# data[].attributes.body
Michael Streissguth, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison: The Making Of A Masterpiece, 2005.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Johnny Cash is one of the most important, influential and respected artists in the history of recorded music. From his monumental live prison albums, to his extraordinary series of commentaries on the American spirit and the human condition, to a mesmerizing canon of gospel recordings, to his remarkable and unprecedented late-life artistic triumphs of will and wisdom, his impact on our culture is profound and continuing.

John R. Cash was born into a family of Arkansas sharecroppers in the middle of the Great Depression, and that hardscrabble life instilled in him a reverence for family, the earth, God and truth that informed his incredible life and vision over a half-century career. After a stint in the United States Air Force, where he distinguished himself as a radio intercept operator, and less-successful efforts as an automobile factory worker and door-to-door home goods salesman, Johnny broke onto the music scene in 1955 on Memphis' fabled Sun Records. It was here, at the "birthplace of rock and roll," where the world was introduced to his singular voice and compelling songwriting, through such eternal classics as "I Walk the Line," "Big River" and "Folsom Prison Blues."

As Johnny matured as an artist, he took his disciples on soaring adventures of the mind and soul, including Ride This Train, a travelogue of the sights and sounds of his beloved country; Blood, Sweat and Tears, the Cash canon of working man blues; Bitter Tears, a searing examination of the treatment of Native Americans; The Holy Land, Hymns from the Heart and other deeply personal statements of faith and devotion; and, of course, the historic concerts at Folsom Prison and San Quentin, where he demonstrated that compassion and healing are more integral to humanity than retribution and disdain.

In 1969, The Johnny Cash Show was a groundbreaking fusion of musical styles, fresh voices and enduring legends that elevated him to the pinnacle of his craft, taking him to stages such as the White House, Carnegie Hall, behind the Iron Curtain and even Northern Ireland, where the combatants in the Troubles temporarily ceased the hostilities to gather together in a Belfast church to hear him sing-albeit from opposite sides of the aisle. When he became the biggest selling recording artist on earth, it was an affirmation of his universality.

While most artists follow Neil Young's adage, and either burn out or fade away, Johnny did neither. In his later years, new audiences flocked to hear his consideration of what it means to be human. His powerful statements on love, forgiveness and life and death spoke across time and generations, and still do today. At the end of his life, Johnny Cash had become not only the champion and the conscience of the American Experience, but a portal through which mortals glimpse immortality, an exemplar of overcoming adversity through honesty, and a role model in the everlasting pursuit of Redemption and the promise of the unclouded day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Johnny Cash's impact on our culture is profound and continuing, from his monumental live prison albums, to his extraordinary series of commentaries on the American spirit and the human condition, to a mesmerizing canon of gospel recordings, to his remarkable late-life artistic triumphs of will and wisdom.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny R. Cash was born in Arkansas Sharecropper, in the middle of the Great Depression. Birthday February 26, 1932.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LANDSBERG, Germany - Many famous musicians have served in the armed forces, but it's unlikely that any assignment to Europe influenced the history of rock 'n' roll and country music as much as when Johnny Cash learned to play the guitar here.

At 19, Cash volunteered to join the Air Force during the Korean War. He left his native Arkansas for Texas to begin training, then spent most of his time in service stationed in Landsberg am Lech, in southern Bavaria, working as a Morse code interceptor.

The base at Landsberg, Germany, was the scene of heavy U.S. military activity in the decade following Word War II and was maintained into the 1980s. It is now a German air force base.

In 1951, unable to travel, away from friends and family and with only one phone call home allowed per year, the young Cash felt lonely and isolated from the world when he arrived in Landsberg, he would later say.

On the third day, when Cash saw the documentary "Inside Folsom Prison" at the base theater, the film had a big impact on him and the music world. Afterward, he wrote the hit song "Folsom Prison Blues," according to letters he sent back to his first wife, Vivian Liberto.

"He (Johnny Cash) was here against his will, with no friends, not able to leave. So when he saw this film, it struck him that 'they are like me. We are all prisoners here,' and it left an impression on him that stuck with him his whole life," base historian Herbert Wintersohl said. "It was a very influential period of his life."

