In 1956, Johnny Cash released his hit Folsom Prison Blues, which he was inspired to write after seeing a film about a prison with the same name.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1956
706 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38103, United States
This impromptu jam session between Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash took place at Sun Studios on December 4, 1956. The famous foursome was referred to as The Million Dollar Quartet. (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1959
Johnny Cash, an Arkansas native, recorded his first single in 1955. He is seen here performing on The Ed Sullivan Show four years later on February 8, 1959. (Photo: Getty Images)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1963
The Tennessee Three with Cash in 1963.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1966
Labeled as The Nation's Newest Singing Sensation, Johnny Cash performed on the musical television show The Ranch Party in 1966. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1969
Arcansas, United States
On April 10, 1969, Johnny Cash performed for about 800 inmates at Cummins Prison Farm. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1971
In 1971, Johnny Cash appeared in the western drama A Gunfight alongside Kirk Douglas.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1976
On May 8, 1976, Cash received an honorary Doctorate Degree of Human Letters from San Diego's National University. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1976
6320 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Cash celebrated becoming the 1,669th entertainer to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with his wife June and young son. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1980
In 1980, Johnny Cash was inducted into the Country Music Association Hall of Fame, becoming the youngest person to be honored so. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
2002
Both Johnny Cash and former costar Kirk Douglas recieved the National Medal of the Arts on April 22, 2002, from President George W. Bush. (Photo: Reuters/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
2003
June Carter Cash passed away on May 15, 2003. Johnny Cash is seen here at his beloved wife's memorial. (Photo: Morris Abernathy/Corbis)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Cash performing in Bremen, West Germany, in September 1972.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Cash teamed up with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings to form the Highwaymen, who toured together from the late '80s through the early '90s.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Cash advocated prison reform at his July 1972 meeting with United States President Richard Nixon.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Publicity photo for Sun Records.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Johny Cash with his family
Gallery of Johnny Cash
1211 Medical Center Dr, Nashville, TN 37232, United States
Cash, along with fellow performer and friend Roy Orbison, arrives at Vanderbilt Hospital after his young son suffered serious injuries in a car accident. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
John Carter Cash, age 3, became the youngest person to perform at a Las Vegas Nightclub. With the help of dad Johnny Cash's microphone, he sang Mary Had a Little Lamb to the crowd. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
ohnny Cash testified before the Senate subcommittee on national penetentiaries on the subject of prison reform. He is seen here with Senator Bill Brock of Tennessee. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Perhaps as an homage to one of his most famous country hits, Cash is seen here 'walking the line' of a train track with a guitar strapped to his back. (Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Throughout the '70s, Cash continued to succeed with the albums One Step at a Time and A Thing Called Love. He also released the best-selling autobiography Man in Black in 1975. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Cash regularly appeared on music shows such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride. (Photo: Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
On The Johnny Cash Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Bob Dylan and Johnny himself performed an acoustic duet. The two became close friends while living near each other in Woodstock, New York.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Despite the fact that Cash originally made his living as an appliance salesman, his lifelong love of music never subsided.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Throughout the late 1950s and '60s, Cash's drug and alcohol dependence contributed to the ultimate demise of his first marriage. Despite the fact that Cash earned an outlaw image for his many run-ins with the law, he never spent more than one night in jail.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash with fellow country singer-songwriter June Carter. The two enjoyed many collaborative successes including Jackson and Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man. Cash and Carter married in 1968.
Gallery of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
Gallery of Johnny Cash
From 1950-1954, Johnny Cash served in the U.S Air Force. He then settled in Memphis, Tennessee and married Vivian Liberto. The couple is seen here at home with two of their four daughters.
Achievements
2003
Johnny Cash died on September 12, 2003, and Time magazine honored the country music icon with a commemorative cover on September 22, 2003. (Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)
This impromptu jam session between Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash took place at Sun Studios on December 4, 1956. The famous foursome was referred to as The Million Dollar Quartet. (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis)
Johnny Cash, an Arkansas native, recorded his first single in 1955. He is seen here performing on The Ed Sullivan Show four years later on February 8, 1959. (Photo: Getty Images)
Labeled as The Nation's Newest Singing Sensation, Johnny Cash performed on the musical television show The Ranch Party in 1966. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
6320 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Cash celebrated becoming the 1,669th entertainer to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with his wife June and young son. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
In 1980, Johnny Cash was inducted into the Country Music Association Hall of Fame, becoming the youngest person to be honored so. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Both Johnny Cash and former costar Kirk Douglas recieved the National Medal of the Arts on April 22, 2002, from President George W. Bush. (Photo: Reuters/CORBIS)
Johnny Cash died on September 12, 2003, and Time magazine honored the country music icon with a commemorative cover on September 22, 2003. (Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)
Cash teamed up with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings to form the Highwaymen, who toured together from the late '80s through the early '90s.
