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Johnny Cash Biography

Fast Facts

Born J.R. Cash on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas

Served in the Air Force 1950-54

In 1955, Cash was awarded the opportunity to record his first single "Hey Porter" with the Sun Records label

Went on to record more than 1500 songs which predominantly expressed his empathy for the downtrodden and socially outcast.

Placed 48 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts.

He won 11 Grammys, the most recent including the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2002 shared Grammy Award for Best Country Album

He was successful as a solo artist, part of a duet, as the leader of a trio, and as part of the quartet The Highwaymen

Hosted his own T.V. show on ABC...The Johnny Cash Show (1969-71)

His 1975 autobiography The Man in Black has sold more than 1.5 million copies

Johnny's influence on younger musicians is still amazingly strong.

He has 4 daughters (Roseanne, Cindy, Kathy and Tara) and a son (John Carter), all of whom have performed with him at one time or another.

Roseanne Cash has carved out a successful niche for herself in the music industry.

  Click on the link above to buy Sam Phillip's Biography

Johnny Cash Biography

After his term of service was completed he married Vivian Liberto in 1954 and settled in Memphis, Tennessee where he sold appliances while studying to become a radio announcer. In the evenings he would jam with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant ( the Tennessee Two ). Their style of music was known as "rockabilly", a mix of blues and country. (In 1960, with the addition of drummer W.S. Holland, the group was later named the Tennessee Three)
 

Eventually Johnny worked up the courage to walk into Sun Records hoping to get a recording contract...he auditioned for producer, Sam Phillips, singing mostly gospel tunes. Phillips told him to "go home and sin, then come back with a song I can sell"

Johnny Cash persevered and won over Phillips with songs such as "Cry Cry Cry" and "Hey Porter" which enjoyed reasonable success on the Country Hit Parade. His next record "Folsom Prison Blues" made the country Top 5 and "I Walk the Line" made number 1 and also crossed over into the pop charts in the top 20.

Johnny Cash became the first Sun artist to release a long-playing record, but he began to realize he was limited with such a small label. He signed a promising contract with Columbia Records in 1958 where "Don't Take Your Guns To Town" would become one of his biggest hits.

In 1958, Cash moved to Ventura, California, where he became  more and more dependant on amphetamines and alcohol which came close to killing him.  Despite his drug dependency, Cash continued to record a slew of popular hits over the next few years, including Ring of Fire" (1963) and "Understand Your Man" (1964).  He also appeared regularly on the Louisiana Hayride and Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts through the early 1960s. 

People think that he served a prison term due to his drug abuse, but he actually only spent short stays for misdemeanors (usually overnights). His most serious conflict with the law was when he was on tour in 1965. He was smuggling illegal amphetamines in his guitar case when the El Paso Narcotic Squad arrested him, suspecting him of smuggling heroin. He only received a  suspended sentence. Another time he was arrested late at night for trespassing on private property to pick flowers. More noteworthy is the fact that he entered many prisons voluntarily in order to perform for the inmates for whom he had a great compassion.

During the mid-1960s, Cash's destructive behavior worsened and his personal life spiraled out of control. In 1966 Vivien filed for a divorce and Cash decided to return to Memphis.  The following year, he connected with singer-songwriter June Carter, a member of the founding family of country music. The couple collaborated on a succession of acclaimed duet recordings, including "Jackson" and "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man" (both 1967), before marrying in 1968.   June was instrumental in her husband's recovery from drug addiction and a new faith-filled life in Christ. The love ballad "Flesh and Blood" is one of many songs Johnny Cash wrote of his life-long love for his soulmate.

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