As a radio interceptor, Cash worked in shifts and had a lot of time with not much to do, Wintersohl said. Thankfully for music, Cash bought a guitar in a local store off base and began learning to play. Cash eventually started his first band on base, called the "Landsberg Barbarians," a play on the name of the base newspaper, the "Landsberg Bavarian."

He played at events that would routinely pack the local officer club, Wintersohl said.

During his three years in Germany, Cash worked on many songs that would later become famous. He also met an airman who referred to his service-issued footwear as "blue suede shoes." He suggested while on tour in 1955 with Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley that the description would make a good song.

When he was done with his Air Force tour in 1954, Cash returned to the United States and began the career that would have a lasting effect on both rock 'n' roll and country music.

"Although he was only here (in Germany) for three years, it had a huge impact on who he became and, of course, the music that he became famous for," Wintersohl said.

egnash.martin@stripes.com Twitter: @Marty_Stripes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Airman in Black - when Johnny Cash was stationed in Germany

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LANDSBERG, Germany - Many famous musicians have served in the armed forces, but it's unlikely that any assignment to Europe influenced the history of rock 'n' roll and country music as much as when Johnny Cash learned to play the guitar here. At 19, Cash volunteered to join the Air Force during the Korean War.

# data[].attributes.body
At the age of 18 Cash joined and enlisted into the military around during the Korean War, he left his tiny town in Arkansas, to do basic training down in Texas and spent most of his time down in Landsberg Am Lech. Johnny would only be able to call home once a year, Which would later make him feel real lonely.

"Landsberg, Germany must have seemed a far-off outpost to an 18-year old from a patch of cotton in Dyess, Arkansas". (p.17)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash wanted to go live again in a jail (The Folsom prison jail) but it was illegal to do so, but johnny would later find a way to do so, and would also later go live at Folsom Prison.

" Thought the 60's. Cash had raised the idea with Don Law, but law couldn't or wouldn't sell the idea. It's not that Law frowned upon Cash's recording live-he had prepared to record him at the disastrous Carnegie Hall show in 1962." (p.61)

# data[].attributes.body
Cash would be stuck in Folsom Prison, and performed new songs in front of many inmates. Cash would later create a Album for it . His first ever live Album would be created. And people enjoyed watching him perform live at Folsom Prison.

"Cash's gallows baritone, through, suggested that its owner just might gun down a man - even worse, a woman - and enjoy watching him - or her- squirm". (p.39-40)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash finding his love of his life.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash would join a band or make a band called the Tennessee three, That produce some great country music, and rock hits. And the band would tour with him around the states and would help him record songs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read The Tennessee Three’s bio and find out more about The Tennessee Three’s songs, albums, and chart history. Get recommendations for other artists you’ll love.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash would go into a deep depression because of his friends death, and would forever have a an resting sad face and wouldn't really talk much to people.

"The lines in Cash's face deepened and shadows of the grim buildings darkened further his black figure." (p.70)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny had a way to express himself while singing and playing guitar, just like Elvis Presly did, but he had his own ways. And people loved the way he moved and sang.

" Through the first five songs, the sounds poured like cream from a pitcher. The band pulsed, Cash hummed, and the Columbia engineers captured the mixture with soft gloves. On stage, Cash stepped like a matador, erect, his guitar a cape. He was El Cordobes. (p.96)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny had 5 kids, John Carter Cash, Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash, Kathy Cash, Cindy Cash. And all of them are very successful and have family's of there own.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Johnny Cash's Children: Where Are His Five Talented Kids Today?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
To music fans, Johnny Cash was the legendary American country singer-songwriter who sang hits like "I Walk The Line," "Ring of Fire" and "Folsom Prison Blues." But to John Carter, Rosanne, Cindy, Tara and Kathy, the Man in Black was just Dad.

# data[].attributes.body
johnny cash was one of few people that traveled around the U.S with music, Cash travelled with his whole crew and performing, around the U.S.

"However, by the 1960s Cash and other country artists regularly appeared un urban centers in the United States and toured widely abroad". (p.161)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny would go on to created one of him most famous albums "Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!".

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash needed help with new rhythms for a song, and he needed to find someone that could help him do so. He chose a person named Bob Dylan to help. Bob Dylan was a big figure in music sense Elvis.

"The mid 1960s when Cash sought out Bob Dylan, the most innovative figures in popular music since Elvis, to help him with a new song". (p.28)

# data[].attributes.body
johnny's new song with his wife would later go on to win a Grammy award in a week of it being out.

"The previous year which would be awarded a Grammy in a matter of weeks. Dueling lovers in song". (p.108)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash would later go on to make a song with a inmate, and would perform the song live in front of thousands of people.

"This next song was written by a man right here in Folsom Prison, and last night was the first time I've ever sung this song".  (p.115)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash travelled a lot around the states to perform live, all in 16 song categories. his nights were long but day short as his time planning would take away all his time.

" The Johnny Cash touring show hut the road in mid-January on typically rigorous month-long swing through the mid-south, the northeast, and Canada. When he was off the road in the weeks and months after Folsom and before the scheduled late May album release of the concert, his days were no less hectic ". (p.125)

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash's wife passes away after being sent to the hospital and died of diabetic problems.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Johnny Cash. Picture: Getty

Johnny Cash was a true music icon.

Known as The Man In Black, Johnny Cash was an American singer and actor. His music was known for its themes of sorrow and redemption, and he will be remembered for his deep and distinctive voice.

Johnny Cash found fame in the mid-1950s, and he had massive hits with the likes of 'Folsom Prison Blues', 'I Walk the Line', 'Ring of Fire', 'Get Rhythm', 'A Boy Named Sue', 'Jackson' and 'Man in Black'.

He kept recording many albums towards the end of his life, including various covers of songs by contemporary rock artists such as 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails and 'Personal Jesus' by Depeche Mode.

Johnny is still one of the best-selling music artists of all time, selling over 90 million records worldwide. His music spanned country, rock and roll, blues, folk, and gospel.

1. When and where was Johnny Cash born?

Johnny Cash's birth name was actually J.R. Cash.

He was born on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas.

His parents were Carrie Cloveree (née Rivers) and Ray Cash. He had three older siblings, named Roy, Margaret Louise, and Jack, and three younger siblings, named Reba, Joanne, and Tommy (the latter became a successful country artist too).

His mother wanted to name him John, and his father preferred to name him Ray, so J. R. was chosen as a compromise.

When Johnny enlisted in the Air Force, he was not allowed to use initials as a first name, so he changed it to John R. Cash. In 1955, when signing with Sun Records, he started using the name Johnny Cash.

Aged just five, he worked in cotton fields with his family, singing with them as they worked. His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression led to him sympathising for the poor and working class later in life, and it inspired many of his songs.

2. Who was Johnny Cash's wife?

In 1951, while in Air Force basic training, Johnny Cash met 17-year-old Italian-American Vivian Liberto at a roller skating rink in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1954, one month after his discharge, the couple married in San Antonio.

They had four daughters together: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara.

Liberto filed for divorce in 1966 due to Cash's severe drug and alcohol abuse at the time, as well as his constant touring, and his repeated acts of adultery with other women. Their four daughters were raised by their mother.

Johnny Cash met June Carter of the iconic Carter Family while out on tour, and the two quickly became infatuated with each other.

In 1968, 13 years after they first met at the Grand Ole Opry, Cash proposed to June. The couple married in March that year, in Franklin, Kentucky.

They had one child together, John Carter Cash, born 1970.

Johnny Cash also became step-father to Carlene and Rosie, June's daughters from her first two marriages.

They stayed married for 35 years until June's death in May 2003. After June's death, Cash stated his belief that his only reason for living was his music, and he died only four months later.

3. When did Johnny Cash die?

While hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Johnny Cash died of complications from diabetes on September 12, 2003.

He was aged 71.

Cash was buried next to June Carter at Hendersonville Memory Gardens near his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

4. Why was he called the Man in Black?

By the early 1970s, Johnny Cash had established his public image as 'The Man in Black'.

Cash regularly performed in 100% black suits with a long, black, knee-length coat.

This was rather different to the rhinestone suits and cowboy boots usually worn by most male country acts of the time.

Cash said that he wore all black on behalf of the poor and hungry, as well as the "prisoner who has long paid for his crime", and those who have been let down by age or drugs.

He said: "With the Vietnam War as painful in my mind as it was in most other Americans, I wore it 'in mourning' for the lives that could have been' Apart from the Vietnam War being over, I don't see much reason to change my position.

"The old are still neglected, the poor are still poor, the young are still dying before their time, and we're not making many moves to make things right. There's still plenty of darkness to carry off."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Johnny Cash facts: Country singer's wife, children, career and death explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Johnny Cash was a true music icon. Known as The Man In Black, Johnny Cash was an American singer and actor. His music was known for its themes of sorrow and redemption, and he will be remembered for his deep and distinctive voice.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash would make 4 new songs after his Beloved passed away.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Outlaw, gospel singer, country music legend-Johnny Cash was a lyrical slinger, moving with the times, from his 1956 "I Walk the Line" ode to his wife June Carter to his Vietnam protest with the 1971 classic "Man in Black" and more within his collection of stories spanning more than 90 albums.

A musical marauder, Cash's multifaceted stories galloped through traditional country tales and into reflections on spirituality, morality, and his own social and political stances on war or racial injustice.
[RELATED: Story Behind the Song: "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash]
Cash's storytelling never lacked in luster, from the songs within his catalog to those in the peripheral.

Peeling back another layer within Cash's collection, here's a look behind 10 songs he wrote and co-wrote for other artists.
1. "All Mama's Children," Carl Perkins (1956)
Written by Johnny Cash All your children wanna rock, mama
All your children want to roll
They wanna roll, wanna rock
Wanna bop till they pop
All your children want to rock
In the mid-1950s, Carl Perkins and Cash became friends and kicked off their long-running collaborative relationship. The two began working together when Cash penned one of Perkin's first singles "All Mama's Children," first released in 1956. Perkins would return the favor by writing several tracks for Cash, and even joined his touring troupe in 1965, playing alongside him during his famous Folsom Prison performances, and on several collaborative albums over the years.

The uptempo "All Mama's Children" was later released on Perkins' 1957 debut, Dance Album.

"Rock N' Roll Ruby" was covered nearly 20 times, including a 1974 version by Jerry Lee Lewis, but rockabilly country singer and guitarist Warren Smith was the first to release the song in 1956.
They got a man locked in a cell
That's a free'r man than I
He's gonna laugh right in their face
When they lead him out to die
And he's gonna leave this badland
And ride off in the sky
Hitting No. 1 on the pop chart, "Rock N' Roll Ruby" was Smith's first release with Sun Records and outsold the first releases by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley under the label.

Backed by the solid harmony of The Jordanaires, Ricky Nelson closed his third album, Ricky Sings Again, with a song penned by Cash. Rambling off guitar and vocals like a classic Cash fashion, "Restless Kid" is a slightly darker song about an unsettled young man trying to find his place. Ricky Sings Again also features a cover of Hank Williams ' 1951 hit "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)."
Oh, you wild Colorado, you ramblin' reckless river P
Oh, you wild raging river, like my woman's lips you lure me
Oh you sit there and smile and you hold him by the hand
You make him a failure and break him as a man
You know he was mine you took the things I claimed
Look into the mirror woman ain't you ashamed
Ain't you ashamed that you took all I owned
You lured him away from me with your sweet lies and song
Your kinds're dime a dozen and you think that love's a game
Look into the mirror woman ain't you ashamed Pied piper of the desert, roll on to the sea 7. "Ramblin' Man," Bonnie Guitar (1967)
Written by Johnny Cash
You're the same at noon or midnight and I'd follow where you go
But you're planning no returning, you wild Colorado ied piper of the desert, roll on to the sea [RELATED: 5 Striking Live Performances from the Man in Black - Tribute to Johnny Cash]
Twistin' like a gypsy woman I'd pick you up and carry you across every stream I see
And I'd bundle you in kindness until you'd cling to me
We'd sit beneath strong branches
My arms would twine around
I'd turn your green to emerald
And give you gold all over the ground Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
I'd follow where you go
But you'll never be returnin', you wild Colorado
Though Cash recorded his own version of "You Wild Colorado" in 1964, country singer and actor Tex Ritter released his version first as a single in 1964, then again on his 1965 album, The Friendly Voice of Tex Ritter. The chorus of "You Wild Colorado" remains intact, but Ritter and Cash's verses differ in their individual versions of the song.

