Presentation by: Pete Flanders

• Johnny Cash was born on

February 26, 1932

In Kingsland, Arkansas

• He was one of seven children born

to Ray and Carrie Rivers Cash

• He grew up in Dyess, Arkansas

where his family farmed cotton

and other crops on 20 acres

of land.

• The next 15 years of his life was spent working out in the fields with his family

• They sang as they worked picking cotton

• Music was one of the ways the Cash family found escape from some of their hardships

• Johnny first picked up a guitar at age 12

• He took just 3 singing lessons before his

teacher told him to stop taking lessons

and never deviate from his natural voice

• Religion was the second thing thatstrongly impacted Johnny’s life

• His mother was a strong member ofThe Pentacostal Church of God

• Johnny’s faith in God seemed to be solidifiedwith the death of his brother Jack

• Johnny graduated from high school in 1950 and moved to Michigan

• He work a short time sweeping floors at a auto plant before joining the Air Force

During his 4 yearsin the Air Force

Johnny was able to turnto music once again

He started writing songs whilestationed in Germany,

and it was there that hewrote “Folsom Prison Blues’’

• In 1954 he was discharged from the Air Force

• On August 7, 1954Johnny married his first wife Vivian Liberto

• He then worked as a appliance salesman

Formed a tight bound with Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins

As they joined together in music and called themselves,

“Johnny Cash and the Tennessee

Two”

“He was a decent singer, not a great one, but there was power and presence in his voice.” -Marshall Grant

1954 -“Johnny and the Tennessee Two” was turned down by Sun Records because their music was too gospel driven

1955- “Cry, Cry, Cry”- Hit No. 14 on the Billboard charts

Followed by top ten singles “So Doggone Lonesome” and “Folsom Prison Blues”“I Walk the Line” came soon after and hit No. 1 on the charts and sold over 2 million copies

• With fame came great pressure and pressure led to struggles with drugs and alcohol.

• His family life began to struggled while his career continued to succeed with Popular hits-

“Ring of Fire” and

“Understand Your Man”

• His wife Vivian stay home with their 4 children

while he toured and was on the road

300 nights of the year

• In 1966 Vivian filed for divorce andJohnny fell deeper into drugs and alcohol

• He was arrested in El Paso, Texas and found hiding prescription drugsin his guitar case.

“I was taking pills for awhile,

and then pills started taking me.”

-Johnny Cash

• 1967 Johnny met June Carter.

• Their duet “Jackson” won a

Grammy Award in 1967

• They married in 1968

1969• The Johnny Cash Show

• Two Grammy Awards for

“Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison”

1970• John Carter Cash was born

• Hits “A Thing Called Love”

and “One Piece at a Time”

• In 1977 his problems with drugs return and he entered

The Betty Ford Clinic

• Able to clean up for a few years until again

dependent on drugs and entered drug rehab in 1989

• Accepted as the youngest member of

Country Music Association Hall of Fame

• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• The Songwriters Hall of Fame

• Shy-Drager Syndrome and hospitalized several times

• May 2003 June Carter died

• Johnny Cash died on September 12, 2003 due to complications from diabetes

• Written by June Carter

and Merle Kilgore

• Recorded on March 25, 1963

• Biggest hit of Johnny’s career

• Major mode

• High pitch and cheerful Spanish tune

• Johnny’s slow paced bass-baritone singing

• Fast paced melody

• Desire and fire

• Written by Johnny Cash

• “Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two”

• First No. 1 on the Billboards

• Sold over 2 million copies

• Song about love

• When you're in love you'll do anything

• Humming to get the pitch

• “Because your mine, I walk the line”

• 2-note strum in-between 3 chord rhythm

• Written by Johnny Cash

• Wrote while serving in the Air Force

• One of his signature songs

• First Grammy Award in 1969

• Prisoner inside the Folsom Prison and

how life goes on outside the prison walls

• Fast “pick up” from the guitar

• 2 measures of guitar melody

• Guitar solo melody upbeat and fast rhythm

• Bass guitar background 2-note strum

• Higher pitch

• 2 measure upbeat melody

“Jackson”• Written by Billey Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber

in 1963• Johnny and June released their version in 1967• Reached No. 2• Grammy Award in 1968• Johnny proposed to June while preforming this

song onstage

• Major mode

• Quick upbeat fast paced rhythm

• Slower 2-note rhythm bass guitar

• Sung in duet

• “fire went out”

• Humming, singing slowly decrescendos

• Written by Johnny Cash• Released in 1955• No. 14 on the charts• Johnny’s first successful song that kicked off his music career

• “Pick up” from guitar

• Rising contour melody

• Love is not returned

• Background 2-note strum of bass guitar

• Cry, Try, Bye, Lie, Why

• Crescendos “cry, cry, cry”

• Repeating melody

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Gross, Terry, All I did was ask: Conversations with writers, actors, musicians, and artist pg.34

2. 2006 Autobiography of Marshall Grant, I Was There When it Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash

3. http://www.biography.com/people/johnny-cash-9240610

4. Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash pg. 7

5. www.johnnycashonline.com/.../johnny-cash-and-june-carter-cash-photo-...