Difference between revisions of "Johnny Cash"

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Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash (Born J.R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer, actor and author. He is one of a small number of people to hold dual membership in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as being in the Gospel Hall of Fame and Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Cash's style of music could greatly vary. He is most known for his country music. However, he was also famous for singing rockabilly (particularly early in his career), rock and roll, blues, folk, gospel music, and he covered songs by rock artists later in his life.

Cash was known as the Man in Black because of the attire he wore. He was also a champion for prisoners, though only being incarcerated for minor misdemeanors such as going to the El Paso International Airport in October 1965 after U.S. Customs agents found hundreds of pep pills and tranquilizers in his luggage returning from Mexico.

Cash was also a devout Christian, but suffered some problems with drugs. He later rededicated his life to Christ and quit his drug use.

Early life

Cash was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Ray Cash Carrie Cloveree Rivers as J. R. Cash. He was renamed John R. Cash by his parents and used that name when he enlisted in the United States Air Force since they would not accept initials as his name, and he used Johnny Cash as a stage name. In March 1935, the Cash family relocated to Dyess, Arkansas. He worked picking cotton and his family's trouble during the Great Depression inspired many of his songs. Cash's siblings' names were: Roy, Margaret Louise, Jack, Reba, Joanne and Tommy. Cash always felt guilt over the saw accident that killed his older brother Tommy (who Cash was very close to) at the age of fifteen. He broke into both country music and early rock and roll on the famed Sun Records label of Memphis, Tennessee, with his biggest hit from those years being "I Walk the Line".

Personal life

His marriage to June Carter Cash marked a turnaround in his career. He rededicated his life to Jesus Christ, got off drugs, and recorded two very popular albums, At Folsom Prison (1968) and At San Quentin (1969) both recorded live before prison audiences. Many of the prisoners were deeply moved by his testimony and accepted Christ as their Savior.^[1]

Career

Cash in 1969

In 1958 he made the jump to Columbia Records where he remained until 1987. He recorded a series of concept albums in the 1960s ranging from several albums of Gospel music to albums about American history (Ride This Train and Songs Of Our Soil), blue collar workers (Blood, Sweat, and Tears), American Indians (Bitter Tears), and novelty songs (Everybody Loves a Nut). He continued to hit with major hit singles during this period as well, with songs like "Ring of Fire". However his career ran into increasing trouble because of a spiraling drug problem.

His early 1970s albums continued his commercial success and included a few Christian songs on each album. Typical was his 1971 album Man In Black, which introduced the nickname he would be known by ever since, included another major hit single in the title track, and featured Billy Graham on one Gospel track. However his commercial success began to fall off considerably after 1976. His last major hit single was "One Piece at a Time" in 1976. He continued to record throughout the rest of the 1970s and the 1980s.

In 1973, he narrated "The Gospel Road". [1]

In 1981, he played an illiterate Kentucky single father in "The Pride of Jesse Hallum" [2] (for which he wrote the music).

Cash also was in a group of aging country stars, called the Highwaymen, also including Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristoffersen, and Willie Nelson, and they released three albums. Their first album Highwayman was released in 1985.

Cash's career made another comeback starting in 1994 after being signed by producer Rick Rubin's American label. The series of albums that followed, starting with American Recordings, introduced Johnny Cash's music to a brand new, younger audience. A cover of "Hurt", which was originally by Nine Inch Nails, became a major hit and the video for it won several awards.

Honors

In 1980, Cash was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007.

Written Works

• Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words
• Cash: The Autobiography (with Patrick Carr)
• Love (with June Carter Cash)
• The Man in White

Other works

Cash did an audio recording of the entire New Testament of the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Discography

References

1. ↑ Jim Hefley's biography of Johnny Cash