John R. "Johnny" Cash

Singer and songwriter John R. "Johnny" Cash was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas. Growing up amidst the Great Depression on his family's cotton farm, Cash experienced music through his mother who played piano at a local Baptist church and country music radio shows. Cash defined his music with his spare instrumentation often with a Martin D-35 acoustic guitar and his distinctive baritone-bass voice.

• Primarily known as a country singer, Cash drew inspiration from country, folk, pop, rock, gospel and the blues. His songs emphasized personal vulnerability, a sense of loss and grief, empathy and sincere interest in marginalized people.
• At age 40, Cash's fame skyrocketed as he hosted television programs, recorded two of his most successful albums and performed live at Folsom and San Quentin prisons.
• In 1968, Cash married June Carter, a singer and songwriter in her own right, who became his closest and longest collaborator until her death in May, 2003.
• Cash received many honors and awards including the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year (1969), 13 Grammys, and induction into the Country Music, Songwriters, and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. He died September 12, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee.