Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although primarily a considered a country singer, he also crossed into the world of gospel, rock and roll and blues. His influence has been cited by artists spanning nearly every genre of popular music today.

Johnny Cash began his musical career shortly after returning from military service and settling in Memphis, Tennessee. An audition with record producer Sam Phillips resulted in Johnny Cash becoming part of the Sun Records family in 1954. By 1955, his first two recordings, “Hey Porter” and “Cry, Cry, Cry” were being well received by audiences and were being highly rated on the country music charts. However, for Mr. Cash, this was just the beginning of what was to be a decades-long musical career.

As Johnny Cash continued to record, each single became a bigger hit than the one before it. In 1956, “Folsom Prison Blues” broke the top five spot on the country music charts. The following single, “I Walk the Line” achieved even more success by reaching the number one spot on the country music charts, and even crossing over into the top 20 on the pop music charts. Both “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line” became classics that would be forever associated with him, and would be the inspiration for thousands of up and coming musicians.

In 1957, Johnny Cash made his debut at the historic Grand Ole’ Opry. While many of his contemporaries were prone to sparkly, flamboyant, “Roy Rogers-esque” cowboy attire, Johnny’s wardrobe choice would earn him a nickname that would stick with him throughout his entire career. The “Man in Black” was born on that stage and would become his signature on-stage persona.

1958 saw two more hit singles from Johnny Cash. “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” held the number one spot for a whopping 10 weeks and “Guess Things Happen That Way” also achieving a number one spot. These two songs, however, would be the last recordings that he would record and release through Sun Records. Artistic differences and royalty issues with Sun were largely to blame for Johnny Cash’s move to Columbia Records that year. By the end of 1958, his first single for Columbia Records, “All Over Again” was a top-five chart success.

Johnny Cash’s music continued to chart well and expand his audience up to the time of his death in September of 2003. In 1986, his all-time top selling album “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison”, a live album recorded from inside the prison itself, went double platinum. Less than one year before his death, Johnny Cash solidified his reputation with yet another generation by covering “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. This song earned him a top selling video single credit when it went double platinum in April of 2003. Amazingly, this video single sold more copies than any of his top selling singles, including “A Boy Named Sue” and “I Walk the Line”, the latter of which would the title of a highly-acclaimed biographical movie that would be released shortly after his death.