 1980s, Cash’s record sales began to decline. He was also having problems with Columbia records.
In 1982, he collaborated with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins on an album called The Survivor. The album was a mild success. Cash then began a band with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. The men called themselves The Highwaymen. They released their first album, which was a moderate success, in 1985. In 1986, Cash ended his contract with Columbia Records. He soon signed to Mercury Nashville Records. The deal was not very good. Cash found himself constantly fighting with the label. The label was unwilling to allow the artist to do whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, country music began to change. Cash saw that he was no longer being played. Rather, radios were choosing to play more contemporary artists. Cash, however, was still selling out concert venues. In 1992, Cash and The Highwaymen released a second album. Cash also ended his contract with Mercury and signed to American Records.
Cash released his debut album with American entitled American Recordings. The album helped the singer become more known to younger audiences, but it was not considered a huge success. In 1995, The Highwaymen released The Road Goes on Forever. In 1996, Cash released Unchained. The album featured Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. On October 25, 1997 Cash announced at a concert that he was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. He was then hospitalized for two days with pneumonia. Later, Cash would say he had Shy-Drager Syndrome. It was later discovered that the artist was misdiagnosed. In 1998, Cash appeared on VH1’s Storytellers. In 2000, Cash released Love, God, Murder. The album was a three disc set focusing on the three major themes in Cash’s music. In late 2000, Cash released American III: Solitary Man. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, cash suffered from health problems.
In late 2002, Cash hit popularity once again. He released the album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. On the album he did a cover of Nine Inch Nail’s song “Hurt.” The video was directed by Mark Komanez and received much acclaim. In fact, it was nominated for several MTV 2003 Music Video Awards. In September 2003, at the MTV Awards, Cash was unable to attend due to the fact he was in the hospital. He did not witn Best Single for “Hurt.” Rather, teen-pop star Justin Timberlake did for “Cry Me A River.” Upon taking his award, Timberlake discussed how he grew up listening to Cash and felt the star should have won the award. He dedicated the moon statue to Cash.
Earlier, in 2002 June Carter Cash had died on May 15, 2003. She died after complications following complicated heart surgery. Cash was devastated. Cash himself passed away on September 12, 2003. Cash is a member of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. His legacy will definitely not be forgotten. He influenced so many different genres of music, his death truly devastated the public and almost every form of musical genre patrons.
Bio written by: bandhunt |
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