June Carter Cash
Encyclopedia
Valerie June Carter Cash (June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family
and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash
. She played the guitar
, banjo
, harmonica
, and autoharp
and acted in several films and television shows.
to Maybelle Carter
and Ezra Carter. She was born into country music and performed with the Carter Family
from the early age of ten, beginning in 1939. In March 1943, when the Carter Family trio stopped recording together after the WBT
contract, Maybelle Carter, with encouragement from her husband Ezra, formed "Mother Maybelle & the Carter Sisters" with her daughters, Helen
, Anita
, and June. The new group first aired on radio station WRNL
in Richmond, Virginia
, on June 1. Doc (Addington) and Carl (McConnell)—Maybelle's brother and cousin, respectively— known as "The Virginia Boys," joined them in late 1945. June, then 16, was a co-announcer with Ken Allyn and did the commercials on the radio shows for "Red Star Flour", "Martha White," and "Thalhimers Department Store", just to name a few. For the next year, the Carters and Doc and Carl did show dates within driving range of Richmond
, through Virginia
, Maryland
, Delaware
, and Pennsylvania
. June later said she had to work harder at her music than her sisters, but she had her own special talent—comedy. A highlight of the road shows was her "Aunt Polly" comedy routine. Carl McConnell wrote in his memoirs that June was "a natural born clown, if there ever was one." She attended John Marshall High School during this period.
After Doc and Carl dropped out of the music business in late 1946, Maybelle and the sisters moved to Sunshine Sue Worklman's "Old Dominion Barn Dance" on the WRVA Richmond station. After a while there, they moved to WNOX in Knoxville, TN, where they met Chet Atkins with Homer and Jethro.
In 1949, Maybelle & The Carter Sisters, along with their lead guitarist, a young Chet Atkins
, were living in Springfield, Missouri
, and performing regularly at KWTO
. Ezra "Eck" Carter, Maybelle's husband and manager of the group, declined numerous offers from the Grand Ole Opry
to move the act to Nashville, Tennessee
, because the Opry would not permit Atkins to accompany the group onstage. Atkins' reputation as a guitar player had begun to spread, and studio musicians were fearful that he would displace them as a 'first-call' player if he came to Nashville. Finally, in 1950, Opry management relented and the group, along with Atkins, became part of the Opry company. Here the family befriended Hank Williams and Elvis Presley
(to whom they were distantly related), and June met Johnny Cash.
June and her sisters, with mother Maybelle and aunt Sara joining in from time to time, reclaimed the name The Carter Family for their act during the 1960s and 1970s.
With her thin and lanky frame, June Carter often played a comedic foil during the group's performances alongside other Opry stars Faron Young
and Webb Pierce
.
saw her perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and encouraged her to study acting. She studied with Lee Strasberg
and Sanford Meisner
at the Neighborhood Playhouse
in New York. Her acting roles included Mrs. "Momma" Dewey in Robert Duvall's
1998 movie The Apostle
, Sister Ruth, wife to Johnny Cash's character Kid Cole, on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
(1993–1997), and Clarise on Gunsmoke
in 1957. June was also "Momma James" in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James.
As a singer, she had both a solo career and a career singing with first her family and later her husband. As a solo artist, she became somewhat successful with upbeat country tunes of the 1950s like "Jukebox Blues" and, with her exaggerated breaths, the comedic hit "No Swallerin' Place" by Frank Loesser. June also recorded "The Heel" in the 1960s along with many other songs. She won a Grammy award in 1999 for her solo album, Press On. Her last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003 and won two additional Grammys. It contains bonus video enhancements showing extracts from the film of the recording sessions, which took place at the Carter Family estate in Hiltons
, Virginia
, on September 18–20, 2002. The songs on the album include "Big Yellow Peaches," "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea," "Temptation" and the trademark staple "Wildwood Flower
".
Her autobiography was published in 1979, and she wrote a memoir, From the Heart, almost 10 years later.
She was married first to honky-tonk singer Carl Smith
from July 9, 1952, until their divorce in 1956. Together they wrote "Time's A-Wastin'". They had a daughter, Rebecca Carlene Smith, aka Carlene Carter
, a country musician.
June's second marriage was to Edwin "Rip" Nix, a former football player, police officer, and race car driver, on November 11, 1957. They had a daughter, Rosanna Lea aka Rosie
, on July 13, 1958. The couple divorced in 1966. Rosie Nix Adams
was a country/rock singer. On October 24, 2003, Rosie died on a bus from possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carter and the entire Carter Family
had performed with Johnny Cash
for a number of years. In 1968, Cash proposed to Carter during a live performance at the London Ice House
in London, Ontario
, and they married on March 1, 1968. They remained married until her death in May, 2003, just four months before Cash died. Carter and Cash had one son, John Carter Cash
, who is a musician, songwriter and producer.
In 1970, Carter's distant cousin, future US President Jimmy Carter
, became closely acquainted with Cash and Carter and maintained their friendship throughout their lifetime. In a June 1977 speech, Jimmy Carter acknowledged that June Carter was his distant cousin, with whom they shared a common patrilineal ancestor.
