Michaela King

1

King

Michaela King

Mrs. Stonitsch

English 9 Period 1

13 May 2014

Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

“He strengthened the bond between folk and country music so that both sides saw their similarities as well as their difference.” According to Rich Kienzle, Johnny Cash was the link between two popular genres. He also impacted gospel and rock music by his powerful lyrics. Cash’s compassionate and generous personality moved him further through his career as a singer and songwriter successfully. Johnny Cash made a mark on country music for four decades by his influential lyrics, his bond with religion, and his popularity.

As a child, Johnny Cash was born during the Great Depression on February 26, 1932. Cash was raised poor but his family encouraged him to be religious (“Johnny Cash,” Pop Culture). He was a worker for his family in the cotton fields where he was influenced by country and gospel music. Johnny Cash’s older brother, Jack, suddenly died tragically and persuaded Cash’s music. Cash provided the U.S. in Germany for four years in the air force (“Johnny Cash,” Country Music). Johnny Cash died in 2003 at age 71 because of diabetes (“Johnny Cash, Country”).Mr. Cash’s past will greatly affect him in the future and in his lyrics.

Johnny Cash spoke for the outsiders that he used to be through his influential lyrics. He developed an interest in Indians, prisoners and cowboys. Cash composed songs about the unknowns, who encouraged Johnny Cash to create more songs. Mr. Cash was part of the Cherokee tribe which is what triggered his curiosity (“Johnny Cash,” Pop Culture). Johnny Cash characterized the lives of coal miners, sharecroppers, Native Americans, prisoners, cowboys, renegades and family men (“Johnny Cash Biography”). Likewise, he was a writer for the poor. The poor not only influenced his lyrics but his style too. Cash was known as the Man in Black because of his style and voice. He wore black to represent the poor and the less fortunate (“Johnny Cash Country”). Johnny Cash’s lyrics influenced both rock and country music. As an artist, it is hard to impact two completely different genres (“Johnny Cash,” Country Music). Similar to his encouraging lyrics, Cash’s religion shaped the way he wrote and his lasting effect on those around him.

Johnny Cash’s religion encouraged him to become a braver man and songwriter. At age 10, John Cash was blamed for his fourteen year old brother, Jack’s death by his father. Cash’s father believed that Johnny Cash was the one to die, not his brother. As a child, Cash felt guilt and sorrow. He struggled after his father punished him and Cash could not get over the guilt of Jack’s death and wanted to wash away the pain. He then went to the Christian International School of Theology to receive a degree in theology. His childhood pushed him to become a religious man. Sadly, Mr. Cash pushed God and his faith away after he began a drug problem. He was in a deep hole for 10 years dealing with the addiction to pills. June Carter, Cash’s wife, saved Johnny Cash from falling any deeper. She led her husband to Christianity and to find faith in God. Johnny Cash’s faith began to influence his lyrics. In Walk the Line, a movie about Cash’s life, Reese Witherspoon portrayed June Carter. She thinks that Carter and her loving family encouraged Cash to search for his faith in God. Mr. Cash felt the desire to redeem him from sin. Cash drove a tractor into a lake, like a baptism, to find forgiveness of God, so he could start over. He wanted to get rid of all the guilt and wrongdoings he had made (“A Heart of Darkness”). Johnny Cash later composed songs that were about fault and the forgiveness of God. His songs spoke out to him and the people he inspired (“Johnny Cash Country”). Johnny Cash reached out to his audience through different arguments and different forms of songs (“Johnny Cash,” Country Music). Johnny Cash’s impacted music from his religion, led to his fame and success.

Fame and success wasn’t a priority for Johnny Cash but he was admired. In 2005 and 2006, Walk the Line, a film, and Ring of Fire, a musical, were released about Johnny Cash. He also had a TV show called The Johnny Cash Show that aired in 1969. All three became very successful. Cash was awarded numerous awards throughout his career. A Grammy Achievement Award was given out to Johnny Cash in 1999 (“Johnny Cash Biography”). He received a Grammy for Best Country Album of the Year. Cash was also awarded the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Both of the Grammys represented the genres he was famous for singing. In 1980, Johnny Cash was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1992, Cash was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was the only vocalist who was selected into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, besides Elvis Presley. Two years before his death, the National Medal of Arts was earned by Mr. Cash in 2001 (“Johnny Cash,” Country Music). Overall, Johnny Cash received eleven Grammys before he died (“Johnny Cash,” Country). Johnny Cash was the voice for those who could not speak and that is the reason why he became a victorious, well-known, and kindhearted singer.

Johnny Cash changed the way country is today as well as rock, gospel and folk music. Cash’s lyrics deliberated that the people in his dominant lyrics had a right to be heard. He had a drug dilemma but his faith in God assisted his recovery to become a better artist. Cash became a country sensation after the countless awards he received. Johnny Cash’s significant lyrics, his faith, and his accomplishments persuaded the country genre. The tie between the genres he has persuaded, gave him the notorious name that everyone knows today.