CASH, JOHNNY

born Feb. 26, 1932, Kingsland, Ark., U.S. byname of John R. Cash singer and songwriter whose work sparked a revival of American country and western music. Cash was exposed from childhood to the music of the rural Southhymns, folk ballads, and songs of work and lamentbut he learned to play guitar and began writing songs during military service in Germany in the early 1950s. After military service he settled in Memphis, Tenn., to pursue a musical career. Appearances at county fairs and other local events won him a recording contract in 1955, and such songs as Hey, Porter, Folsom Prison Blues, and I Walk the Line brought him considerable attention. By 1957 Cash was acknowledged the top recording artist in the country and western field. His popularity waned for a time because of health and drug-addiction problems, but in the late 1960s he was rediscovered by a wider audience. His Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison album, his live appearances in New York and London, and in 1969 his own television show brought to the general public his powerfully simple songs of elemental experience. In 1968 he married June Carter of the Carter Family, with whom he had appeared since 1961. His autobiography Man in Black appeared in 1975. Cash won seven Grammy awards and six Country Music Association awards and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. His 1994 release, American Recordings, was a critical and popular success, winning him a new generation of fans.