Born: February 26, 1932
City and Country of Origin: Kingsland, Arkansas
Music Training:
Awards: 2003 Grammy Best Short Form Music Video, "Hurt;" 2002 Best Male Country Vocal Performance, "Give My Love To Rose;" 2000 Best Male Country Vocal Performance, "Solitary Man;" 1997 Best Country Album, Unchained; 1994 Best Contemporary Folk Album, American Recordings; 1986 Best Spoken Word Or Non-Musical Recording, Interviews From The Class Of '55 Recording Sessions; 1970 Best Country Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group, If I Were A Carpenter 1969 Best Album Notes, Nashville Skyline; 1969 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, A Boy Named Sue; 1968 Best Album Notes, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison; 1968 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, Folsom Prison Blues; 1967 Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio Or Group (Vocal Or Instrumental),"Jackson"
Top Recordings: "I Walk the Line, "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring of Fire," "A Boy Named Sue;"
Johnny Cash Biography: Johnny, the son of Ray Cash a hobo, farmer and odd job laborer, moved with his family to Dyess, Arkansas when he was 3 years old. As a young boy he joined his father and older brother Roy working on the family's government subsidized farm. By the age of 12 he developed a fondness for Country music often listening to the Memphis radio stations. This inspired him to try his hand at composing his own songs. In 1950 he enlisted in the Air Force and in 1954 he married Vivian Liberto whom he had met when she was a 17 year old high school senior while stationed in San Antonio, TX. He tried to break into broadcasting, but was rejected for lack of experience which led him to use his GI benefits to enroll at the Keegan School of Broadcasting in Memphis, TN. He formed a group with musicians, Luther Perkins and Marshall Perkins. Together they auditioned for Sam Phillips' Sun Records, who was pre-occupied at the time promoting Elvis Presley's first recordings. Their first effort "Cry, Cry, Cry" was relesed by Sun under the name Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. The record became a modest Country hit. After a two sided hit "So Doggone Lonesome" b/w "Folsom Prison Blues," the group released one of Johnny's own compositions "I Walk The Line" which became a major hit in 1956. The group became regulars on the Louisiana Hayride in 1955 before moving on to the Grand Ole Opry in 1956. The group garnered 2 more hit records in 1958 "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess Things Happen That Way." In 1958 after moving to Columbia Records the group had its first hit with the label "Don't Take Your Guns to Town." At this time Cash left the Grand Ole Opry and moved to California where he worked with June Carter and the Carter family. After the death of his friend Johnny Horton and the breakup of his marriage Cash began using tranquilizers and amphetamines. "Ring of Fire" would become his first major hit with Columbia Records in 1963. In 1968 after overcoming his addiction he married June Carter and his career experienced a rebirth. In 1969 The Johnny Cash Show aired for the first time on ABC television. Taped at Ryman Auditorium the show ran thru 1971. After this Cash hosted several television specials. In 1985 he joined with Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson to form the Highwaymen. The group released 3 albums. The group stayed together till 1995 having a hit single with "The Highwayman" from their first album together. In the late 90s he teamed with rap producer Rick Rubin's American recored label to turn out several Grammy winning efforts including the albums American Recordings, Unchained and his cover of the Neil Diamond single "Solitary Man." In 2002 the single "Hurt" from the American IV: The Man Comes Around album won 3 CMA awards and the video earned him a Grammy and an MTV award.
Died: September 12, 2003

Music by the Decade:

Sounds of the Fifties

Sounds of the Sixties

Sounds of the Seventies

Sounds of the Eighties

Sounds of the Nineties