[[J.R. Cash]] was born in 1932 into a family of [[seven children]] to Ray and [[Carrie Rivers Cash]].
<img src= "https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/52/18/2b5218c8cb8b5b70901262b7ede8460a.jpg" alt = "Cash Family Photo" width = "600" >Carrie recognized her son's talent at a young age. When he was only 12, she started him in singing lessons with the little money she could save. After only three lessons, she pulled him out of them and told him to never let anyone mess with his natural voice again.
She was much of an [[inspiration]] for his career through her support, and also by guiding him in his faith.
<img src= "https://i.pinimg.com/originals/47/27/8d/47278d09fcb9c772475268f64fb05a2c.jpg" alt = "Carrie Rivers Cash" width = "600" >
In 2004, a year after his [[death]], a standalone disk of gospel songs Cash learned in high school was released. It was titled "My Mother's Hymn Book: Unearthed, Vol. 4", and featured 15 previously unreleased tracks.
<img src= "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-urqSxDy2jZU/UYimC7ZxKFI/AAAAAAAAHts/s5NJm0JLfQ0/s1600/scan0078.jpg" alt = "Carrie Rivers Cash" width = "600" >
Cash died from diabetes on September 12, 2003 from complications due to diabetes--however, most fans atribute his death to a broken heart. He passed away only 4 months after the love of his life [[June Carter Cash]]. He is quoted to having said after her death that he needed something to do every day, or else there was no point on him being here anymore.
Now, you can return to the home page, at [[Your Choice]].When asked what his definition of paradise is, Johnny Cash responded:
<quote> "This morning, with her, having coffee". </quote>
June Carter and Johnny Cash met while Cash was on tour, and they instantly fell for one another--even though they were both in marital relationships at the time. But that could not stand in the way of true love:
<quote> “Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, I got on my knees and told her that I was going to marry her some day. We were both married to someone else at the time. ‘Ring Of Fire’ — June and Merle Kilgore wrote that song for me – that’s the way our love affair was. We fell madly in love and we worked together all the time, toured together all the time, and when the tour was over we both had to go home to other people. It hurt.” </quote>
13 years after they met, Cash proposed an they were married in March of 1968. Together, they had John Carter Cash. They went on to make music together for the rest of their natural lives, and Cash was very open about his dependence on June, especially how she helped him through his struggles with [[mental health]].
<quote> “There’s unconditional love there. You hear that phrase a lot but it’s real with me and her. She loves me in spite of everything, in spite of myself. She has saved my life more than once. She’s always been there with her love, and it has certainly made me forget the pain for a long time, many times. When it gets dark and everybody’s gone home and the lights are turned off, it’s just me and her.” </quote>
<img src= "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/JohnnyCashJuneCarterCash1969.jpg" alt = "June Carter Cash" width = "600" >
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This page delves into the life of rock and roll legend, Johnny Cash. Many know him for a few of his many imfamous songs, but most do not know about the remarkable life he lived. You have two options:
Learn about his [[life story]].
Enter his [[musical stage]] in life.
These two paths will cross many times. Johnny Cash remains one of the most legendary song-writers of all time, with five platinum albums and six gold albums. Here is your challenge: can you make another great album? Pick a choice from each page to select a song to add to your album.
Continue to [[choice 1]].Johnny was named J.R. at birth as a compromise, as his mother [[Carrie Rivers Cash]] wanted to name him John but his father Ray wanted to name him after himself. In 1950, soon after his struggle with addiction began, Cash enlisted in the armed forces. They would not allow initials as names, so J.R. became Johnny.
<img src= "https://tunedinturnedup.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/20130322-222019.jpg" alt = "Carrie Rivers Cash" width = "600" >
Born into a large, but rather poor, family, Cash was raised as quite the family man. He was very close with his one older brother Jack. In 1944, when Cash was 12, Jack was pulled into a table saw at work and almost cut entirely in half. A week later, he died from his injuries. This death contributed to the many reasons behind Cash's struggle with [[mental health]] throughout his life.
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In 1966, Cash performed for his first time at Folsom Prison in Sacramento, CA. He was at a bad place in his life, nearly losing his record contract due to his addiction to pills. A reverand who was friendly with Cash urged him to perform at the prison that the reverand did outreach at. What song should he perform?
[[Folsom Prison Blues]]
[[A Boy Named Sue]]<h1> Folsom Prison Blues </h1>
The infamous line "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die!" actually led people to believe Cash had done hard time, but he truly never did. He does have a mugshot from a drug-related arrest, but thankfully never shot a man in Reno.
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Move onto [[choice 2]]<h1> A Boy Named Sue </h1>
"A Boy Named Sue" was first introduced to Cash a week before his performance at San Quentin prison, which is where the original recording of the song actually took place. A party at the Cash house was filled with a variety of creatives: Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, and none other than famous poet Shel Silverstein. When it was Silverstein's turn to share, he introduced to the party "A Boy Named Sue". Cash asked him to write the lyrics down and, at June Carter's urge, performed the song at San Quentin by singing the lyrics from a piece of paper.
Silverstein was inspired to write the piece by a judge in Tennessee named Sue Hicks, but the story of the song was not true. Sue was actually named it by his father after his mother, Susanna, who died while giving birth to him.
Regardless of how true the song is to real-life, it has quite the backstory and stayed at number one on the Country Charts for five consecutive weeks.
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Move onto [[choice 2]]Jonny Cash is no stranger to recognition. In his career, he earned 15 Grammys along with 35 Grammy Nominations. Why not add a Grammy-win to your album? Pick a winner:
[[Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group]]
[[Best Male Country Vocal Performance]]
[[Best Short Form Music Video]]This might come as a shock to those who know Cash as one of the most-loved American artists (especially during his time): Cash was definitely one for controversy. He was never much of a sit-back and watch kind of guy, so let's add a nice controvercial song:
[[Ring of Fire]]
[[Man in Black]]Cash has to add one final song to the album, but does not have much time. How much time should he spend on this last one?
[[20 minutes]]
[[one night]]<h1> I Walk the Line </h1>
You wouldn't think that much could come of a 20 minute writing session, would you? When on tour opening for Elvis Presley in the 1950s, Cash was tempted by many women who threw themselves at himself and Presley. To remind himself to stay faithful, Cash wrote one of his greatest hits in just twenty minutes: "I Walk the Line".
Others say that Cash's dutiful-husband story was a cover for him being able to pass a Gospel song on his album, stating the song was actually an ode to staying true to his faith. His Sun Records producer said that Cash wasn't "interested" in gospel music. This is further supported by the release of "My Mother's Hymn Book: Unearthed, Vol. 4", taking [[inspiration]] from the gospel music he sung in high school.
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[[Finish]]<h1> Cry! Cry! Cry! </h1>
After signing with Sun Records, Cash's producer Phillips asked for a ballad to go on the B-side of "Hey Porter". Cash rushed home and wrote "Cry! Cry! Cry!" overnight, which ended up being one of his first big hits.
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[[Finish]]While Johnny Cash was never formally diagnosed or treated for his struggles with mental health, he was always very open about it. He struggled with anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, among other things. He mentioned it in many of his songs as well, something that contributed to the power of his music. Probably some of his songs most open about these struggles are "Hurt" and "I See a Darkness" (a cover of the original by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, that he recorded and released on American III: Solitary Man).
<quote>
"I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real"
"And then I see a darkness
Did you know how much I love you?
Is a hope that somehow you
Can save me from this darkness" </quote>
Many people say one of the reasons for Cash's success was how relatable he was: he never masked his struggles, but instead turned them into something that could help others. Hurt won a Grammy for [[Best Short Form Music Video]], and is recognized still as one of the most emotionally powerful songs by Cash.
Cash spoke many times on the darkness he faced, and contributes much of his surviving it to his love, [[June Carter Cash]].
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<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0eg0nRL9dLBaT0X43keMBc" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe><h1> Jackson </h1>
After three nominations in past years, Cash finally was awarded his first Grammy in 1967 at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio, or Group for his record "Jackson" This was a duet with his future wife [[June Carter Cash]], whom he married a month later.
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Continue on to [[choice 3]] <h1> Solitary Man </h1>
At the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2000, Cash won the award for Best Male Country Vocal Artist for his record Solitary Man. He was also nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album for his album American III: Solitary Man.
He went on to win the same award for his record Give My Love to Rose in 2002.
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Continue on to [[choice 3]] <h1> Hurt </h1>
At the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, Johnny Cash was awarded his second to last Grammy, and his first for video. He won the Best Short Form Music Video for his track "Hurt", and proceeded to win his final Grammy in the same category four years later for "God's Gonna Cut You Down". This is one of his most open songs about his [[mental health]] struggles.
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Continue on to [[choice 3]] <h1> Ring of Fire </h1>
As a track that is Certified Gold, remained as number one on the Country Music charts for 7 weeks, and has sold over a million digital copies, "Ring of Fire" is easily one of Cash's top hits. However, it has had its share of controvercial back-stories.
The writing of "Ring of Fire" is attributed to Cash's second wife, [[June Carter Cash]], and is said to be about her love for Cash even with his wild, reckless ways. That is, from her perspective at least. Cash's first wife, Vivian Cash, claims June had absolutely no contribution to the writing of the song and Johnny only said that to help June financially. She claims it is actually about "a certain private female body part". To this day, Cash fans argue over what the true meaning of the song is.
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Continue on to [[choice 4]]<h1> Man in Black </h1>
At the start of his career, many wondered why Cash always wore black. His band originally said it was out of conveniece: at first black was the only color they all had to match. It also was less likely to show dirt.
As Cash grew in fame and popularity, it became more than that. He chose to wear black in solidarity with those who were suffering. In his song "Man in Black", he sings for the many he wears black for:
<quote> "I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times"
"I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said"
"I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold" </quote>
In addition to wearing black as a fight for the voiceless, there may have been an even deeper meaning. Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, said the reason for him wearing black was also to represent the darkness he felt within due to his struggle with [[mental health]]: " it reflected the sadness, the convulsions, just that mythic dark night of the soul that he went through so many times."
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Continue on to [[choice 4]]Congrats! You finished Cash's newest album with a real variety of tracks: everything from classics, to controvercies, to legacy. Even though it was only four out of about 1,500 of his released songs, you selected some of his songs with the greatest back-stories.
Now, you can return to the home page, at [[Your Choice]].