1211 Medical Center Dr, Nashville, TN 37232, United States
Cash, along with fellow performer and friend Roy Orbison, arrives at Vanderbilt Hospital after his young son suffered serious injuries in a car accident. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
John Carter Cash, age 3, became the youngest person to perform at a Las Vegas Nightclub. With the help of dad Johnny Cash's microphone, he sang Mary Had a Little Lamb to the crowd. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
ohnny Cash testified before the Senate subcommittee on national penetentiaries on the subject of prison reform. He is seen here with Senator Bill Brock of Tennessee. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
Perhaps as an homage to one of his most famous country hits, Cash is seen here 'walking the line' of a train track with a guitar strapped to his back. (Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)
Throughout the '70s, Cash continued to succeed with the albums One Step at a Time and A Thing Called Love. He also released the best-selling autobiography Man in Black in 1975. (Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS)
On The Johnny Cash Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Bob Dylan and Johnny himself performed an acoustic duet. The two became close friends while living near each other in Woodstock, New York.
Throughout the late 1950s and '60s, Cash's drug and alcohol dependence contributed to the ultimate demise of his first marriage. Despite the fact that Cash earned an outlaw image for his many run-ins with the law, he never spent more than one night in jail.
Johnny Cash with fellow country singer-songwriter June Carter. The two enjoyed many collaborative successes including Jackson and Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man. Cash and Carter married in 1968.
From 1950-1954, Johnny Cash served in the U.S Air Force. He then settled in Memphis, Tennessee and married Vivian Liberto. The couple is seen here at home with two of their four daughters.
John R. Cash was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author. He is considered to be one of the most influential figures in country music since the 1950s.
Background
Ethnicity:
Cash had English, and smaller amounts of Scottish and Irish, ancestry. His surname, "Cash", traced back to Scotland.
Cash was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, United States. Johnny R. Cash was the fourth of the seven children born to Carrie Cloveree and Ray Cash in Kingsland, Arkansas. When he was just three years old, the family shifted to Dyess, Arkansas.
Cash spent much of the next 15 years out in the fields, working alongside his parents and siblings to help pay off their debts. It wasn't an easy life, and music was one of the ways the Cash family found escape from some of the hardships. Songs surrounded the young Cash, be it his mother's folk and hymn ballads, or the working music people sang out in the fields.
From an early age Cash, who began writing songs at age 12, showed a love for the music that enveloped his life. Sensing her boy's gift for song, Carrie scraped together enough money so that he could take singing lessons. However, after just three lessons his teacher, enthralled with Cash's already unique singing style, told him to stop taking lessons and to never deviate from his natural voice.
Religion, too, had a strong impact on Cash's childhood. His mother was a devout member of the Pentecostal Church of God, and his older brother Jack seemed committed to joining the priesthood until his tragic death in 1944 in an electric-saw accident. The experiences of his early farming life and religion became recurring themes in Cash's career.
Education
Johny Cash graduated from Dyess High School in 1950.
In 1950, Cash graduated high school and left Dyess to seek employment, venturing to Pontiac, Michigan, for a brief stint at an auto body plant. That summer he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as "John R. Cash" - military regulations required a full first name - and he was sent for training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where he met future wife Vivian Liberto. For the bulk of his four years in the Air Force, Cash was stationed in Landsberg, West Germany, where he worked as a radio intercept officer, eavesdropping on Soviet radio traffic.
It was also in Germany that Cash began to turn more of his attention toward music. With a few of his Air Force buddies, he formed the Landsberg Barbarians, giving Cash a chance to play live shows, teach himself more of the guitar and take a shot at songwriting. "We were terrible," he said later, "but that Lowenbrau beer will make you feel like you're great. We'd take our instruments to these honky-tonks and play until they threw us out or a fight started."
