Johnny Cash dead at 71

["Kevin O'Neal" <kevinandt@xxxxxxxxx>]

Country Singer Johnny Cash Dies at 71

The Associated Press
Friday, September 12, 2003; 6:09 AM


NEW YORK - Johnny Cash, a towering figure in American music spanning country,
rock and folk and known worldwide as "The Man in Black," has died, according
to hospital officials in Nashville, Tenn. He was 71.

nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and pneumonia in recent years and was
once diagnosed with a disease called Shy-Drager's syndrome, a diagnosis that
was later deemed to be erroneous.

Dozens of hit records like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," and
"Sunday Morning Coming Down" defined Cash's persona: a haunted, dignified,
resilient spokesman for the working man and downtrodden.

Cash's deeply lined face fit well with his unsteady voice, which was limited
in range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches, and
tales of everyday life. He wrote much of his own material, and was among the
first to record the songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson.

"One Piece at a Time" was about an assembly line worker who built a car out of
parts stolen from his factory. "A Boy Named Sue" was a comical story of a
father who gives his son a girl's name to make him tough. "The Ballad of Ira
Hayes" told of the drunken death of an American Indian soldier who helped
raised the American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II, but returned to
harsh racism in America.

Cash said in his 1997 autobiography "Cash" that he tried to speak for "voices
that were ignored or even suppressed in the entertainment media, not to
mention the political and educational establishments."

Cash's career spanned generations, with each finding something of value in his
simple records, many of which used his trademark "boom-chicka-boom" rhythm.

Cash was a peer of Elvis Presley when rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis in the
1950s, and he scored hits like "Cry! Cry! Cry!" during that era. He had a
longtime friendship and recorded with Dylan, who has cited Cash as a major
influence.

He won 11 Grammys - most recently in 2003, when "Give My Love To Rose" earned
him honors as best male country vocal performance - and numerous Country Music
Association awards. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980
and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

His second wife, June Carter Cash, and daughter Roseanne Cash also were
successful singers. June Carter Cash, who co-wrote Cash's hit "Ring of Fire"
and partnered with her husband in hits such as "Jackson," died in May 2003.

The late 1960s and '70s were Cash's peak commercial years, and he was host of
his own ABC variety show from 1969-71. In later years, he was part of the
Highwayman supergroup with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kristofferson.

In the 1990s, he found a new artistic life recording with rap and hard rock
producer Rick Rubin on the label American Recordings. And he was back on the
charts in with the 2002 album "American IV: the Man Comes Around."

He also wrote books including two autobiographies, and acted in films and
television shows.

In his 1971 hit "Man in Black," Cash said his black clothing symbolized the
downtrodden people in the world. Cash had been "The Man in Black" since he
joined the Grand Ole Opry at age 25.

"Everybody was wearing rhinestones, all those sparkle clothes and cowboy
boots," he said in 1986. "I decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if
I could get by with it. I did and I've worn black clothes ever since."

John R. Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Ark., one of seven
children. When he was 12, his 14-year-old brother and hero, Jack, died after
an accident while sawing oak trees into fence posts. The tragedy had a lasting
impact on Cash, and he later pointed to it as a possible reason his music was
frequently melancholy.

He worked as a custodian and enlisted in the Air Force, learning guitar while
stationed in Germany, before launching his music career after his 1954
discharge.

"All through the Air Force, I was so lonely for those three years," Cash told
The Associated Press during a 1996 interview. "If I couldn't have sung all
those old country songs, I don't think I could have made it."


) 2003 The Associated Press

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