Johnny Cash

JohnnyCash.com

Purchase Johnny Cash products here

Advertise Here

February 26, 1932

J. R. Cash

June Carter Cash (1 March 1968 - 15 May 2003) (her death) 1 child

Vivian Liberto (7 August 1954 - August 1966) (divorced) 4 children

1957 - Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar

1958 - Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous

1959 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash

1959 - Hymns by Johnny Cash

1959 - Songs of Our Soil

1959 - Greatest Johnny Cash

1960 - Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams

1960 - Ride This Train

1960 - Now There Was A Song

1961 - Now, Here's Johnny Cash

1962 - Hymns from the Heart

1962 - The Sound of Johnny Cash

1962 - All Aboard the Blue Train

1963 - Blood, Sweat and Tears

1963 - Ring of Fire

1963 - The Christmas Spirit

1964 - Keep on the Sunny Side

1964 - I Walk the Line

1964 - The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash

1964 - Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

1965 - Orange Blossom Special

1965 - Ballads of the True West

1965 - Mean as Hell

1966 - Everybody Loves a Nut

1966 - Happiness is You

1967 - Johnny Cash & June Carter: Jackson

1967 - Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits

1967 - Carryin' on with Cash and Carter

1968 - From Sea to Shining Sea

1968 - At Folsom Prison

1968 - The Holy Land

1969 - At San Quentin

1969 - At Madison Square Garden

1969 - Johnny Cash

1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume I

1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume II

1969 - Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers

1969 - Got Rhythm

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blues

1970 - The Blue Train

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings the Greatest Hits

1970 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: Jackson

1970 - Johnny Cash: The Legend

1970 - The Walls of a Prison

1970 - Sunday Down South

1970 - Showtime

1970 - Hello, I'm Johnny Cash

1970 - The Singing Storyteller

1970 - The World of Johnny Cash

1970 - Johnny Cash Sings I Walk the Line

1970 - The Rough Cut King of Country Music

1970 - The Johnny Cash Show

1970 - I Walk the Line - Movie Soundtrack

1970 - Little Fauss and Big Halsy - Movie Soundtrack

1971 - Man in Black

1971 - Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis Sing Hank Williams

1971 - Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music

1971 - The Johnny Cash Collection: Greatest Hits Volume II

1971 - Understand Your Man

1971 - Original Golden Hits, Volume III

1972 - A Thing Called Love

1972 - Give My Love to Rose

1972 - America

1972 - The Johnny Cash Songbook

1972 - Christmas: The Johnny Cash Family

1973 - The Gospel Road

1973 - Any Old Wind That Blows

1973 - Now, There Was a Song

1973 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash

1973 - Johnny Cash and His Woman

1973 - Sunday Morning Coming Down

1973 - Ballads of the American Indian

1974 - Ragged Old Flag

1974 - Five Feet High and Rising

1974 - The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me

1975 - Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories

1975 - The Children's Album

1975 - John R. Cash

1975 - Johnny Cash at Osteraker Prison

1975 - Look at Them Beans

1975 - Strawberry Cake

1976 - One Piece at a Time

1976 - Destination Victoria Station

1977 - The Last Gunfighter Ballad

1977 - The Rambler

1978 - I Would Like to See You Again

1978 - Greatest Hits, Volume III

1978 - Gone Girl

1979 - Johnny Cash - Silver

1979 - A Believer Sings the Truth

1980 - Rockabilly Blues

1980 - Classic Christmas

1981 - The Baron

1981 - Encore

1982 - The Survivors

1982 - A Believer Sings the Truth, Volume I

1982 - The Adventures of Johnny Cash

1983 - Johnny Cash - Biggest Hits

1983 - Johnny 99

1983 - Songs of Love and Life

1984 - I Believe

1985 - Highwayman

1986 - Rainbow

1986 - Class of '55: Cash, Perkins, Orbison & Lewis

1986 - Heroes: Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings

1986 - Believe in Him

1987 - Johnny Cash: Columbia Records 1958-1986

1987 - Johnny Cash is Coming to Town

1988 - Classic Cash

1988 - Water From the Wells of Home

1990 - Johnny Cash: Patriot

