Johnny Cash lived a wild life; that much is certain about the Man in Black. From his battle with addiction to his on-stage antics to inadvertently burning down a national forest, Cash was not a quiet, relaxed type of country superstar. And unless you’re a hardcore fan of Johnny Cash, you probably have never heard the following wild facts about him. Let’s dive in, shall we?
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1. He Was the First American To Hear About Joseph Stalin’s Death
This is a wild entry on our list of Johnny Cash facts that you may have never heard, and it was certainly a surprise to this writer. Before he became a legendary artist in country music, he was a military man who served time in the Air Force. Specifically, Cash worked as a Morse code operator, working with a team of professionals to crack code during the Korean War in the 1950s. According to Cash himself and his family, he was the very first American to intercept and report the news that Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin had died in 1953.
2. He Didn’t Actually Write “Ring Of Fire”
If you’re a diehard fan, you probably already know this. However, some might be surprised to learn that Johnny Cash’s hit 1963 song “Ring Of Fire” isn’t actually his own song.
Rather, the tune was penned by June Carter, who would eventually become his wife, and Merle Kilgore. The song was first recorded by June’s sister Anita in 1962. Cash’s recording of the song the following year would become the most popular version and would later be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
3. He Was Almost Murdered by an Ostrich
Believe it or not, this actually happened. And anyone who has ever gone toe-to-toe with an ostrich knows that they are surprisingly strong.
Back in 1981, Cash was raising ostriches on his property and had a bad habit of disciplining the large, strong birds by shooing at them with a stick. One ostrich got sick of it and kicked Cash with its huge, sharply-clawed foot. Its claws tore through Cash’s abdomen, and he had to race to the hospital. Honestly, it’s a miracle he survived this ordeal. Ostriches are basically dinosaurs.
4. Jimmy Carter Was His First Cousin
Maybe their politics were somewhat similar, but I can’t think of two people more different than the wild Johnny Cash and the quiet Jimmy Carter, and this is the most surprising entry on this list of facts, personally.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was June Carter Cash’s cousin. By marriage, he became Johnny Cash’s cousin as well. Even though their relation was on the distant side, the trio were actually quite good friends. I can’t imagine what they even talked about, though.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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