1. Johnny Cash
By Joey Roach

2. Early Life
Johnny Cash was born on the 26th of February in 1932 in Kingsland , Arkansas , U.S.A to Ray Cash and Carrie Cloverlee . He started working in cotton fields at the age of five and his farm was flooded on at least two occasions which later lead him to write the song ‘Five Feet High And Rising’ He was very close to his older brother called Jack who was thrown into an unguarded table saw at work while Johnny was fishing . He suffered for more than a week before dying on the 20th of May His father blamed him for his brother's death and said he took the wrong son . He was taught guitar by his childhood friend and his mum . He started writing and singing songs at the age of twelve and in High School he sang on a local radio station

3. Air Force
At birth Johnny Cash was called J.R Cash but when he enlisted with the U.S Air Force he was not permitted to use initials as a first name so he changed his name to John R . Cash .

4. Folsom Prison Blues
At a young age Johnny Cash sang in a prison to the convicts and they loved him . He then wrote the song ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ because he was inspired by the film ‘Inside The Walls Of Folsom Prison.’ He recounted the time when he came up with the line ‘But I Shot A Man In Reno Just To Watch Him Die’ “I sat there with a pen in my hand , trying to think up the worst reason for a person to kill another person and that's what came to mind.”

5. Early Career
His career started when he moved to Memphis ,Tennessee with his wife Vivian Liberto and while he was there he played with two men called Luther Perkins (the guitarist) and Marshall Grant (the bassist) and they called themselves the Tennessee Three . One day they plucked up the courage to go to visit Sun Studios but Sam Phillips rejected him and supposedly said “Go home and sin then come back with a song I can sell.” However Johnny eventually got his wish when in 1955 ‘Hey Porter’ and ‘Cry,Cry,Cry’ were released .

6. Family
During his life Johnny Cash had five children and two wives called Vivian Liberto who he married in 1954 and divorced in 1966 and June Carter who he married in 1968 until her death in 2003.Johnny also had another brother that wasn’t Jack who also became a successful country artist who was called Tommy Cash.

7. Death
He was hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville until his death on the 12th of August 2003 aged 71 at around 2:00 am due to complications from diabetes. Some people believe that his health was worsened due to a ‘broken heart ‘ over June’s death less than four months ago.

8. Quick Fire Facts
Johnny was also an author and actor. One of his many novels was ‘Recollections’ edited by his daughter Tara . He helped to dig his brother’s grave. He didn’t write ‘Fire In The Hole’ Anita Carter did ( June Carter’s sister.) He was arrested seven times. He bought his first guitar in Germany.

9. Any Questions ?