{"id":39411,"date":"2015-02-26T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T08:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=39411"},"modified":"2015-02-25T16:49:52","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T00:49:52","slug":"day-history-february-26th-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2015\/02\/day-history-february-26th-2\/","title":{"rendered":"This Day in History: February 26th- A Boy Named Johnny"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Day In History<\/a>: February 26, 1932<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cash\"<\/a>\u201cHe is what the land and country is all about, the heart and soul of it personified and what it means to be here; and he said it all in plain English. Listen to him, and he will always bring you to your senses.\u201d \u2013 Bob Dylan<\/p>\n

Born on February 26, 1932, John R. \u201cJohnny\u201d Cash established himself as the international face of American roots music. Never one to be confined by labels, He is the only artist to be inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, as well as The Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame \u2013 a testament to his broad appeal, talent, and huge popularity.<\/p>\n

Johnny Cash was born into a family of poverty-stricken share-croppers in northeast Arkansas, where they worked the cotton fields to scratch out a meager living. Two things profoundly affected the young boy\u2019s life \u2013 the death of his older brother in 1944 while using a table saw, and gospel music. His mother taught him to play guitar, and by the time he was 12 he was writing songs and performing music on the local radio station.<\/p>\n

After a tour of duty in the Air Force, in 1955 Johnny got married to Vivian Liberto and signed a deal with Sun Records. The next year, he recorded \u201cFolsom Prison Blues\u201d followed by \u201cI Walk the Line\u201d, which became his first number one hit on the country charts. \u201cJohnny Cash with His Hot & Blue Guitar\u201d, his debut album, was released in 1957.<\/p>\n

Johnny Cash was Sun\u2019s best-selling artist, but felt he was being held back by the limitations of the smaller label. He then signed a deal with Columbia Records and released some of his biggest hits including, \u201cDon’t Take Your Guns to Town\u201d and \u201cRing of Fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

During this time Cash also developed a serious problem with drugs and alcohol that spelled the end of his marriage and got him banned from the Grand Ole Opry in 1965. With the help of June Carter, he straightened his act out, found God, and overcame his dependence on booze and pills. The couple married on March 1, 1968.<\/p>\n

Cash won two Grammy awards the following year for \u201cJohnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison<\/a>.\u201d The follow-up recording at San Quentin included the hit song “A Boy Named Sue\u201d which became Cash\u2019s biggest selling single, and the CMA\u2019s single of the year for 1969. The song itself was written by famed writer Shel Silverstein.\u00a0 Cash had only heard it, sung by Silverstein, shortly before at a party.<\/a><\/p>\n

As such, Cash was at first resistant to recording it at the show, as he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d have time to learn it. And, indeed, he didn\u2019t, but recorded it anyway.\u00a0 As Cash said,<\/p>\n

I\u2019d only sung it the first time the night before and I read it off as I sang it. I still didn\u2019t know the words. As a last resort, I pulled those lyrics out and laid them on the music stand, and when it came time that I thought I was brave enough, I did the song.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fact, if you watch the filmed recording of him performing \u201cA Boy Named Sue\u201d during that concert, you can see Cash is reading the lyrics as he sings, almost for the entire song.<\/p>\n

From 1969-1971, Johnny hosted a TV variety show that featured an eclectic mix of performers from the country, folk, and rock genres. He continued to hit the road with The Carter Sisters, Mother Maybelle Carter and the Statler Brothers. By the 1980s, hit records were becoming more infrequent, although he did enjoy a measure of success with his friends Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson when they recorded an album as the Highwaymen in 1985 and did a couple of brief but well-received tours.<\/p>\n

Cash worked with producer Rick Rubin in 1994, and released \u201cAmerican Recordings\u201d consisting of only Cash and an acoustic guitar. Stark and dark, the album won Cash a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 1996, his album \u201cUnchained\u201d was awarded a Grammy for Best Country Album.<\/p>\n

In 1997, Johnny\u2019s autobiography, \u201cCash: The Autobiography<\/a>\u201d was published. At that time, he also revealed he was suffering from Shy-Drager Syndrome, a rare nerve disorder characterized by worsening stiffness, weakness, and tremors. His health continued to decline and he seldom appeared in public, although he still continued to record music.<\/p>\n

June Carter Cash died in May of 2003 from complications following a heart valve replacement surgery. She was 73 years old. Johnny continued to work, but only lived four months longer than his beloved wife, dying from diabetes-associated causes at the age of 71.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Google Play Music<\/a>, Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n