John Ray Cash (February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter. Cash was known for his distinctive voice, the boom chicka boom sound of his Tennessee Two backing band, and his dark clothing and demeanor, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He started all his concerts with the simple introduction: "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash". Fueled by his own rocky personal life and spiritual path, much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. Hits include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Man in Black" and "Hurt". He also recorded several humorous songs, such as "One Piece At A Time", "The One on the Right is on the Left" and "A Boy Named Sue". In a career that spanned almost five decades, Cash was the personification of country music to many people around the world, despite his distaste for the Nashville mainstream. Yet, like Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley, Cash is a figure who transcends genre. He recorded songs that could be considered rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk and gospel, and exerted an influence on each of those genres. Cash is one of ten performers to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams Sr., Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Brenda Lee, Chet Atkins, and Floyd Cramer, as well as Cash's first producer and discoverer, Sam Phillips of Sun Records. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Johnny Cash
When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son,
Always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns."
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry.
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues