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Johnny Cash grew up in a poor farming community and joined the Air Force in He co-founded a band following his discharge, and within a few years Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two had Johnny Cash: The Life hits with songs like "Walk the Line. In later years, Cash joined the country supergroup the Highwaymen and released a series of recordings with producer Rick Rubin. Singer and songwriter Johnny Cash was born J. Cash on February 26,in Kingsland, Arkansas. The son of poor Southern Baptist sharecroppers, Cash, one of seven children born to Ray and Carrie Rivers Cash, moved with his family at the age of 3 to Dyess, Arkansas, so that his father could take advantage of the New Deal farming programs instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt. There, the Cash clan lived in a five-room house and farmed 20 acres of cotton and other seasonal crops. Cash spent much of the next 15 years out in the fields, working alongside his parents and siblings to help pay off their debts. It wasn't an easy life, and music was one of the ways the Cash family found escape from some of the hardships. Songs surrounded the young Cash, be it his mother's folk and hymn ballads, or the working music people sang out in the fields. From an early age Cash, who began writing songs at age 12, showed a love for the music that enveloped his life. Sensing her boy's gift for song, Carrie scraped together enough money so that he could take singing lessons. However, after just three lessons his teacher, enthralled with Cash's already unique singing style, told him to stop taking lessons and to never deviate from his natural voice. Religion, too, had a strong impact on Cash's childhood. Johnny Cash: The Life experiences of his early farming life and religion became recurring themes in Cash's career. InCash graduated high school and left Dyess to seek employment, venturing to Pontiac, Michigan, for a brief stint at an auto body plant. That summer he enlisted in the U. Air Force as "John R. Cash"—military regulations required a full first name—and he was sent for training at Lackland Air Johnny Cash: The Life Base in San Antonio, Texas, where he met future wife Vivian Liberto. For the Johnny Cash: The Life of his four years in the Air Force, Cash was stationed in Landsberg, West Germany, where he worked as a radio intercept officer, eavesdropping on Soviet radio traffic. It was also in Germany that Cash began to turn more of his attention toward music. With a few of his Air Force buddies, he formed the Landsberg Barbarians, giving Cash a chance to play live shows, teach himself more of the guitar and take a shot at songwriting. We'd take our instruments to these honky-tonks and play until they threw us out or a fight started. After his discharge in JulyCash married Vivian Johnny Cash: The Life settled with her in Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked, as best he Johnny Cash: The Life, as an appliance salesman. Pursuing music on the side, Cash teamed up with a couple of mechanics, Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, who worked with Johnny Cash: The Life older brother Roy. The young musicians soon formed a tight bond, with the crew and their wives often heading over to one of their houses to play music, much of it gospel. In Julyanother Memphis musician, Elvis Presleycut his first record, sparking a wave of Elvis-mania as well as an interest in the local producer, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who had issued the record. Later that year Cash, Grant and Johnny Cash: The Life made an unannounced visit to Sun to ask Phillips for an audition. The Sun Records owner gave in and Cash and the boys soon returned to show off their skills. Phillips liked their sound but not their gospel-driven song choices, which he felt would have a limited market, and asked them to return with an original song. The trio did just that, beginning work on the Cash-written "Hey Porter," shortly that first Sun session. Phillips liked that song, as well as the group's follow-up effort, "Cry, Cry, Cry," and signed the newly branded Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. By the early s, Cash, who had relocated his family to California and left Sun for Columbia Records, was a musical superstar. On the road for nights a year with the group now known as the Tennessee Three, he was often accompanied by June Carterwho co-wrote what became one of the Man in Black's signature songs, "Ring of Fire" But the schedule and the pressures that faced him took a toll on his personal life. Drugs and alcohol Johnny Cash: The Life frequent tour companions while Vivian, left home to take care of their family, which now included daughters Rosanne b. Inshe Johnny Cash: The Life filed Johnny Cash: The Life divorce. Cash's personal life continued to spiral out of control. The following year, after a serious drug binge, Cash was discovered in a near-death state by a policeman Johnny Cash: The Life a small village in Georgia. There were other incidents, too, including an arrest for smuggling amphetamines into the United States across the Mexican border, and for starting a forest fire in a California park. I looked like walking death. Cash got the lifeline he needed from his old touring companion, June Carter, who helped him refocus on his Christian faith and get the drug addiction treatment he needed. The two were married on March 1, With his new wife, Cash embarked on a remarkable turnaround. It also provided a forum for Cash to explore a number of social issues, tackling discussions that ranged from the war in Vietnam to prison reform to the rights of Native Americans. A critical and commercial success, the album was credited with helping to revive the artist's popularity. The ensuing decade offered up more success for the artist, as Cash's music career flourished with the release of hit singles like "A Thing Called Love" and "One Piece at a Time" Meanwhile, he joined forces with fellow country stalwarts Kris KristoffersonWillie Nelson and Waylon Jennings to form the Highwaymen, which released three studio albums between and In the early s, Cash stepped into the studio with U2 to record The Wanderera track that would appear on the group's release, Zooropa. Throughout this time, though, Cash's health problems and his continued battles with addiction were nearby. InCash again went under the knife, this time for double-bypass heart surgery. But, like always, Cash pushed on. He followed with another Rubin-produced album, Unchainedand in he published his second memoir, Cash: The Autobiography. Cash's physical health became more of an issue in the late s. He was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease Shy-Drager syndrome—a misdiagnosis that was later corrected to autonomic neuropathy—and was hospitalized for pneumonia in Still, the artist continued making music. Over the next year, Cash's health continued to decline. He was devastated when his longtime love, June Carter, died in Maybut he continued to work. Just a week before his death on September 12,from complications associated with diabetes, Cash wrapped up his final track. Otherwise, there's no reason for me to be here. Inthe story of his life and career through the late s was made into a feature film, Walk the Linestarring Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon Johnny Cash: The Life Carter. Infans were treated to new music from the Johnny Cash: The Life artist. Starkly arranged and sometimes mournful, the songs highlighted Cash's older and rougher sounding voice, which seared with a raw honesty. Not surprisingly, Cash's influence continued to resonate. Inthe community of Starkville, Mississippi, paid honor to the performer and his arrest there in for public intoxication with the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival. He was friends with Johnny Cash: The Life and with Billy Graham. You felt like he should've had his face on Mount Rushmore. Johnny Cash: The Life Decemberit was revealed that another album from Cash had been unearthed. Out Among the Starswhich had been recorded in the early s but never released by Columbia Records, was discovered by John Carter Cash in his father's archives. Underscoring the singer's sustained popularity, the album became a chart-topper following its release in March We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. June Carter Cash was a Grammy-winning country singer Johnny Cash: The Life was married to and performed with country music star Johnny Cash. Singer and pianist Fats Domino was an American rhythm-and-blues artist whose innovative music helped lay the foundation for rock 'n' roll in the s. Singer Johnny Mathis' suave ballads helped him survive the dominance of rock in popular music, and his signature style propelled him to stardom across generations. Country singer and songwriter George Jones released countless hit singles and albums during his lengthy career. Johnny Depp is an actor known for his portrayal of eccentric characters in films like 'Sleepy Hollow,' 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise. Patsy Cline was a celebrated country singer best known for her crossover hits, including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight. Johnny Cash, the Man in Black, was a Johnny Cash: The Life, guitarist and songwriter whose music innovatively mixed country, rock, blues and gospel influences. 50 Johnny Cash Quotes for Living a Full Life ()

Johnny Cash quotes show how the singer viewed the most important things in life; from love, God, music, and life itself. Johnny Cash was one of the greatest musicians of his time. Cash was an acclaimed songwriter, actor, musician, and author. He was incredibly connected to God and his music, and often combined his love for the two. Johnny Cash was incredibly wise, which might be unexpected to some people, and often spoke about being different and not being afraid to be different. This philosophy eventually influenced his music, as did his relationship with religion. Through these Johnny Cash quotes, we can gain deeper insight into that way of living. You can choose love or hate… I choose love. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. Still though, the way we did it was honest. Also read these John Wayne quotes to lead you through life. Why should I be bitter? Everyone I know goes away, in the end. Johnny Cash: The Life is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man. The world you find there will never be the same as the world you left. Whatever you are, you gotta be it. It covers a lot of territory, country music does. Never was. The extent of my dream was to sing on the radio station in Memphis. Even when I got out of the Air Force inI came right back to Memphis and started knocking on doors at the radio station. I love it. What is it? When I was probably 4 years old. My mother played a guitar and I would sit with her and she would sing and I learned to sing along with her. If it makes a point and makes sense, Johnny Cash: The Life people like to read that. The same with musical talent I think. She loves me in Johnny Cash: The Life of everything, in spite of myself. She has saved my life more than once. Listen to your heart. I just follow my conscience and my heart. Follow your heart. Anybody who has suffered a lot of pain has a lot of compassion. You can still be redeemed. As someone says, keep the faith. I have to get fed. I had to get filled up in order to pour out. From his relationship with religion to his relationship with music, and how he went from being judged by people around him Johnny Cash: The Life selling more than 90 million records worldwide, this creative genius has a lot to teach about life. Do you have any other favorite quotes to add? Let us know in the comment section below. Your Johnny Cash: The Life address will not be published. Connect with us. Wise Johnny Cash Quotes 1. Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Related Topics: quotes. You may like Inspirational Quotes. Inspirational Quotes. Latest Articles. The tragic, real-life story of Johnny Cash

Kris Kristofferson once wrote a song about Johnny Cash that contained the line, "He's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction. He was one of the greatest artists country music has Johnny Cash: The Life produced, but at one time he took enough amphetamine pills to dry his throat to the point where he couldn't sing. He was a man Johnny Cash: The Life spoke often and lovingly about his family, but he ruined one marriage with indulgence and adultery, and Johnny Cash: The Life the resolve of his second wife when he slipped back into old habits. He was a main of mountainous religious faith, but at his darkest moment, he is said to have crawled into a cave, never feeling farther from his God. People cared about him because, at heart, he was a good man of prodigious talent and endless capacity for kindness to others, while simultaneously wearing himself down with drugs and alcohol. He lost people close to him, some early on, and survived a hardscrabble childhood marked by poverty and hard labor. He might have been that walking contradiction, but his life was one of breathtaking highs and unfathomable lows. This is the tragic, real-life story of Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash was the fourth of seven children, born February 26,in Kingsland, Ark. When he was five, Johnny started working in the fields alongside his parents and Johnny Cash: The Life. He started at first as a water boy, carrying drinking water out to his family. By the time he was eight, he was picking cotton with them, dragging a heavy canvas sack that started empty, but by the end of the day held or more pounds of cotton. One Saturday morning when Johnny Cash was 12, he begged his brother Jack, two years his senior, Johnny Cash: The Life go fishing. Jack Johnny Cash: The Life he had a job cutting oak trees into posts, working at a table saw — three dollars for a day's labor. In his autobiography, Cash remembered begging his brother to skip the work and head down to their fishing hole, but Jack said no. Cash went by himself, but the time he spent there was listless, and he eventually left and headed for home. His father met him on the road, in a panic — there had been an accident, and Jack was badly hurt. He had been pulled into the saw and cut from his ribs through his stomach to his groin. Jack lingered for close to a week before finally succumbing. Which direction would he have taken? In the dreams, Jack would know what Cash wanted to do, and would look at Johnny Cash: The Life with an admonishing smile. Cash wrote, "There's no fooling Jack. Instead, his problems got worse, particularly with amphetamines. There was just this background tension and anxiety to all of those years. Eventually, he stopped taking amphetamines, but his vigilance would sometimes wane. He was an addict and an Johnny Cash: The Life. He couldn't take just one pill; he needed a handful. He couldn't have just one drink; he needed to empty out his hotel room's mini-bar. His struggles continued in the '80s, when he was prescribed pain medication for various surgeries and illnesses and continued to take them after he no longer Johnny Cash: The Life them. In his autobiography, he recalled being on morphine and valium after a surgery and hallucinating commandos setting up bombs in his hospital room. Cash's struggles required a steadying influence in his life; when he couldn't manage himself, he leaned on his second wife, June. When Johnny Cash was in the Air Force, he incessantly wrote letters to Vivian Liberto, whom he had met at a roller rink, and would marry once he left the service. Their domestic situation was a normal one he got a job and they started a familyuntil he started playing and recording music. He had a hit record, "Cry, Cry, Cry," that compelled him to go out on tour, which spelled trouble for their marriage. Unfortunately, during this time he was also developing an addiction to amphetamines and alcohol, and an eye for the attractive, "sassy" women he'd meet on the road. Around this time, he also met and began a flirtation with June Carter, who would become his second wife. His time on the road made his time at home difficult to bear. He'd stay up all night. He and Johnny Cash: The Life mom would fight. It was so sad. She finally filed for divorce in ; it was granted the next year. Cash, who was at the wheel, spent the drive popping pills, drinking whiskey and swerving. According to an account in Robert Hilburn's biography of Cash, Damon was so irritated with his uncle that he refused to fish in the same spot as Cash once they had parked and set up the camper. What happened next is fodder for debate: Cash said oil from a cracked bearing dripped on a hot wheel, which set fire to grass under his truck; Damon thought an inebriated Cash had spent a book of matches starting a fire to get warm. Regardless, an uncontrollable fire raged around them, requiring the deployment of a rescue helicopter to extract them from the forest. The fire would eventually burn more than acres across three mountains and chase away 49 of the 53 endangered condors residing in a refuge in on the land. The federal government sued Cash, who was belligerent in depositions. According to Hilburn's biographyhe was asked whether he had started the fire, and he replied, "No. My truck did, and it's dead, so you can't question it. The man who sang Johnny Cash: The Life convincingly about shooting a man in Reno "just to watch him die," as he did in "Folsom Prison Blues," was never once in his life incarcerated in a prison. He was, however, arrested several times, for offenses usually related to drugs — either for procuring them or for his escapades while under their influence. Steve Turner's Cash biography tells the story of Octoberwhen Cash took a flight to El Paso, Texas, then caught a cab to take him across the Mexican border to Juarez, where he bought Dexadrine and Equanil tablets on the black market and hid them in his guitar. Unfortunately for him, the dealer was under surveillance for allegedly selling heroin; Cash was arrested at the airport, and held overnight on drug smuggling charges. He also faced charges in El Paso for possession of the pills. Earlier that year, in May, he was drunk and out well past curfew in Starkville, Mississippi when police arrested him and put him in a holding cell overnight to sober up. According to Rolling StoneCash kicked his foot against his cell door so hard that he broke one of his toes. Then, in Lafayette, Georgia in Novemberunder the influence of pills, Cash took a Cadillac Eldorado on a joyride through a forest before banging on the door of a rural home until police were summoned. His arrest once again netted him a night in jail. Johnny Cash told a Johnny Cash: The Life about a time he was in the throes of such drug-related despair that he found himself robbed of the will to live. He said he trekked up to Nickajack Cave, just north of Chattanooga, in the fall of Nickajack, he said, contained the remains of Johnny Cash: The Life cave explorers, "amateur adventurers who'd lost their lives in the caves over the years, usually by losing their way, and it was my hope and intention to join their company. He said he'd never felt so far from God — but as he lay there, an epiphany came over him that perhaps it wasn't his time to die. He got up and found his way out of the cave in the dark, guided by a small draft of air, and emerged promising to quit drugs that very day. Cash recounted these events many times — it's published in his memoir and in magazines and books that cover his life. But the story has many detractors. Marshall Grant, Cash's friend and former bass player, Johnny Cash: The Life it never happened. Also, he wrote, "Cash did not quit drugs that day. ByJohnny Cash had begun stumbling, onstage and off, appearing rigid and unsteady. His daughter Cindy, who was touring Johnny Cash: The Life him, rememberedJohnny Cash: The Life night He was told he had 18 months to live. While dealing with that news, Cash came down with double pneumonia Johnny Cash: The Life blood poisoning, and was in a coma for 10 days. At some point in his recovery, he learned that even the Shy-Drager diagnosis had been wrong; he had autonomic neuropathy associated with diabetes. His touring days were over. After he recovered his strength and a bit of stamina, he went back to work. Even if he couldn't physically handle long tours anymore, he could still play the occasional show, and he could still record. It was the latter that gained him the most attention in his later years, as he teamed up with producer Rick Rubin for his American Recordings series of albums. In AprilJune Carter Cash had been diagnosed with a leaky heart valve and, after a battery of tests, doctors determined that valve replacement surgery was the only option to fix her problem and prolong her life. According to Steve Turner's biography of her husband, she initially balked, saying at 73, she was too old. Johnny Cash begged her to have the surgery; he wasn't ready yet for her to leave him. She had the surgery on May 7, but early the next morning went into cardiac arrest. It took doctors 20 minutes to resuscitate her, after which they put her on life support. Three days later, doctors performed more tests to see if Johnny Cash: The Life responded to stimuli — an indicator of whether she had any brain function. No one was certain how long her brain had been deprived of oxygen during the cardiac episode and resuscitation efforts. Instead, she lingered for three days. On May 15, with her family standing vigil around her bed, June Carter Cash died. Within four months of his wife June's death, Johnny Cash would also be gone, but not Johnny Cash: The Life doing one last bit of work. In the days immediately following June's funeral, Cash reflected on his wife's life and their time together — 35 years of marriage, with very little of that spent apart. He also saw the benefits Johnny Cash: The Life keeping busy; mere days after June's funeral, Cash was back in the recording studio with Rick Rubin, adding to the trove of songs the two had stockpiled for the American Recordings series. His ill health continued, though. In his final weeks, he would be hospitalized with pancreatitis. Two weeks after leaving the hospital, Johnny Cash died of complications from diabetes. He was 71 years old. Cash's legacy as a singer, songwriter, song interpreter, and shaper and re-shaper of country music is unquestioned. There are few figures in country whose shadow looms as long as Cash's; when Johnny Cash: The Life was alive, he was Johnny Cash: The Life than life. That status came at a cost — his problems loomed large as well, and as he suffered, so did those around him, those who loved him, and those whom he loved. But when Johnny Cash spoke, millions listened; when he sang, millions sang along; when he died, millions mourned him. That kid who grew up poor on the cotton farm sure made an impact. All rights reserved. The tragic, real-life story of Johnny Cash.