Who is johnny cash

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 Carter , who co-wrote what became one of the Man in Black's signature songs, "Ring of Fire" Cash also sought to establish himself as an actor, starring in the movie Five Minutes to Live and a few Western-themed TV programs.

But the schedule and the pressures that faced him took a toll on his personal life. Drugs and alcohol were frequent tour companions while Vivian, left home to take care of their family, which now included daughters Rosanne b.

In , she finally filed for 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 in 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. In early , Cash and Carter experienced more joy with the birth of their first and only child, John Carter Cash.

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" In , he became the youngest living person to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Cash continued to maintain a busy schedule, and he increasingly teamed up with other musicians. Meanwhile, he joined forces with fellow country stalwarts Kris Kristofferson , Willie 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 Wanderer , a 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. After undergoing abdominal surgery in , he checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic.

In , Cash again went under the knife, this time for double-bypass heart surgery. But, like always, Cash pushed on.

A track acoustic album that mixed traditional ballads with modern compositions, American Recordings earned Cash a new audience and a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He followed with another Rubin-produced album, Unchained , and 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 May , but 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. In , the story of his life and career through the late s was made into a feature film, Walk the Line , starring Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as Carter.

In , fans were treated to new music from the late artist. May brought Personal File , a two-CD set of unreleased material recorded decades earlier.

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. In , the 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 presidents and with Billy Graham. You felt like he should've had his face on Mount Rushmore.

In December , it was revealed that another album from Cash had been unearthed. Out Among the Stars , which had been recorded in the early s but never released by Columbia Records, was discovered by John Carter Cash in his father's archives. Thought the s Cash famously dealt with a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol. His marriage was crumbling under his frequent absences, infidelities, and addictions and he was known to cancel or simply miss concert appearances.

He was, in the course of his life, arrested seven times, though despite his outlaw reputation he never spent any significant time in jail. Most of his offenses were related to drugs or alcohol, including a arrest after Cash crossed the border from Texas to Juarez, Mexico and was caught returning with over 1, amphetamine tablets in his possession.

That same year he also accidentally set fire to a portion of the Los Padres National Forest in California near when his camper caught fire, burning hundreds of acres of forest and killing many of the region's endangered California condors. He was sued by the federal government for the crime, becoming the first person ever sued by the U. The popular story he told had him wandering into a cave on the Tennessee River prepared to die only to find God and return from the cave to find June and his mother waiting with open arms.

Cash said that was the day that he swore off pills, although Robert Hilburn's biography of the singer points out that that the cave in question would have been flooded at the time. Though they remained circumspect throughout their lives about precisely when and how they got together, Cash proposed to Carter onstage at the London Ice House in front of a crowd of 7, in February They married just a few weeks later.

Together the two continued in fruitful musical careers for many years, sharing grammy awards in and in addition to their individual awards 2 solo Grammys for Carter and 11 for Cash, including a lifetime achievement award.

Their only child together, John Carter Cash, was born in He would go on to become a musician and music producer in his own right. The couple remained together for the rest of their lives, passing away a scant four months apart: Carter in May , Cash that September. Throughout that time they remained an iconic music love story. You influence me for the better.

We think alike. We read each others minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes we take each other for granted. But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.

The Scene. Type keyword s to search. Mirrorpix Getty Images. Country singer June Carter was a celebrity in her own right and would go on to wed one of the most celebrated country musicians of all time. Getty Images. Johnny Cash would achieve fame not only for his music but also his iconic romance with June Carter.

After they met in the s, June Carter began touring regularly with Johnny Cash and his band. George Stroud Getty Images. Johnny Cash and June Carter visited London a few weeks after their wedding in Johnny Cash and June Carter continued traveling and performing together even after the birth of their son, John Carter Cash.

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