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A Common Man: Johnny Cash

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"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash", the well-known, traditional, and famous words used by Cash before every show he ever played. Johnny Cash was a musical icon who positively impacted not only country music, but other genres as well.
John R. Cash (Johnny) was born in1932 to a poor family in Kingsland, Arkansas. Born the fourth of seven children, Cash began working beside his siblings and parents on cotton fields at the age of five (Johnny Cash Columbia). This is where his musical influences began. His mother, Carrie Rivers Cash, would sing hymns and other inspirational music to her children while they would toil long, hot days farming cotton. Growing up in The Depression, times were tough, and the Cash family had to work to survive. Cash actually said that he and his siblings almost died of starvation as children (Johnny Cash Biography). After he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the service. While in basic training, he met his first wife whom he married after he was honorably discharged from the military. In 1955, he went to Memphis, Tennessee where he signed with Sun Records and joined in a trio called "The Tennessee Three" (Johnny Cash – Biography). They recorded some of the famous Cash songs such as "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Hey Porter" which Johnny had written while serving in Germany. Johnny gained such a love and passion for music, that it is what he dedicated his life to.
Cash, being born and raised a "common man", did not let that stop him from being more than what his circumstances allowed him to be, he had a major influence on both country music and rock and roll music. Keith Urban (Australian-born country star) quotes, "I think that any artist would have to say that there's some type of influence from Cash in ...

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...And Roll Hall Of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame (About Johnny Cash). No other person has made such an impact of music and people as Johnny Cash has, he is still considered a musical genius. May the phrase, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” live on forever.

Works Cited

“About Johnny Cash.” CMT Artists. Np. Web. 15 March 2014.
Danker, Fred. “The Musical Impact of Johnny Cash Lives On.” Examiner. Np. Web. 13 March 2014
“Johnny Cash.” Lili. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, Sep 2013. Web. 13 March 2014
“Johnny Cash - Biography.” IMBd. Np. Web. 15 March 2014
“Johnny Cash Biography.” The Biography Channel. Np. Web. 15 March 2014
Macnie, Jim. “Johnny Cash Biography” Rolling Stone. Np. Web. 15 March 2014
Sullivan, James. “Voice Of The Common Man.” SFGate. Np. Web. 13 March 2014
Toombs, Mikel. “Cash’s Impact was Countrywide.” UT San Diego. No. 13 March 2014
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