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Johnny Cash died 20 years ago. The country legend played by his own rules throughout his life.
20 years ago, on September 12, 2003, Johnny Cash died at the age of 71. The American went down in history as one of the most influential country musicians. However, his path to the Country Olympus was anything but straight.
Celebrated as a folk hero in the 1960s and 1970s, Cash’s career suffered in the 1980s. Country music and synthesizers didn’t really fit together. The “King of Country” finally cemented his legendary status in 1994, when he began working with producer Rick Rubin.
The superstar who stayed with the people
Cash, born into a poor family, is remembered as a superstar who did not identify with the upper class. With his songs he wanted to give a voice to those who could not speak. He stood up for the victims, losers and the outcasts and even gave two concerts in American prisons in 1968.
He was unpredictable because you never knew exactly what he was up to. Be it stylistically, but also in his political statements.
The man with the bass-baritone voice didn’t allow himself to be told anything. Not even when, in 1972, then US President Richard Nixon commissioned him to make fun of welfare recipients with two songs. Cash instead played three protest songs during his visit to the White House. SRF music editor Christa Helbling says about Cash: “He was unpredictable because you never knew exactly what he was up to. Be it stylistically, but also in his political statements. He was against the Vietnam War, but at the same time he was a proud American.”
Cash was addicted to drugs and medication for several years
However, the success of the “Man in Black” also cast its shadow: Through his drug escapades, he strained his health with various poisons. “He was addicted to alcohol and pills. He used amphetamines. That got him excited and he was able to get through his many tours,” says Helbling.
Cash’s musical legacy extends beyond his lifetime. According to Cash, the last years before his death were “the most productive of his career”. His last album “Ain’t No Grave” was released in 2010, six years after his death. In fact, Cash stormed the charts one last time from the grave.