On this day (February 26) in 1932, Johnny Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas. Raised in a government resettlement for poor farmers, he worked the cotton fields by day and immersed himself in the sounds of early country music in the evening. A little more than 20 years later, he was performing on the Grand Ole Opry alongside the artists who inspired him. By the end of his career, he was one of the most recognizable artists in country music history, beloved by music fans of all stripes.
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The story of Cash’s rise to fame feels uniquely American. After a stint in the military, he came home, got married, and found a job at an appliance repair shop. There, he met Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant. They played music together when work was slow. Before long, they were in the Sun Records studios in Memphis, Tennessee, cutting songs Cash wrote while deployed. A few years later, Fluke Holland joined the band, completing the Tennessee Three and solidifying the sound that would become the Man in Black’s trademark for decades to come.
His biography became a blockbuster film. As a result, most know the major beats of his story. He toured with Elvis Presley and other big names of the day, fell into substance abuse, got a divorce, married June Carter, got clean, and co-founded the Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. Timeless classics like “I Walk the Line,” “Ring of Fire,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Jackson,” and “Folsom Prison Blues” are just a few of his contributions to the great American songbook.
Johnny Cash Transcends Genre Labels
Johnny Cash rose to fame early, and while his chart performance and record sales faltered at times, his popularity never really dipped. Few, if any, country artists are as widely recognized as Cash. Even today, decades after his death, he’s remembered as an icon by music lovers the world over. You don’t have to be a country fan to know and love him. Variations of the phrase, “I don’t like country music, but I’ll listen to Johnny Cash,” have been uttered millions of times by as many people over the years.
Empathy is the common thread that runs through Cash’s music. However, it was more than words for him. He acted on those words and feelings. For instance, he recorded two classic live albums in a pair of California’s most infamous prisons. He also spoke to the Congressional Subcommittee on National Penitentiaries in 1977, according to the California State Library. “I have seen and heard of things at some of these concerts that would chill the blood of the average citizen,” he said during his testimony. “But I think possibly the blood of the average citizen needs to be chilled in order for public apathy and conviction to come about because right now we have 1972 problems and 1872 jails,” he added. “People have got to care in order for prison reform to come about.”
The Man in Black
He laid things out clearly in his 1971 No. 2 single, “Man in Black.” In the lyrics, he explains why he continues to wear black. I wear black for the poor and beaten down / Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town. / I wear it for the prisoner who had long paid for his crime, / But is there because he’s a victim of the time, he sings in the second verse. He goes on, naming many other forgotten or overlooked sectors of the population he represents.
This is a shining example of what makes Johnny Cash so universally loved. He didn’t just give lip service to marginalized groups when it was convenient or popular. Instead, he spoke his mind in his music and lived the words he sang.
Featured Image by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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