Johnny Cash Pictures, Biography, Profile, Facts, Discography, Filmography, more.

"So, I learn from my mistakes. It's a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, there's no gain. I found that to be true in my life. You miss a lot of opportunities by making mistakes, but that's part of it: knowing that you're not shut out forever, and that there's a goal you still can reach."

"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."

Johnny Cash Biography

Johnny Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Ark., J.R. Cash was one of six children belonging to Ray and Carrie Rivers Cash. When John was 3 years old, his father took advantage of a new Roosevelt farm program and moved his young family to Dyess Colony in northeast Arkansas. There the Cash family farmed 20 acres of cotton and other seasonal crops, and young John worked alongside his parents and siblings in the fields.

Music was an integral part of everyday life in the Cash household. John soaked up a variety of musical influences ranging from his mother's folk songs and hymns to the work songs from the fields and nearby railroad yards. He absorbed these sounds like sponge absorbs water. In later years Cash would draw from his life in Arkansas for inspiration: "Pickin' Time," "Five Feet High and Rising" and "Look at Them Beans" are all reflections on Cash's early life.

Cash remained in Dyess Colony until his graduation from high school in 1950. As a young man he set off for Detroit in search of work. He ended up in Pontiac, Mich., and took work in an automotive plant. His tenure in the North Country was short-lived and Cash soon enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. After basic training in Texas (where he met first wife Vivian Liberto), he was shipped to Landsberg, Germany. While in the service Cash organized his first band, the Landsberg Barbarians.

After his discharge in 1954, Cash returned stateside and married Liberto. He and his new bride soon settled in Memphis where Cash worked a variety of jobs -- including that of appliance salesman -- while trying to break into the music business.

In 1954, Cash auditioned as solo artist for Sam Phillips' Sun Records. He entertained hopes of recording gospel music for the label, but Phillips

immediately nixed that idea. By the following spring, though, Cash was in the Sun Studios to record with his band The Tennessee Three. The original group consisted of guitarist Luther Perkins, bass player Marshall Grant and Red Kernodle on pedal steel. Kernodle bailed out of the session and Cash's first release for the label, "Hey Porter" had a sparse, but highly effective instrumental accompaniment. Though an impressive single, the song failed to chart.

Cash's follow-up release for Sun, however, fared substantially better. "Cry, Cry, Cry" managed to crack Billboard's Top 20, peaking at No. 14. A long succession of chart singles followed. "So Doggone Lonesome" and "Folsom Prison Blues" both broke into the trade publication's Top 10. But Cash's fourth chart single proved to be his career song. "I Walk the Line" shot to Billboard's No. 1 position and remained on the record charts for an incredible 43 weeks, ultimately selling over 2 million copies.

In 1956, he realized a longtime dream when he was invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. By 1957 Cash had racked up an impressive string of hits and was working more than 200 dates a year. The following year he switched to Columbia Records in search of more artistic freedom. He still had aspirations of making gospel records and felt he had a better chance of accomplishing this goal at another label.

Throughout the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Cash continued to produce remarkable records and charted consistently. "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," "I Got Stripes," "Ring of Fire," "Understand Your Man" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" all hit the upper registers of the record charts. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and other top-rated network programs followed. In the early 1960s, concept albums such as Bitter Tears and Ballads of the True West made him a favorite among the folk music crowd, culminating in an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival.

But all was not well. Cash was spinning out of control. His marriage was

collapsing and divorce seemed inevitable. Too, his grueling tour schedule (which was now up to 300 shows a year) had taken its toll. Cash became dependent on narcotics to keep up the hectic pace. By the mid-1960s, Cash was a wreck and it began to impact his career.

By 1967, though, Cash managed to overcome his addiction with the help of his singing partner June Carter and her family. In 1968, he and Carter were married and his career experienced a renaissance. Throughout the remainder of the decade and into the 1970s, Cash was at the top of his game. A pair of live recordings made at Folsom Prison and San Quentin both went gold and a passel of awards followed including the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist awards in 1969.

The final payoff though, was a network television spot. Premiering in 1969, The Johnny Cash Show aired on ABC. Taped at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the show featured an eclectic mix of guests ranging from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Louis Armstrong and Merle Haggard. Through his selection of guests, Cash helped bridge the generation gap and break down musical barriers. He also used the show as a forum to discuss and raise the country's collective consciousness about social issues of the day such as the plight of the Native Americans, prison reform and the conflict in Vietnam. The show ceased production in 1971, but Cash continued to host numerous specials for several years.

In 1980, at the age of 48, Cash became the youngest living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bestowed its honor on him in 1995, thus making him one of a handful of country artists in both organizations.