After his discharge in July 1954, Cash married Vivian and settled with her in Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked, as best he could, as an appliance salesman. Pursuing music on the side, Cash teamed up with a couple of mechanics, Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, who worked with Cash's older brother Roy. The young musicians soon formed a tight bond, with the crew and their wives often heading over to one of their houses to play music, much of it gospel.
Cash, who banged away on an old $5 guitar he'd purchased in Germany, became the frontman for the group, and they honed their unique synthesis of blues and country-and-western music through live performances. "He was a decent singer, not a great one," wrote Marshall Grant, in his 2006 autobiography, I Was There When it Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash. "But there was power and presence in his voice."
In July 1954, another Memphis musician, Elvis Presley, cut his first record, sparking a wave of Elvis-mania as well as an interest in the local producer, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who had issued the record. Later that year Cash, Grant and Perkins made an unannounced visit to Sun to ask Phillips for an audition. The Sun Records owner gave in and Cash and the boys soon returned to show off their skills. Phillips liked their sound but not their gospel-driven song choices, which he felt would have a limited market, and asked them to return with an original song.
The trio did just that, beginning work on the Cash-written "Hey Porter," shortly that first Sun session. Phillips liked that song, as well as the group's follow-up effort, "Cry, Cry, Cry," and signed the newly branded Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. "Hey Porter" was released in May 1955 and later that year "Cry, Cry, Cry" peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard charts.
Other hits followed, including the Top 10 tracks "So Doggone Lonesome" and "Folsom Prison Blues." But true fame arrived in 1956 when Cash wrote and released "I Walk The Line," which catapulted to No. 1 on the country music charts and sold 2 million copies. He released his debut album, Johnny Cash with His Hot & Blue Guitar in 1957, and cemented his fame with chart-toppers like "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Don't Take Your Guns to Town."
By the early 1960s, Cash, who had relocated his family to California and left Sun for Columbia Records, was a musical superstar. On the road for 300 nights a year with the group now known as the Tennessee Three, he was often accompanied by June Carter, who co-wrote what became one of the Man in Black's signature songs, "Ring of Fire" (1963). Cash also sought to establish himself as an actor, starring in the movie Five Minutes to Live (1961) and a few Western-themed TV programs.
In the 1960s Cash’s popularity began to wane as he battled drug addiction, which would recur throughout his life. At the urging of June Carter of the Carter Family, with whom he had worked since 1961, he eventually sought treatment; the couple married in 1968. By the late 1960s Cash’s career was back on track, and he was soon discovered by a wider audience. The signal event in Cash’s turnaround was the album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968), which was recorded live in front of an audience of some 2,000 inmates at California’s Folsom Prison.
The performance was regarded as a risky move by record company executives, but it proved to be the perfect opportunity for Cash to reestablish himself as one of country music’s most relevant artists. He used the success of that album and its follow-up, Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969), to focus attention on the living conditions of inmates in American prisons, and he became a vocal champion for penal reform and social justice. Live appearances in New York and London and his television show,“The Johnny Cash Show” (1969–71), which deviated from the standard variety program by featuring such guests as Ray Charles, Rod McKuen, and Bob Dylan (who had enlisted Cash to appear on his 1969 album, Nashville Skyline), brought to the general public his powerfully simple songs of elemental experiences.
Although Cash had established himself as a legend in the music world, by the late 1980s he faced dwindling record sales and interest. In 1994, however, he experienced an unexpected resurgence after signing with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings, which was best known for its metal and rap acts. Cash’s first release on the label, the acoustic American Recordings, was a critical and popular success, and it won him a new generation of fans. Later records included Unchained (1996), American III: Solitary Man (2000), American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002), and the posthumous American V: A Hundred Highways (2006). The recipient of numerous awards, he won 13 Grammy Awards, including a lifetime achievement award in 1999, and 9 Country Music Association Awards. Cash was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1996 he received a Kennedy Center Honor. His autobiographies Man in Black and Cash (cowritten with Patrick Carr) appeared in 1975 and 1997, respectively. Walk the Line, a film based on Cash’s life, was released in 2005.
Cash was raised by his parents in the Southern Baptist denomination of Christianity. He was baptized in 1944 in the Tyronza River as a member of the Central Baptist Church of Dyess, Arkansas. A biblical scholar, Cash penned a Christian novel, Man in White in 1986 and in the introduction writes about a reporter who, interested in Cash's religious beliefs, questions whether the book is written from a Baptist, Catholic, or Jewish perspective.
He once said: "I am not a Christian artist, I am an artist who is a Christian."
Politics
Cash’s politics were nuanced and complicated. Were he alive today, he would identify more with the Democrats than Republicans. Even so, he never allied with one political party, and he said he never voted in his life. Cash grew up in a New Deal-era government-planned farming community, so it’s unlikely he’d side with government-hating tea party types. He was an outspoken champion of the downtrodden but was careful enough in his defense of certain causes - whether speaking out in the 1960s for Native Americans or playing for prisoners at Folsom and San Quentin - to avoid alienating his fans. Both the left and right claim him as his own, and Cash met with and performed for politicians of all kinds. He was friends with Al Gore, and he put on a memorable concert for Richard Nixon in 1970.
In the wake of Nixon’s resignation, Cash penned one of his most political songs “Ragged Old Flag,” which epitomized Cash’s particular brand of wearied optimism. As a patriot, defender of the underdog, and someone who connected with common folks, Cash was a populist in the best sense of the word. He was born and raised in a “Solid South” where most whites were virulent racists and staunchly Democrat. Cash’s hometown of Dyess, Arkansas, banned black residents. But despite some embarrassing racist outbursts when he was in the Air Force in the early 1950s, Cash was a creature of the New South, where many white southerners saw a way forward on civil rights.
And yet, Cash was oddly quiet about African-American efforts in the 1950s and ‘60s for equality. His politics were more personal. A risk-taking musician himself, he hung out with folkies and defended Dylan’s unpopular decision to go electric. Most memorably, he played for convicts on two smash-hit live albums. He also sung about the plight of Americans on his 1964 concept album Bitter Tears.
As millions of Americans were turning on, tuning in, and dropping out, Cash was getting sober and becoming more political than ever. In 1968, he played a handful of concerts for Arkansas’s governor, Winthrop Rockefeller, during a heated reelection campaign. Cash liked Rockefeller’s stance on prison reform in a time when Arkansas had the worst prison system in the country. With Cash’s help, Rockefeller won reelection.
In 1969, with the Vietnam War at its height, Cash essentially adopted a stance of “support the troops.” He wanted Americans home in peace, but he trusted Richard Nixon to end the war honorably. Cash called himself a “dove with claws.” But, Cash being Cash, he realized the metaphor was redundant: doves already have claws.
In the 1970s, Cash turned inward. He had a spiritual rebirth born of kicking drugs (temporarily) and recommitting himself fatherhood. He still played concerts for prisoners, but he became less committed to justice reform as the ‘70s wore on. Nevertheless, in the “Me Decade,” Cash seemed to embody the values of patriotism, family, and religiosity in an era when the country had seemingly lost its way.
After struggling personally and artistically in the 1980s, Cash found a new audience in the 1990s thanks to producer Rick Rubin. By then, Cash’s most political days were behind him. But he still took an interest in the justice system. In 1994, he sent a telegram to the governor of Arkansas urging him to stop the execution of three prisoners in one day. Cash’s plea, however, was ignored.
Views
Cash chose songs for a running series of compilations of songs that comprised the main themes of his work. The first three compilations are titled "Love", mostly songs he wrote for June Carter Cash, "God", a series of gospels and "Murder", perhaps his favorite subject, but one whose title he encouraged people "not to go out and do". Released slightly later was "Life", mostly songs about hard work and economic struggling.
His songwriting went from a brief process to a very long one as he aged and his health declined. He wrote the song "Big River" while on a short boat ride across New York City's Hudson River in the 1950s, while he spent weeks crafting "The Man Comes Around," one of the last songs he wrote.
Although he could bear it, he disliked being defined as a "country" artist, feeling that his music wasn't really genre-defined and noting that he often stood well outside of the Nashville mainstream (particularly towards the end of his career). Technically, his music contains elements of rock 'n' roll, folk music, bluegrass, blues and gospel as well as country-style music.
After the 1950s, when he wrote almost all of the songs he performed, he performed many covers. On the average album, he was the writer of about a third of the songs.
