Johnny Cash is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and writer. He is one of the best-selling musical performers of the 20th century. He is best known for such compositions as "I Walk the Line", "Hey Porter", "Folsom Prison Blues" and others.
Biography
Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932 in the small American city of Kingsland, Arkansas. He became the fourth child of seven children born to a family of farmers Carrie Cloverie and Ray Cash. At the age of three, the boy moved with his parents and siblings to northeastern Arkansas to the city of Dyess.
Johnny Cash's house in Dyess Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki / Wikimedia Commons
Here Kashi continued to engage in agriculture. Young Johnny took an active part in all the work in the cotton fields, at the same time singing along with his family members. It was the songs that helped them brighten up their workdays. However, the economic crisis known as the "Great Depression" prevented the Cash from dealing with financial problems.
They also lost their 15-year-old son Jack in 1944. He died in an accident that occurred during the work at the mill. Johnny was very friendly with his brother and took the death of a loved one hard. Later, the difficulties experienced by Johnny Cash as a child were reflected in the singer's work.
His first compositions were inspired by gospel and Irish music. The first song was written by Johnny Cash at the age of 12. Around this time, he learned to play the guitar and began performing at a local radio station.
In 1950, Johnny joined the United States Air Force, where he intercepted messages encoded in Morse code. During these years, he and his friends from the US Air Force formed a musical group called "Landsberg Barbarians" and wrote the famous song "Folsom Prison Blues".
In July 1954, Johnny Cash decided to complete his military service and returned home with the rank of senior sergeant.
Musical career
Johnny Cash tried himself in different professions before he decided to devote his life to music and became one of the founders of the group "Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two". As part of the musical group, he performed gospel songs. When the musicians decided to record their album and turned to the Sun Records studio, they received an unexpected offer from the founder of this label.
Sam Phillips, a music producer, recommended that Johnny and his friends focus on performing country and blues songs, as he considered gospel not the most in-demand genre in the music market. This led to the release of the songs "Hey, Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!" They were followed by the musical compositions "Folsom Prison Blues" and "So Doggone Lonesome", which also became hits.
Johnny Cash, 1970 Photo: Dillan Stradlin / Wikimedia Commons
But real fame came to Johnny Cash after performing the song "I Walk The Line", which in 1956 topped the music charts in America. A year later, he presented the album "Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar". For the release label Sun Records, this collection of songs has become one of the most successful and is their first LP-album.
In 1958, Johnny Cash signed a lucrative deal with Columbia Records, after which his single "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" topped the largest music charts in America.
In the 60s, the singer successfully continued to make music and managed to star in several films. He can be seen in the American television series Rainbow Quest and the crime drama Five Minutes of Life.
But by the mid-70s, Cash's popularity began to wane. The reason for this was the musician's addiction to alcohol and drugs, with which he fought until the end of his life.
In the 1980s, Johnny Cash toured with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Chris Kirstofferson. The co-creation of four successful and talented country singers has resulted in three hit albums: "Highwaymen", "Highwaymen 2" and "The Road Goes on Forever".
Johnny Cash meeting with Richard Nixon, 1972 Photo: Nixon's official photographer Ollie Atkins / Wikimedia Commons
In 1997, the singer presented an autobiography entitled "Cash: The Autobiography", which was a sequel to his book "Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words".
In 2000, Cash's 85th album "American III: Solitary Man" was presented. A few years later, he released a collection of songs, "American IV: The Man Comes Around". The album was the last released during the singer's lifetime and received platinum status.
Personal life
In 1954, Johnny Cash married Vivien Liberto, with whom he had four daughters - Rosana, Caitlin, Cindy and Tara. But a series of his betrayals and dependence on alcohol and drugs put an end to the musician's family life. Johnny and Vivienne divorced in 1966.
American singer June Carter became Cash's second wife. The couple married on March 1, 1968 in Franklin, Kentucky. In March 1970, their only son, John, was born.
Johnny Cash with his son John, 1975 Photo: Inter-Comm Public Relations / Wikimedia Commons
Johnny Cash died on September 12, 2003, outliving his wife by only four months. He was buried next to June Carter in Hendersonville Memory Gardens Cemetery.
Johnny Cash's music has been popular with country fans even after his death and serves as a source of inspiration for a number of performers, including Chris Isaac, Bob Dylan and Wyclef Jean. The Johnny Cash Museum is open in Hendersonville. In addition, one of the streets of this city bears the name of the singer.
