Johnny Cash

February 26, 1932, was the birth of John (Johnny) R. Cash. He was born in Kingsland, AR, the fourth of seven children. He is primarily known as a country music virtuoso, however he was also a songwriter, an actor and an author. Johnny's career spanned many decades and many genres. He performed rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, blues and gospel.  Johnny is also know as "The Man in Black" for his choice of dark apparel. In the country music industry he is known as 'the philosopher-prince of American country music'. Johnny was called J.R. throughout his childhood. He worked in the cotton fields at a very young age. His family's struggles during the Great Depression inspired a lot of his songs. Cash was a devoted man of Christianity. He wrote and performed many gospel songs in his early years. He married twice in his lifetime and had five children. Two of these children have made a voice in country music themselves. His second wife, June Carter, was accredited country star as well. Throughout his life, Cash struggle with drug abuse. He went through periods  of sobriety but seemed to always find his way back to drugs. During Cash's time in music, he wrote, played and sung over one thousand songs and released dozens of albums. He won many awards and honors throughout the decades as well. Toward the end of his career, Cash covered a variety of songs from several rock artists. The most notable was a cover by Nine Inch Nails entitled 'Hurt'. This video was voted the best video of all time by MTV. Cash died on September 12, 2003 of complications from diabetes. He is buried next to his wife, June, near their home in Hendersonville, TN.