1990 - Boom Chicka Boom

1990 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1954-1958

1991 - Best of Johnny Cash

1991 - The Mystery of Life

1991 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1959-1962

1991 - Come Along and Ride this Train

1992 - The Essential Johnny Cash

1994 - American Recordings

1995 - Highwaymen: The Road Goes on Forever

1996 - Unchained

1996 - Johnny Cash: The Hits

1998 - VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson

1998 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and San Quentin

1998 - Johnny Cash: Crazy Country

1998 - Johnny Cash: Timeless Inspiration

1998 - Johnny 99

1998 - The Man in Black: His Greatest Hits

1999 - I Walk the Line: The Very Best of Johnny Cash

1999 - Johnny Cash: Super Hits

1999 - Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins: I Walk the Line/Little Fauss and Big Halsy

1999 - Just As I Am

1999 - Rockabilly Blues

1999 - Cash on Delivery: A Tribute

1999 - The Legendary Johnny Cash

1999 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: It's All in the Family

1999 - Sixteen Biggest Hits

2000 - Return to The Promised Land

2000 - Love, God and Murder

2000 - At San Quentin

2000 - A Living Legend

2000 - Super Hits

2000 - American III: Solitary Man

2001 - Sixteen Biggest Hits: Volume II

2001 - Roads Less Traveled

2002 - Essential Johnny Cash

2002 - Twentieth Century Masters - The Milennium Collection: The Best of Johnny Cash

2002 - American IV: The Man Comes Around

2002 - Kindred Spirits: Tribute to Johnny Cash

2002 - Dressed In Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash

2003 - Unearthed (Box Set)

2003 - A Concert: Behind Prison Walls

2003 - Christmas with Johnny Cash

2003 - Live Recordings from the Louisiana Hayride

2004 - My Mother's Hymn Book

2005 - The Legend of Johnny Cash

2005 - Cash the Legend

2006 - Personal File

2006 - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash 16 Biggest Hits

2006 - American V: A Hundred Highways

2008 - Johnny Cash with his Hot and Blue Guitar

Actor

2003 The Hunted (voice) (uncredited)

1998 All My Friends Are Cowboys

1993-1997 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV series)

1997 The Simpsons (TV series)(voice)

1996 Renegade (TV series)

1988 Disneyland (TV series)

1986 Stagecoach (TV movie)

1986 The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (TV movie)

1986 Waylon Jennings: America (video short)

1985 North and South (TV mini-series)

1984 The Baron and the Kid (TV movie)

1983 Murder in Coweta County (TV movie)

1981 The Pride of Jesse Hallam (TV movie)

1978 Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (TV movie)

1976 Little House on the Prairie (TV series)

1974 Columbo (TV series)

1971 A Gunfight

1971 NET Playhouse (TV series)

1970 The Partridge Family (TV series)

1962 The Night Rider (TV short)

1961 Five Minutes to Live

1961 The Deputy (TV series)

1960 The Rebel (TV series)

1959 Wagon Train (TV series)

1959 Shotgun Slade (TV series)

Writer

2005 Walk the Line (book "Cash: The Autobiography" / book "Man in Black")

1973 Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus (writer)

Producer

1973 Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus (producer)

Appearances

2007 Kids' Favorite Country Songs (video)

2005 The Work of Director Mark Romanek (video documentary) (segment "Hurt")

2005 The Special (documentary)

2005 Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement's Home Movies (documentary)

2003 Get Up, Stand Up (TV documentary)

1996-2002 Larry King Live (TV series)

2002 Waylon: Renegade. Outlaw. Legend. (video documentary)

2000 Johnny Cash: Half Mile a Day (video documentary)

2000 Johnny Cash: The Anthology (video)

1999 TNT Johnny Cash Tribute (TV documentary)

1999 An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash (TV special documentary)

1999 In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story (TV documentary)

1998 VH1 Storytellers (TV series documentary)

1996 The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (TV documentary)

1994-1996 Later with Jools Holland (TV series)

1996 America's Music: The Roots of Country (TV mini-series documentary)

1992-1995 Die Peter Alexander Show (TV series)

