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Artist profile: Johnny Cash

On Feb. 26th, 1932 A boy was born to Ray and Carrie Cash in kings-land, Arkansas. Who would have thought then that this little boy would become one of the most known artists to ever hit. He was born John R. Cash. one of six children belonging to ray and Carrie cash.When John was 3 years old, his father took advantage of a new Roosevelt farm program and moved his young family to Dyess Colony in northeast Arkansas. There the Cash family farmed 20 acres of cotton and other seasonal crops, and young John worked alongside his parents and siblings in the fields.

Music was always a part of everyday life in the cash household. John loved a variety of music whether it was folk songs and hymns sung by his mother or the songs sung in the fields or on the railroads by the workers.

In later years Cash would draw from his life in Arkansas for inspiration: "Pickin' Time," "Five Feet High and Rising" and "Look at Them Beans" are all reflections on Cash's early life. John lived in dyess colony until he graduated high school in 1950. He had then went to Detroit for work but ended up in Pontiac Michigan. It was at that time he started his work in an automotive factory. His time in the North Country was short-lived and Cash soon enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. After basic training in Texas (where he met first wife Vivian Liberto), he was shipped to Landsberg, Germany.

While in the service Cash organized his first band, the Landsberg Barbarians. Cash was discharged in 1954 and returned to stateside to marry vivian. With his new bride he settled down in Memphis Tenn. where he had worked a variety of jobs while trying to get into the music business.

In 1954, Cash auditioned as solo artist for Sam Phillips' Sun Records. He entertained hopes of recording gospel music for the label, but Phillips immediately nixed that idea. By the following spring, though, Cash was in the Sun Studios to record with his band The Tennessee Three. The original group consisted of guitarist Luther Perkins, bass player Marshall Grant and Red Kernodle on pedal steel. Kernodle bailed out of the session and Cash's first release for the label, "Hey Porter" had a sparse, but highly effective instrumental accompaniment. Though an impressive single, the song failed to chart.

Cash's song "cry, cry, cry" managed to hit top 20 at number 14.cash had performed at the opry in 1956.Throughout the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Cash continued to produce remarkable records and charted consistently. "Don't Take


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