Ritter's opening verse:

Cash's opening verse:

In 1964, June Carter Cash was the first to record "Ain't You Ashamed," but she didn't release her version until more than a decade later in 1975. In 1965, Jean Shepard first released the slow country croon, penned by Cash and Carter.

On Waylon Jennings' 1967 album, Love of the Common People, he takes on Cash's "I Tremble For You." In 1979, Cash's version of the song was released on a compilation of rarities, Tall Man. Once Nashville roommates in the mid-1960s, Cash and Jennings had their share of collaborations throughout the decades, including founding the outlaw country supergroup The Highwaymen in 1985, along with Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.

Also listed as "I Love a Ramblin' Man," on Cash's song, Bonnie Guitar sings about how she's drawn to her man's wandering ways. Prior to the release of "Ramblin' Man," Guitar (real name Bonnie Buckingham) became one of the first female country artists to cross over from the country to the pop charts with her 1957 hit "Dark Moon," which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

8. "Fair Weather Friends," Don Williams (1981)
Written by Johnny Cash and Joe Allen

On Don Williams' 11th release, Especially for You, he recorded a duet with Emmylou Harris, "If I Needed You," which was originally recorded by Townes Van Zandt in 1972, and he opened the album with the Cash-penned "Fair Weather Friends." Cash released the song a year later on his 68th album, The Adventures of Johnny Cash.

In 2014, Cash's sister Joanne also released her own rendition of the song with Razzy Bailey on her album Breaking Down The Barriers.

Featured on Randy Scruggs' 1998 solo debut, Crown of Jewels, "Passin' Thru" also made its way on the soundtrack of the 1999 comedy, Happy, Texas, as a duet with Joan Osborne. A four-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, Scruggs played with Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, and George Strait, among other artists throughout his career.

Technically, Brad Paisley never had a writing session with the man in black, though "Gold All Over the Ground" was a song Cash originally wrote in 1964 but never finished or set to music and was left as a poem. With the blessing of Cash's son, John Carter Cash, Paisley was given the lyrics and put some music to the song more than 50 years later. It is the first of Cash's poems to ever be put to music.

Paisley released the song on his 12th album, Love and War. The track was later released on the posthumous poetry collection Forever Words: The Unknown Poems in 2018, featuring a collection of artists- Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Jewel, and John Mellencamp among other artists-singing through Cash's poetry.

"His son, John Carter Cash, is a good friend of mine and decided to dig up some old songs that were unfinished by his father," said Paisley. "He brought one to me that was just a lyric and wasn't really in song form, and he said, 'If you want to finish this and turn it into a song, I think Dad would approve.'"

Clips of Cash's voice can be heard at the beginning and the end of the song as he reflects on how his wife June Carter kept him alive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Songs You Didn't Know Johnny Cash Wrote for Other Artists

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Outlaw, gospel singer, country music legend-Johnny Cash was a lyrical slinger, moving with the times, from his 1956 "I Walk the Line" ode to his wife June Carter to his Vietnam protest with the 1971 classic "Man in Black" and more within his collection of stories spanning more than 90 albums. A musical marauder, Cash's multifaceted stories galloped through traditional country tales and into reflections on spirituality, morality, and his own social and political stances on war or racial injustice.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash, is diagnosed with a Parkinson's-related illness by the name of Shy-Dragger Syndrome. And on top of that he is depressed that his wife had passed away.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Johnny Cash: Farewell to the Man in Black, 16 years later

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sixteen years ago on Sept. 12, 2003, the world lost a musical legend when Johnny Cash passed away in Nashville. Below is the obituary we ran the day after the Man in Black died.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Cash would sing one more song before he passes away.

