Johnny Cash

He had a number of affairs with women and became a chronic alcoholic and a drug addict which finally ended his marriage with his first wife. He filed for divorce in 1966.

He married June Carter on March 1, 1968 and they had a son together; John Carter Cash.

Johnny R. Cash was the fourth of the seven children born to Carrie Cloveree and Ray Cash in Kingsland, Arkansas. When he was just three years old, the family shifted to Dyess, Arkansas.

From a very young age, he helped his family by working in cotton fields. He came from a poor family and ‘The Great Depression’ caused further financial troubles for the family. Many of these troubles would later be reflected in his songs.

Cash was extremely close to his elder brother Jack, who died after almost being cut into two when he was pulled into a rotating head saw in the mill, in 1944. His brother was only 15-years-old at the time. This depression added on to his woes in his childhood, which can also be seen in a number of his songs in later life.

He was mainly inspired by gospel and Irish music and began writing songs at the age of 12. It was around this time he learnt to play the guitar and was given a chance to perform in the local radio station.

In 1950, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he was allotted the job of a Morse Code Intercept Operator. During his time with the army, he and a few of his Air Force friends formed the ‘Landsberg Barbarians’, where he wrote the famous song, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’.

After his marriage, he worked for a brief period as an appliance salesman. He got together with a few mechanics and formed a tight music group called ‘Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two’. They mainly played a fusion of country and blues music.

They approached Sun Records studio to record their gospel music, but Sam Phillips, the record producer asked them to come up with non-gospel music because he believed that the market for gospel music was very ‘limited’.

He finally convinced Philips which resulted in the release of the songs, ‘Hey, Porter’ and ‘Cry! Cry! Cry!’ in 1955. Other hits followed including, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘So Doggone Lonesome’.

He tasted true fame with his song ‘I Walk The Line’, which became an instant success on music charts, in 1956. The following year, Cash became the first artist to record a ‘long-playing album’ and became one of the highest-selling artists with Sun Records.

In 1958, he signed a profitable deal with Columbia Records, where his single, ‘Don’t Take Your Guns to Town’ peaked at all major music charts and also entered the pop charts.

In 1973, he released ‘The Gospel Road’ under Columbia Records. The album was ranked one of the best 12 Country albums of the year and went on to spawn a film of the same name which Cash provided the narration to and the soundtrack.

‘American Recordings’ released in 1994, is believed to be one of his greatest albums till date. It is included in the list of the ‘500 greatest albums of all time’ by Rolling Stone magazine. The album was hailed by critics as one of his best works since the 60s. It also went on to win a Grammy Award for ‘Best Contemporary Folk Album’ at the Grammy Awards ceremony the same year.