John R. Cash was born on February 26, 1932, in Arkansas, U.S.A.
He was an American country singer. His fame started in the mid-50s in the rockabilly scene in Memphis, Tennessee.
His mother taught him to play guitar, and he started listening to gospel music and radio. Then began writing his songs at the age of 12.
After his military service, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to pursue a musical career. He studied to work on radio, but then went to Sun Records studio with his band, the Tennessee Two (guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant), to audition for Sam Phillips. Cash and his band performed gospel songs and, later, rockabilly songs for Phillips, who signed Cash in 1955.
Cash had a very successful musical career, a TV Show, and an actor’s career in TV series and movies.
He is famous for performing concerts at prisons and even recorded live albums in some of them like San Quentin State Prison, and Folsom Prison. Although he never did time, he sang like he was one of the inmates.
Cash came from a poor family background, so he had sympathy for the working class, the prisoners, the Native Americans, and the people in need and suffering.
The Man in Black. He got this nickname since he always wore black suits to perform because he liked how this color made him and the band look. This was a huge contrast with other country artists at that time. But was also a protest statement, to mourn for the people suffering in jails, in the Vietnam War, and old and poor people who were neglected by society.
During his life, Cash had a severe drinking and drug addiction. His second wife, the singer, June Carter, helped him to become sober.
Later, in his career, he did some covers of rock bands’ songs like Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode, Rusty Cage by Soundgarden.
His more acclaimed cover was Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, in 2002. Trent Reznor, the singer and leader of Nine Inch Nails, was completely moved by Cash’s version of his song, saying that he made the song his own.
Sadly, this emotional song and video became a goodbye declaration, just like Cash’s daughter, Rosanne, said to him “It sounds like you’re saying goodbye” to which Johnny replied, “I am”.
June Carter, his wife, died shortly after, in May 2003.
Then, several health problems derived from his diabetes led Johnny Cash to his death, four months after his wife, on September 12, 2003. He was 71 years old.
Johnny collaborated with many musicians throughout his career, including Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan, just to name a few.
He had a very successful life, in TV, movies, and music, winning multiple awards and recording more than 55 albums. He had and still has a great influence not only in country, but also in folk, gospel, rock and roll, blues, and rockabilly music. Many artists recognize him as an inspiration.
In 2005, the movie Walk the Line was released, about Cash’s life, which featured Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny and Reese Witherspoon as June. They both sang the songs in the movie, and Phoenix had to learn to play the guitar for this role. The movie was a huge success and a beautiful tribute to the man in black, Johnny Cash.
I got interested in Cash’s music when I was in my 20s. During that time I became a great fan of rockabilly bands like The Stray Cats. I started to discover early rock and roll bands that inspired the rockabilly sound, like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and of course, early recordings of Elvis Presley too.
I’ve never been a country fan, but Johnny Cash’s dark tone attracted me as well as his lyrics, which were not just love songs, but songs with social content, very brave especially for those years. So, I have nothing but admiration for this man, and I’m glad that we have so much music from him to enjoy.