1995 Lost in Music (TV series documentary)

1995 Radio Star - die AFN-Story

1995 The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (TV special documentary)

1994 The Roots of Country: Nashville Celebrates the Ryman (TV special)

1994 Gene Autry, Melody of the West (documentary)
Narrator

1993 Late Show with David Letterman (TV series)

1993 Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (TV special documentary)

1993 Kris Kristofferson: His Life and Work (TV documentary)

1992 The Crisco Kid

1991 25th Annual Country Music Association Awards (TV special)

1990 Grammy Legends (TV special)

1989 Tennessee Nights

1988 Rockopop (TV series)

1988 The Magical World of Disney (TV special)

1974-1988 Hee Haw (TV series)

1987 I Am What I Am (TV movie)

1986 Liberty Weekend (TV special documentary)

1986 Academy of Country Music's 20th Anniversary Reunion (TV special)

1985 The Winning Hand (TV movie)

1982-1985 Saturday Night Live (TV series)

1983 Salute! (TV series)

1982 WWF Club (TV series)

1982 Johnny Cash: Cowboy Heroes (TV movie)

1982 Country Comes Home (TV special)

1981 Johnny Cash: Christmas in Scotland (TV movie)

1981 Johnny Cash and the Country Girls (TV movie)

1981 Command Performance: The Stars Salute the President (TV special documentary)

1980 Where Have All the Children Gone (TV special)

1980 The Muppet Show (TV series)

1980 Johnny Cash: The First 25 Years (TV special)

1980 The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1980 Good Morning America (TV series)

1979 The Unbroken Circle: A Tribute to Mother Maybelle Carter (TV special)

1979 Country Superstars of the 70s (TV movie)

1978 Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy (TV movie)

1978 12th Annual Country Music Association Awards (TV special)

1978 50 Years of Country Music (TV special)

1977 The Johnny Cash Christmas Special (TV movie)

1977 11th Annual Country Music Association Awards (TV special)

1977 A Concert: Behind Prison Walls (TV documentary)

1976 Johnny Cash and Friends (TV series)

1976 10th Annual Country Music Association Awards (TV special)

1976 The Merv Griffin Show (TV series)

1972-1975 Musikladen (TV series)

1974 Ridin' the Rails: The Great American Train Story (TV movie)

1973 Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus

1973 The 15th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1972 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV series)

1972 Flip (TV series)

1972 Eat the Document (documentary)

1972 Beat-Club (TV series)

1972 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV series)

1971 The David Frost Show (TV series)

1971 Film Night (TV series)

1969-1971 The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)

1971 The Jim Nabors Hour (TV series)

1971 This Is Your Life (TV series)

1971 Johnny Cash i København (TV special documentary)

1971 Warren Roberts Presents (TV series)

1970 Swing Out, Sweet Land (TV movie)

1970 The Everly Brothers Show (TV series)

1970 The Best on Record (TV special)

1970 The Bob Hope Show (TV series)

1970 The Nashville Sound (documentary)

1968-1969 The Kraft Music Hall (TV series)

1969 This Is Tom Jones (TV series documentary)

1969 Music Scene (TV series)

1969 The Andy Williams Show (TV series)

1969 Johnny Cash in San Quentin (TV documentary)

1969 Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music (documentary)

1967 Festival (documentary)

1967 The Road to Nashville

1966 Swingin' Country (TV series)

1965 The Steve Lawrence Show (TV series)

1963 Hootenanny (TV series)

1963 Hootenanny Hoot

1960 The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (TV series)

1959 Cal's Corral (TV series)

1959 The Bell Telephone Hour (TV series)

1959 Boy Meets Girls (TV series)

1959 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (TV series)

1959 The George Gobel Show (TV series)

1959 The Ed Sullivan Show (TV series)

1958 Ranch Party (TV series)

1958 The Dick Clark Show (TV series)

1957 The Jackie Gleason Show (TV series)

1952 Town Hall Party (TV series)

1949 Hometown Jamboree (TV series)

Academy of Country Music Awards

2004 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Video of the Year for "Hurt" shared with Aris McGarry; Mark Romanek

1991 Won Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award

1986 Won Academy of Country Music Award - Single Record of the Year for "Highwayman" shared with Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson

1986 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award - Video of the Year for "Highwayman" shared with Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson

1986 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award - Album of the Year for "Highwayman" shared with Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson

1972 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award - TV Personality

1971 Won Academy of Country Music Award - TV Personality

1971 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Band of the Year – Touring - shared with Tennessee Three

1971 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Song of the Year for "Sunday Morning Comin' Down"

1971 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Entertainer of the Year

1970 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Song of the Year for "A Boy Named Sue"

1970 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Single Record of the Year for "A Boy Named Sue"

1970 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Top Male Vocalist

1970 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Album of the Year for "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison"

1966 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Top Male Vocalist

American Music Awards

2006 Nominated Academy of Country Music Award – Favorite Country Album for "The Legend of Johnny Cash"

1977 Won Award of Merit

CMT Awards

2007 Nominated CMT Music Award –Wide Open Country Video of the Year for "God's Gonna Cut You Down"

Country Music Association

2003 Won Country Music Association Award –Album of the Year for "American IV: The Man Comes Around"

2003 Won Irving Waugh Award of Excellence

2003 Won Country Music Association Award - Music Video of the Year for "Hurt"

2003 Won Country Music Association Award - Single of the Year for "Hurt"

2003 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year for "Tears in the Holston River" shared with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

1994 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year shared with Mark O'Connor; Marty Stuart; Charlie Daniels

1991 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year shared with Willie Nelson; Kris Kristofferson; Waylon Jennings

1990 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year shared with Willie Nelson; Kris Kristofferson; Waylon Jennings

1989 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year - shared with Rosanne Cash; The Everly Brothers

1989 – Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Event of the Year shared with Hank Williams, Jr.

1985 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Single of the Year for "Highwayman" shared with Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson

1985 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Music Video of the Year for "Highwayman" - shared with Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings; Kris Kristofferson

1971 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Duo of the Year shared with June Carter-Cash

1970 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Vocal Duo of the Year - shared with June Carter-Cash

1970 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Male Vocalist of the Year

1970 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Entertainer of the Year

1970 Nominated Country Music Association Award – Album of the Year for "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"

1969 Won Country Music Association Award - Entertainer of the Year

1969 Won Country Music Association Award - Male Vocalist of the Year

1969 Won Country Music Association Award - Vocal Group of the Year shared with June Carter-Cash

1969 Won Country Music Association Award - Album of the Year for: "Johnny Cash San Quentin Prison"

1969 Won Country Music Association Award - Single of the Year for: "A Boy Named Sue"

1969 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Single of the Year for: "Daddy Sang Bass"

1968 Won Country Music Association Award - Album of the Year for "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison"

1968 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Entertainer of the Year

1968 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Male Vocalist of the Year

1968 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Vocal Group of the Year shared with June Carter-Cash

1968 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Single of the Year for: "Folsom Prison Blues"

1967 Nominated Country Music Association Award - Vocal Group of the Year shared with June Carter-Cash

Country Music Television Flameworthy Video Music Awards

2003 Won CMT Special Achievement Award

Dove Awards

2004 Nominated Dove Award Special Event Album of the Year for: "Mansion Over The Hilltop" - shared with The Crabb Family; Nate Cole; Cathy Cole; The Cathedrals

1972 Won Dove Award Backliner Notes for "Light"

Golden Boot Awards

1989 Won Golden Boot

Grammy Awards

2010 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Long Form Music Video for: "Johnny Cash's America" shared with Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville

2008 Won Grammy Award - Best Short Form Music Video for: "God's Gonna Cut You Down"

2005 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for: "Redemption Song" shared with Joe Strummer

2005 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance - Male for: "Engine One-Forty-Three"

2004 Won Grammy Award - Best Music Video, Short Form for "Hurt" shared with Mark Romanek; Aris McGarry

2004 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for: "Temptation" - shared with June Carter Cash

2003 Won Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance - Male for "Give My Love To Rose"

2003 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Cotemporary Folk Album for: "American IV: The Man Comes Around"

2003 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" shared with Fiona Apple

2002 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance - Male for "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night"

2001 Won Grammy Award - Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man"

1999 Won Grammy Award - Lifetime Achievement Award

1998 Won Grammy Award - Best Country Album for: "Unchained"

1998 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance - Male for: "Rusty Cage"