In 1985, Cash joined friends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris

Kristofferson to form The Highwaymen. The supergroup released three albums

between 1985 and 1995, scoring a No. 1 hit with the single "Highwayman" from their first album, The Highwaymen. Although battling serious health problems in the late 1990s, Cash entered a professional renaissance after signing with rap producer Rick Rubin's American record label. American Recordings, released in 1994, won a Grammy for best contemporary folk album. The follow-up, 1996's Unchained, earned the Grammy for best country album in 1997. His 2000 release American III: Solitary Man, included a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man," which won Cash a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 2001.

In 2002, Cash released American IV: The Man Comes Around which included the Nine Inch Nails single "Hurt." Cash earned three CMA awards in 2003, and the acclaimed video for "Hurt" won an MTV award and a Grammy.

After losing his wife June Carter Cash unexpectedly in May 2003, Cash passed away Sept. 12, 2003 at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. from complications from diabetes.

Notable:

He has won 11 Grammys, the most recent include the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2002 shared Grammy for Best Country Album. Two of his Grammys came for writing liner notes, for his At Folsom Prison album and Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline record.

He has starred in four additional theatrical films including one of the last great westerns, A Gunfight, with Kirk Douglas. In addition, he has been a featured star in seven TV movies including The Pride Of Jessee Hallam, a hard-hitting, poignant story of one man's struggle against illiteracy. The show has proven to be a valuable tool in the battle against illiteracy.

He has won over two dozen songwriting awards from BMI; two of his songs, Folsom Prison Blues and I Walk The Line have earned million-performance citations from BMI.

He has recorded more than 1,500 songs and they can be found on about 500 albums, counting only American and European releases.

More of his albums (45) remain in print today than most artists ever make.

He has fathered four daughters (Rosanne, Tara, Cindy and Kathy) and a son (John Carter), all of whom have performed with him at one time or another. In addition, Rosanne has become one of our country music's top singer-songwriters.

He is the youngest person ever chosen for the Country Music Hall of Fame and the only performer ever selected for the Country and Rock Music Hall of Fame, until 1998, when Elvis Presley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

He has placed 48 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts, about the same number as the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys.

He has tallied more Pop hit singles than Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson (including his Jackson 5 hits), the Four Seasons, David Bowie, the Supremes, Elton John, Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers, the combined totals of Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, Martin Gaye, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Kool & the Gang, Linda Ronstadt. Diana Ross, the combined total of all of the Osmond Family, Jerry Lee Lewis and the combined total of Lionel Richie and the Commodores.

Cash's 1987 Grammy came through his participation in The Class Of '55 recordings with the late Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The project represented a rebirth of "The Million Dollar Quartet" recordings featuring Cash, Perkins, Lewis and the late Elvis Presley and, interestingly enough, it predated Orbison's participation in The Traveling Wilburys.

He has had chart success as a solo artist, as part of a duet, as the leader of a trio, and as a part of the award-winning Highwayman quartet.

Despite country music stations refusing to play his newer music, Cash and American Recordings were honored with Country Music Television-Europe's #7 Video of the Year for Rusty Cage, and Playboy Magazine honored Cash with the 1998 Music Poll Winner "Hall of Fame" Award.

Cash was honored with a Kennedy Center Award in December of 1996.

Johnny Cash Discography

1957 - Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar

1958 - Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous

1959 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash

1959 - Hymns by Johnny Cash

1959 - Songs of Our Soil

1959 - Greatest Johnny Cash

1960 - Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams

1960 - Ride This Train

1960 - Now There Was A Song

1961 - Now, Here's Johnny Cash

1962 - Hymns from the Heart

1962 - The Sound of Johnny Cash

1962 - All Aboard the Blue Train

1963 - Blood, Sweat and Tears

1963 - Ring of Fire

1963 - The Christmas Spirit

1964 - Keep on the Sunny Side

1964 - I Walk the Line

1964 - The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash

1964 - Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

1965 - Orange Blossom Special

1965 - Ballads of the True West

1965 - Mean as Hell

1966 - Everybody Loves a Nut

1966 - Happiness is You

1967 - Johnny Cash & June Carter: Jackson

1967 - Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits

1967 - Carryin' on with Cash and Carter

1968 - From Sea to Shining Sea

1968 - At Folsom Prison

1968 - The Holy Land

1969 - At San Quentin

1969 - Johnny Cash

1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume I

1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume II

1969 - Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers

1969 - Got Rhythm

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blues

1970 - The Blue Train

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings the Greatest Hits

1970 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: Jackson

1970 - Johnny Cash: The Legend

1970 - The Walls of a Prison

1970 - Sunday Down South

1970 - Showtime

1970 - Hello, I'm Johnny Cash

1970 - The Singing Storyteller

1970 - The World of Johnny Cash

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings I Walk the Line

1970 - The Rough Cut King of Country Music

1970 - The Johnny Cash Show

1970 - I Walk the Line - Movie Soundtrack

1970 - Little Fauss and Big Halsy - Movie Soundtrack

1971 - Man in Black

1971 - Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis Sing Hank Williams 1971 - Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music

1971 - The Johnny Cash Collection: Greatest Hits Volume II 1971 - Understand Your Man

