The Man In Black

Johnny Cash, Ð''The man in Black', music legend, entertained millions with his country music for decades, but could he have gotten this far without the help of June Carter Cash? In this paper I will prove that June Carter Cash had a significant impact on Johnny Cash's life and music career.

Johnny cash was born on February 26th 1932 in Kingsland Arkansas. He had a difficult childhood here as at the time the Great Depression was destroying the agricultural economy of his area. FDR began his New Deal administration in 1935 which enabled them to move to more fertile land where him and his family remained and looked after 20 acres of land. He graduated from high school in 1950 and had no intention of going to college so he enlisted in the Korean War and was in the Air force. This is where he bought his first guitar. With this guitar, Johnny and his friends founded a band called the Barbarians. Once he was finished in the war he moved to Memphis where he held down a normal salesman job even though his heart was in the music industry. So in 1954, he was signed to the Sun Records label owned by Sam Phillips, who had also discovered rock 'n roller Elvis Presley. Here he began his music career.

Johnny's music career started off to a good start even without the help of June Carter Cash. His first record Ð''Cry Cry Cry' sold over 100,000 in the southern states alone. His second was a huge hit, Folsom Prison Blues, but his third Ð''I walk the line' sold millions of copies and remained a hit for 44 weeks solid. By 1958, Johnny Cash had published 50 songs; he had sold over 6 million records for Sun when he moved to the New York-based Columbia records label. Johnny moved to California with his parents. Johnny continued to sell millions of records and produce numerous albums, then June Carter Cash walked into his life.

June Carter first caught Johnny Cash's eye when she appeared in the Carter show with her sisters in the 50's. Ever since then, rumor has it, he was in love. He said immediately after seeing her "I'm going to marry her someday"(www.answer p1). She then in 1961 joined the Johnny Cash road show and this is where they first interacted. The connection they had had was like a love story some say despite they were both married to other people at the time. This at first did not seem a factor. Johnny was married to Vivan Liberto Distin as of 1954, with four children Rosanne, Kathleen, Cindy and Tara, and June was married to Carl smith as of 1952. Johnny was oblivious to what this relationship was blooming into and carried on his life and music career which was reaching sky high at the time.

The outcome of this new relationship was good for Johnny's music industry but not his family. At the time when Johnny and June