1995 Won Grammy Award - Best Contemporary Folk Album for: "American Recordings"

1995 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia" shared with Marty Stuart; Travis Tritt

1992 Won Legend Award

1987 Won Grammy Award - Best Spoken Word Or Non-Musical Recording for: "Interviews From The Class Of '55 Recording Sessions" shared with Carl Perkins; Jerry Lee Lewis; Roy Orbison; Sam Phillips

1973 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group for "If I Had a Hammer" shared with June Carter-Cash

1972 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group for: "No Need to Worry" shared with June Carter-Cash

1971 Won Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group for: "If I Were a Carpenter" shared with June Carter-Cash

1971 Nominated Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance - Male for: "Sunday Morning Coming Down"

1970 Won Grammy Award - Best Album Notes for: "Nashville Skyline"

1970 Won Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for: "A Boy Named Sue"

1970– Nominated Grammy Award - Album of the Year for: "Johnny Cash at San Quentin"

1970 Nominated Grammy Award - Record of the Year for:"A Boy Named Sue"

1969 Won Grammy Award - Best Album Notes for: "Johnny Cast at Folsom Prison"

1969 Won Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for: "Folsom Prison Blues"

1968 Won Grammy Award - Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio Or Group (Vocal Or Instrumental) for "Jackson" shared with June Carter

MTV Video Music Awards

2003 Nominated MTV Video Music Award - Video of the Year for: "Hurt"

2003 Nominated MTV Video Music Award - Best Male Video for: "Hurt"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1992 Won Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Performer

[ View All Photos ]

Country music patriarch Johnny Cash, the “Man in Black”, has walked the line between rock and country since his early days as a rockabilly singer. His songs’ characteristic marching bass lines have influenced Waylon Jennings and others, while his deep, quavery baritone growl has become a trademark. A preeminent songwriter, Cash has been courted over the years by rock’s elite, beginning with Dylan in the ‘60s. In 1994 Cash returned to the spotlight, boosted by the support of a whole new generation of fans – many of them alternative-rock- aficionados – with the release of the stark (just vocals and acoustic guitar) “American Recordings”. Ill health slowed Cash down in the late ‘90s but did not stop his creative output.

The son of Southern Baptist sharecroppers, Cash began playing the guitar and writing songs at age 12. During high school, he performed frequently on radio station KLCN in Blytheville, Arkansas. Cash moved to Detroit in his late teens and worked there until he joined the air force as a radio operator in Germany. He left the air force and married Vivian Liberto in 1954; the couple settled in Memphis, where Cash worked as an appliance salesman and attended radio announcers’ school.

With the Tennessee Two – guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant – he began recording for Sam Phillips’ Sun label in 1955. The trio recorded “Cry, Cry, Cry” (#13 C&W, 1955) and followed it with “Folsom Prison Blues” (#5 C&W, 1956). Later in 1956 came Cash’s most enduring hit, the million-seller “I Walk The Line” (#17, 1956). At Sun, he was also part of an impromptu gospel sing-along with label mates Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis that was widely bootlegged as “The Million Dollar Quartet” and finally released commercially in 1981 (on the U.K. label Charly).

Cash moved near Ventura, California in 1958, signed with Columbia and began a nine-year period of alcohol and drug abuse. He released a number of successful country and pop hits, among them “Ring of Fire” (#1 pop and C&W, 1963), written by June Carter of the Carter Family and Merle Kilgore. By then, he had left his family and moved to New York’s Greenwich Village. Late in 1965 Cash was arrested by customs officials for trying to smuggle amphetamines in his guitar case across the Mexican border. He got a suspended sentence and was fined. After a serious auto accident and a near fatal overdose, his wife divorced him. By then Cash had moved to Nashville, where he became friends with Waylon Jennings. Together they spent what both have described as a drug-crazed year and a half.

But in Nashville, Cash began a liaison with June Carter, who helped him get rid of his drug habit by 1967 and reconverted him to fundamentalist Christianity. By the time Cash and Carter married in early 1968, they had been working together regularly. They had hit duets with “Jackson” (#2 C&#,, 1967), “Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man” (#6,, C&W, 1967) and versions of Bobby Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe” (#58 pop, #4 C&W, 1964) and Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” (#36 pop, #2 C&W, 1970).