Video of his last performance - (6) Johnny Cash final live performance - YouTube

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On September 12th, 2003, the world bid a sad farewell to the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. The 71-year-old American icon was still grieving the loss four months earlier of his wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash, when he died from complications from diabetes in the early-morning hours at Nashville's Baptist Hospital.

A member of the Rock & Roll, Country Music, Nashville Songwriters and Memphis Music Halls of Fame, Cash had been enjoying a resurgence in popularity after the release of "Hurt," a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song transformed into a haunting epitaph full of regret and remorse via Cash's unforgettable performance and his frail, gaunt appearance in the now-classic music video. Yet anyone who witnessed the unrelenting sadness in that clip need only see the legend's final live performance, which took place just two months after his beloved June's death - and two months before his own.

The site was Hiltons, Virginia, a short distance from Bristol, the "Birthplace of Country Music," where acts including the Carter Family made some of the very first country recordings. Just three miles down a narrow country road from Hiltons, in a large wooden structure known as the Carter Family Fold, Cash was introduced by one of the Fold founders, Janette Carter, the daughter of Sara and A.P., two-thirds of the original Carter Family with Maybelle Carter. Cash, who toured and recorded with the Carter Family throughout the Sixties, would later become inexorably linked to the family when he married June Carter, the second of Mother Maybelle's three daughters.

Introduced by Janette Carter, Cash was too weak to walk to the microphone unassisted, but insisted on not being brought up to the stage in a wheelchair. Propped up by two assistants, Cash made his way center stage and, for the next 30 minutes, he and his band entertained the enthusiastic crowd, unleashing a remarkable set list consisting of "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," before stopping to poignantly reflect on his late wife in a moment during which the audience fell completely silent.

"The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight," he said. "With the love she had for me and the love I have for her, we connect somewhere between here and Heaven. She came down for a short visit tonight, I guess, from Heaven, to visit with me tonight and give me courage and inspiration, like she always has."

He followed those heartfelt words with a lively performance of the song June wrote (with Merle Kilgore) that became one of his biggest hits, "Ring of Fire." Although he had trouble at times strumming his guitar, Cash continued with the gospel tune "Angel Band," a song that he said his wife, although not experiencing health issues at the time, requested to have sung at her memorial service by the Oak Ridge Boys, Larry Gatlin, and Emmylou Harris.

Cash then returned to his early catalog with a rendition of "Big River," which seemed to renew his spirit, even managing to coax a wry smile during an otherwise stoic set. This led to Cash pointing out the presence of electric instruments on a stage that had been known for adhering to predominately acoustic performances. With Janette and her brother, Family Fold co-founder Joe Carter, seated behind him, Cash recalled Cousin Janette's explanation to the audience when he took the stage backed by electric instruments. "[She] said, 'I know we don't allow anybody to plug in when they're here, but June said that Johnny Cash was already plugged in when she met him," a comment which elicited rousing applause and a combination of laughter and tears from Carter, who would pass away in 2006.

Cash's final live performance was, ironically, a song he had not performed on stage for 25 years. The 1964 single "Understand Your Man" was a six-week chart-topper for Cash, for which he borrowed elements of the melody of friend Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." Written as a caustic response to a fight with his first wife, Vivian Liberto, the mother of his four daughters, Cash was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at the time and his relentless touring schedule placed further strain on the marriage, which would end in divorce in 1968.

As his final live performance, "Understand Your Man" may constitute an unusual coda, but it's also a reminder that throughout his career as a performer and songwriter, Cash was an original: a rebellious, unrelentingly entertaining and imposing presence.
[A version of this story first published in 2016.]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Flashback: See Johnny Cash's Final Public Performance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On September 12th, 2003, the world bid a sad farewell to the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. The 71-year-old American icon was still grieving the loss four months earlier of his wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash, when he died from complications from diabetes in the early-morning hours at Nashville's Baptist Hospital.

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny cash would die 4 months after his wife passes away. his death date is September 12, 2003 due to Diabetes. He has created some of the best songs and, is recognized for being a legendary country singer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Johnny Cash: Farewell to the Man in Black, 16 years later

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sixteen years ago on Sept. 12, 2003, the world lost a musical legend when Johnny Cash passed away in Nashville. Below is the obituary we ran the day after the Man in Black died.