1971 - Original Golden Hits, Volume III

1972 - A Thing Called Love

1972 - Give My Love to Rose

1972 - America 1972 - The Johnny Cash Songbook

1972 - Christmas: The Johnny Cash Family

1973 - The Gospel Road

1973 - Any Old Wind That Blows

1973 - Now, There Was a Song

1973 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash

1973 - Johnny Cash and His Woman

1973 - Sunday Morning Coming Down

1973 - Ballads of the American Indian

1974 - Ragged Old Flag

1974 - Five Feet High and Rising

1974 - The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me

1975 - Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories

1975 - The Children's Album

1975 - John R. Cash

1975 - Johnny Cash at Osteraker Pirsion

1975 - Look at Them Beans

1975 - Strawberry Cake

1976 - One Piece at a Time

1976 - Destination Victoria Station

1977 - The Last Gunfighter Ballad

1977 - The Rambler

1978 - I Would Like to See You Again

1978 - Greatest Hits, Volume III

1978 - Gone Girl

1979 - Johnny Cash - Silver

1979 - A Believer Sings the Truth

1980 - Rockabilly Blues

1980 - Classic Christmas

1981 - The Baron

1981 - Encore

1982 - The Survivors

1982 - A Believer Sings the Truth, Volume I

1982 - The Adventures of Johnny Cash

1983 - Johnny Cash - Biggest Hits

1983 - Johnny 99

1983 - Songs of Love and Life

1984 - I Believe

1985 - Highwayman

1986 - Rainbow

1986 - Class of '55: Cash, Perkins, Orbison & Lewis

1986 - Heroes: Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings

1986 - Believe in Him 1987 - Johnny Cash: Columbia Records

1958-1986 1987 - Johnny Cash is Coming to Town

1988 - Classic Cash

1988 - Water From the Wells of Home

1990 - Johnny Cash: Patriot

1990 - Boom Chicka Boom

1990 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

1991 - The Mystery of Life

1991 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

1991 - Come Along and Ride this Train

1992 - The Essential Johnny Cash

1994 - American Recordings

1995 - Highwaymen: The Road Goes on Forever

1996 - Unchained

1996 - Johnny Cash: The Hits

1998 - VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson

1998 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and San Quentin

1998 - Johnny Cash: Crazy Country

1998 - Johnny Cash: Timeless Inspiration

1998 - Johnny 99

1999 - Johnny Cash: Super Hits

1999 - Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins: I Walk the Line/Little Fauss and Big Halsy

1999 - Just as I am

1999 - Rickabilly Blues

1999 - Cash on Delivery: A Tribute 1999 - The Legendary Johnny Cash

1999 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: It's All in the Family

1999 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

1999 - Sixteen Biggest Hits 2000 - Return to The Promised Land

2000 - Love, God and Murder

2000 - At San Quentin

2000 - Super Hits

2000 - American III: Solitary Man

2001 - Sixteen Biggest Hits: Volume II

2002 - American IV: The Man Comes Around

What his friends said?

Johnny Cash has always been larger than life. A dark powerful spirit full of danger and excitement and wild, creative energy, who grew into one of the world's most beloved humans. Not just because he has stood up for the underdog and Native Americans, but because, like Muhammad Ali, his connection with people everywhere is a real two-way love story. It's a wonderful thing to see. William Blake said the proper worship of God was honoring his gifts in men. Johnny Cash is one of those rare, special humans in whose life and work we can glimpse the potential for beauty and grace within the human spirit.

I love you John, In the cold and holy darkness You were always shining brighter than a star God bless you, John For the love and joy you've given And the living inspiration that you are. (from "Good Morning John" by K. Kristofferson)

— Kris Kristofferson

I've been proud to know Johnny as a friend since The Sixties, and through the years I've been privileged to spend many happy hours with him and his wonderful family. His vocal style has always been one of the most distinctive and his songs and recordings are amongst some of the most memorable ever. Lots of love,

—Paul McCartney

I probably first heard one of his records around 1957, or somewhere around there. “Lonesome Whistle Blow” I think it was, a Hank Williams song. From where I was at my age, Johnny Cash was just great, so original. He had real, real stuff. He reminded me of Jimmy Reed; his music had that same stark reality about it. What he had going on in the early days was what other guys like Muddy Waters were doing. It was really roots music, but they conveyed it through electricity, and the judicial use of it. The music was so true to the roots and at the same time so modern. Another attraction for me was the way he slung his guitar so very low.

—Keith Richards

I first heard Mr. Cash when I was six years old, and I can vividly remember thinking that the person singing this song must be a giant because his voice sounds so huge !!! Well, that sense of hugeness has never really left me and whenever I hear a Johnny Cash song I still think of him as a giant, as well as a source of inspiration. His is a voice filled with pathos and irony. His music is important because it speaks the truth. May his range and influence continue to grow.

— Kirk Hammett - from Metallica