Cash’s 1968 live album, “At Folsom Prison” (#13) became a million-seller in 1968. Bob Dylan invited him to sing a duet (“Girl From the North Country”) and write liner notes for “Nashville Skyline” and Dylan appeared in the first segment of ABC-TV’s “The Johnny Cash Show” in June 1969. The highly rated series, which lasted two years, developed a reputation as an eclectic showcase of contemporary American music, with guests ranging from Louis Armstrong to Carl Perkins to Bob Dylan. Cash had a 1969 hit with Shel Silverstein’s “A Boy Named Sue” (#2), a track from “Johnny Cash at San Quentin”; his best-selling album, the live LP was #1 for four weeks.

In June 1970 Cash performed at the Nixon White House. He and June Carter traveled to Israel in 1971 to make a documentary, “”Gospel Road”. Cash continued to tour and make hits through the ‘70s, including “A Thing Called Love” (#2, C&W, 1972) and “One Piece at a Time” (#1 C&W, 1976). He also became active in benefit work, particularly on behalf of prisoners, Native American rights and evangelist Billy Graham’s organization.

In 1982 Cash regrouped with fellow surviving Million Dollar Quartet members Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis to record “The Survivors”. Three years later Cash hooked up with three other compadrés – Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson to form the “Highwaymen”, releasing “Highwayman” in 1985. The Highwaymen performed together sporadically throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s, recording “Highwayman 2” in 1990 and “Highwaymen: The Road Goes on Forever” (produced by Don Was) in 1995.

Cash’s 25 year relationship with Columbia Records ended in the mid-‘80s and in 1986 he began a somewhat desultory liaison with Nashville’s branch of Mercury Records. By the late ‘80s, his long streak of country hits had ended and Cash complained to an interviewer that he’d been “purged” from Nashville, replaced by contemporary “hat acts”. He continued to perform constantly, however, usually with a package tour that included his wife and her sisters Helen and Anita Carter, as well as Johnny and June’s son, John Carter Cash (other Cash and Carter siblings would sometimes show up too). Throughout these years, Cash turned to acting, in a slew of Western-themed movies and TV shows. He also suffered from health problems and underwent heart surgery as well as drug treatment for an addiction to painkillers.

Already a member of the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame (Cash has more than 400 songs to his credit) and the Country Music Hall of Fame, ash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Also that year came the release of the critically acclaimed box set “The Essential Johnny Cash”. In 1993 he began his return to the forefront with a guest vocal turn on U2’s “Zooropa”; he sang lead vocals on the darkly haunting track “The Wanderer”. The following year, Cash was toasted by alt-rock audiences with the release of “American Recordings”, on the label by the same name, known for its rap and rock artists. Label chief Rick Rubin’s production emphasized Cash’s brooding, deep vocals, backed by his own simple, but rhythmic acoustic guitar. Featuring, among Cash’s own compositions, covers of such artists as Nick Lowe, Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, the album’s songs veered from Cash’s “Redemption” to satanic-rocker Glenn Danzig’s “thirteen”. Appearing solo several intimate venues crawling with hipsters. Though the album only reached #110 on the pop charts (#29 C&W), it received airplay on alternative-rock and college radio stations, garnering critical raves.

In 1996 Cash released another well-received album, “Unchained”, on which he was backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and covered edgy songs by the likes of Beck and Soundgarden. The album won the Best Country Album Grammy and Cash also garnered a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy. Then after experiencing dizziness and tremors in 1997, Cash was diagnosed with the degenerative nervous disorder Shy-Drager syndrome. He retired from the road and began treatments for his illness. In 1999 he was the subject of a televised tribute (featuring Dylan, U2, Springsteen and others) and made his first public appearance since his diagnosis. In 2000 Cash’s health seemed better, and his doctors were beginning to question if they’d made the right diagnosis. Cash released another critically acclaimed album, “American III: Solitary Man”, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. (it also brought him back to Columbia, which had begun distributing the American label).

Cash released "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" in 1964. It was written by Peter LaFarge. Cash received several death threats after releasing this song because it was about an Indian.

Turned down the role of Redfoot, the LA fence in The Usual Suspects (1995).