In his song "Man in Black" he explained that he wore predominately black clothing to honor and remind others of the suffering of the world's poor and oppressed.
He went through much of the 1970s on a sanctimonious cloud, having associated himself with evangelists and turned his shows into gospel performances where he encouraged people to accept Jesus Christ and condemned blatant sexuality and violence in culture. He said in the 1990s that, although his faith remained as strong as ever and many of his songs expressed this, his attitudes had changed and he found his 1970s' overzealousness distasteful, having learned to respect that people should have their own beliefs.
Quotations:
"All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate… I choose love."
"Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money."
"Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight."
"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."
"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space."
"The things that have always been important: to be a good man, to try to live my life the way God would have me, to turn it over to Him that His will might be worked in my life, to do my work without looking back, to give it all I've got, and to take pride in my work as an honest performer."
Membership
Member of Grand Ole Opry, member of the Country Music Association
Grand Ole Opry
,
United States
Country Music Association
,
United States
Personality
Johnny Cash, also known as The Man in Black, had an undeniable charisma. His wild, hard-drinking life provided inspiration for his gritty songs, but put strains on his personal relationships.
Physical Characteristics:
Cash's physical health became more of an issue in the late 1990s. He was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease Shy-Drager syndrome - a misdiagnosis that was later corrected to autonomic neuropathy - and was hospitalized for pneumonia in 1998.
Over the 2003, Cash's health continued to decline. He was devastated when his longtime love, June Carter, died in May 2003, but he continued to work. With Rubin at his side, the singer recorded what would become American V: A Hundred Highways. Just a week before his death on September 12, 2003, from complications associated with diabetes, Cash wrapped up his final track.
The scar to the right of his mouth was the result of a botched attempt to remove a cyst while he was serving in the Air Force in Germany.
Quotes from others about the person
"We were in the studio, getting ready to work - and I popped it in, by the end I was really on the verge of tears. I’m working with Zach de la Rocha, and I told him to take a look. At the end of it, there was just dead silence. There was, like, this moist clearing of our throats and then, 'Uh, OK, let’s get some coffee.'" - Trent Reznor
"Johnny Cash was a rebel, not only just in the musical sense, but he was somebody who was for the people, and an advocate for labour, for workers, for prisoners, people who have been trapped by the criminal justice system." - Michael Franti
"His belief in the power of music to convey ideas - not just entertain - has filtered down to musicians in every field, from alt-rock to hip-hop, from Bruce Springsteen and U2 to Arcade Fire and Kanye West. Popular music is different because of Johnny Cash." - Robert Hilburn
"Just wearing all black comes from Johnny Cash. I'm on the road so much that if I wear all black, my clothes never get dirty. You can't tell if I've worn the same shirt twice." - G-Eazy
"A true musician, like Johnny Cash, should be able to walk into a room with nothing but an instrument and capture people's attention for two hours." - Chris Cornell
"I chose to be Mrs Johnny Cash in my life. I decided I'd allow him to be Moses and I'd be Moses' brother, Aaron, picking his arms up and padding along behind him." - June Carter Cash
""If we want to know what it means to be mortal, we need look no further than the Man in Black. Blessed with a profound imagination, he used the gift to express all the various lost causes of the human soul... Listen to him, and he always brings you to your senses. He rises high above all, and he'll never die or be forgotten, even by persons not born yet - especially those persons - and that is forever." - Bob Dylan
Interests
Politicians
Richard Nixon
Writers
Gary Jenning's "Aztec," Og Mandino's "Greatest Salesman in the World," Khalil Gibran's The "Prophet"
Connections
On July 18, 1951, while in Air Force training, Cash met 17-year-old Vivian Liberto at a roller skating rink in her native San Antonio, Texas. On August 7, 1954, one month after his discharge, they were married at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in San Antonio. They had four daughters: Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara. In 1961, Johnny moved his family to a hilltop home overlooking Casitas Springs, California, a small town south of Ojai on Highway 33. Cash met singer June Carter, of the famed Carter Family while on tour, and the two became infatuated with each other.
