About Me
John R. Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter.
Cash was known for his deep, distinctive voice, the boom chicka boom sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, and his dark clothing and demeanor, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black." He started all his concerts with the simple introduction: "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
Fueled by his own rocky personal life and spiritual path, much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. Hits include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Man in Black" and "Hurt". He also recorded several humorous songs, such as "One Piece At A Time", "The One on the Right is on the Left" and "A Boy Named Sue".
In a career that spanned almost five decades, Cash was the personification of country music to many people around the world, despite his distaste for the Nashville mainstream. Yet, like Ray Charles, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley, Cash is a musician who transcends genre. He recorded songs that could be considered rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk and gospel, and exerted an influence on each of those genres. Cash is one of ten performers to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame (Cash, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Hank Williams, Don and Phil Everly, Sam Phillips, Jimmie Rodgers, Floyd Cramer), and he shares the honor with Hank Williams Sr. of being a full member of the three major music halls of fame: the aforementioned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