In 1968, 13 years after they first met backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, Cash proposed to June, during a live performance in London, Ontario. The couple married on March 1, 1968, in Franklin, Kentucky. They had one child together, John Carter Cash, born March 3, 1970. Cash and Carter continued to work, raise their children, create music, and tour together for 35 years until June's death in May 2003. Throughout their marriage, June attempted to keep Cash off of amphetamines, often taking his drugs and flushing them down the toilet. June remained with him even throughout his multiple admissions for rehab treatment and years of drug abuse. After June's death, Cash believed that his only reason for living was his music.
1990 - ACM Award, Pioneer Award
1985 - ACM Award, Single of the Year, Shared with: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson
1970 - ACM Award, Television Personality of the Year, The Johnny Cash Show (1969)
1969 - ACM Award, Television Personality of the Year, The Johnny Cash Show (1969)
1990 - ACM Award, Pioneer Award
1985 - ACM Award, Single of the Year, Shared with: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson
1970 - ACM Award, Television Personality of the Year, The Johnny Cash Show (1969)
1969 - ACM Award, Television Personality of the Year, The Johnny Cash Show (1969)
CMA Awards - Country Music Association,
United States
2003 - Album of the Year, for "American IV: The Man Comes Around"; Single of the Year, for "Hurt"; Music Video Of The Year for Johnny Cash: Hurt (2003), shared with: Mark Romanek , Aristides McGarry
1969 - Male Vocalist of the Year for San Quentin; Album of the Year for San Quentin; Single of the Year for "A Boy Named Sue; Vocal Group of the Year, shared with: June Carter Cash; Entertainer of the Year
1968 - Album of the Year, for "At Folson Prison"
2003 - Album of the Year, for "American IV: The Man Comes Around"; Single of the Year, for "Hurt"; Music Video Of The Year for Johnny Cash: Hurt (2003), shared with: Mark Romanek , Aristides McGarry
1969 - Male Vocalist of the Year for San Quentin; Album of the Year for San Quentin; Single of the Year for "A Boy Named Sue; Vocal Group of the Year, shared with: June Carter Cash; Entertainer of the Year
2006 - Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, shared with: Ian Cuttler (art director), for "The Legend"
2004 - Best Short Form Music Video, Shared with: Aristides McGarry (video producer), Mark Romanek (video director), for the video "Hurt"
2003 - Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for "Give My Love To Rose"
2001 - Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for "Solitary Man"
1998 - Best Country Album, for "Unchained"
1995 - Best Contemporary Folk Album, for "American Recordings"
1987 - Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Recording, shared with: Carl Perkins (artist), Jerry Lee Lewis (artist), Roy Orbison (artist), Sam Phillips (artist), Rick Nelson (artist), Chips Moman (artist), for "Interviews From The Class Of '55 Recording Sessions".
1971 - Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Shared with: June Carter Cash, for "If I Were A Carpenter"
1970 - Best Country Song, shared with: Shel Silverstein (songwriter) for "A Boy Named Sue"; Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for "A Boy Named Sue"; Best Album Notes, Shared with: Bob Dylan (artist) for "Nashville Skyline"
1969 - Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for "Folsom Prison Blues"; Best Album Notes, for "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison"
1968 - Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group (Vocal or Instrumental), Shared with: June Carter Cash (artist) for "Jackson"
2006 - Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, shared with: Ian Cuttler (art director), for "The Legend"
2004 - Best Short Form Music Video, Shared with: Aristides McGarry (video producer), Mark Romanek (video director), for the video "Hurt"
2003 - Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for "Give My Love To Rose"
2001 - Best Male Country Vocal Performance, for "Solitary Man"
1998 - Best Country Album, for "Unchained"
1995 - Best Contemporary Folk Album, for "American Recordings"
1987 - Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Recording, shared with: Carl Perkins (artist), Jerry Lee Lewis (artist), Roy Orbison (artist), Sam Phillips (artist), Rick Nelson (artist), Chips Moman (artist), for "Interviews From The Class Of '55 Recording Sessions".
1971 - Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Shared with: June Carter Cash, for "If I Were A Carpenter"
1970 - Best Country Song, shared with: Shel Silverstein (songwriter) for "A Boy Named Sue"; Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for "A Boy Named Sue"; Best Album Notes, Shared with: Bob Dylan (artist) for "Nashville Skyline"
1969 - Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for "Folsom Prison Blues"; Best Album Notes, for "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison"
1968 - Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group (Vocal or Instrumental), Shared with: June Carter Cash (artist) for "Jackson"