Carter was a longtime supporter of SOS Children's Villages
. In 1974 the Cashes donated money to help build a village near their home in Barrett Town, Jamaica, which they visited frequently, playing the guitar and singing songs to the children in the village.
, stated that "if being a wife were a corporation, June would have been a CEO. It was her most treasured role." June and Johnny Cash are buried in Hendersonville Memory Gardens
near their home in Hendersonville, Tennessee
.
reached #2 on the US Country
charts with their 1967 duet of "Jackson
". Their performance won the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group.
The two - now married - won the 1971 Grammy Award, for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, for their 1970 duet "If I Were a Carpenter".
Carter Cash won the 2000 Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Folk Album, for her 1999 album Press On.
Carter Cash's last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003. Carter Cash won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, and she also won the while the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
for the single "Keep on the Sunny Side
".
Carter Cash ranked #31 in CMT
's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.
Carter Cash was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
in Walk the Line
, a 2005
biopic of Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix
). The film largely focuses on the development of their relationship over the course of 13 years, from their first meeting to her finally accepting his proposal for marriage. Witherspoon's portrayal led her to receive many awards for her role, including an Academy Award for Best Actress
and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
. Witherspoon also performed all vocals for the role, singing many of June's famous songs, including "Juke Box Blues
" and "Jackson
" with Phoenix.
NOTE: June Carter released at least 19 additional non-charting solo singles between 1950 and 1975.
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. She played the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
and acted in several films and television shows.
Early life
June Carter Cash was born Valerie June Carter in Maces Spring, VirginiaMaces Spring, Virginia
Maces Spring is a small unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States, along State Route 614. The settlement consists of a small number of houses. There are now no stores in Maces Spring and its main claim to fame is its association with the country music group, the Carter...
to Maybelle Carter
Maybelle Carter
"Mother" Maybelle Carter was an American country musician. She is best known as a member of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s and also as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.-Biography:...
and Ezra Carter. She was born into country music and performed with the Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
from the early age of ten, beginning in 1939. In March 1943, when the Carter Family trio stopped recording together after the WBT
WBT (AM)
WBT is a radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, broadcasting on the AM dial at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina. It is owned by Greater...
contract, Maybelle Carter, with encouragement from her husband Ezra, formed "Mother Maybelle & the Carter Sisters" with her daughters, Helen
Helen Carter
Helen Myrl Carter was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, a pioneering all female country/folk music group...
, Anita
Anita Carter
Ina Anita Carter , the youngest daughter of Ezra and Mother Maybelle Carter, was a versatile American singer who experimented with several different types of music and played stand-up bass with her sisters Helen Carter and June Carter Cash as The Carter Sisters...
, and June. The new group first aired on radio station WRNL
WRNL
WRNL is a Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Metro Richmond. WRNL is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-External links:*...
in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, on June 1. Doc (Addington) and Carl (McConnell)—Maybelle's brother and cousin, respectively— known as "The Virginia Boys," joined them in late 1945. June, then 16, was a co-announcer with Ken Allyn and did the commercials on the radio shows for "Red Star Flour", "Martha White," and "Thalhimers Department Store", just to name a few. For the next year, the Carters and Doc and Carl did show dates within driving range of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, through Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. June later said she had to work harder at her music than her sisters, but she had her own special talent—comedy. A highlight of the road shows was her "Aunt Polly" comedy routine. Carl McConnell wrote in his memoirs that June was "a natural born clown, if there ever was one." She attended John Marshall High School during this period.
After Doc and Carl dropped out of the music business in late 1946, Maybelle and the sisters moved to Sunshine Sue Worklman's "Old Dominion Barn Dance" on the WRVA Richmond station. After a while there, they moved to WNOX in Knoxville, TN, where they met Chet Atkins with Homer and Jethro.
In 1949, Maybelle & The Carter Sisters, along with their lead guitarist, a young Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, were living in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
, and performing regularly at KWTO
KWTO
KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....
. Ezra "Eck" Carter, Maybelle's husband and manager of the group, declined numerous offers from the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
to move the act to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, because the Opry would not permit Atkins to accompany the group onstage. Atkins' reputation as a guitar player had begun to spread, and studio musicians were fearful that he would displace them as a 'first-call' player if he came to Nashville. Finally, in 1950, Opry management relented and the group, along with Atkins, became part of the Opry company. Here the family befriended Hank Williams and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
(to whom they were distantly related), and June met Johnny Cash.
June and her sisters, with mother Maybelle and aunt Sara joining in from time to time, reclaimed the name The Carter Family for their act during the 1960s and 1970s.
With her thin and lanky frame, June Carter often played a comedic foil during the group's performances alongside other Opry stars Faron Young
Faron Young
Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
and Webb Pierce
Webb Pierce
Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
.
Career highlights
While June Carter Cash may be best known for singing and songwriting, she was also an author, dancer, actress, comedienne, philanthropist and humanitarian. Director Elia KazanElia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
saw her perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and encouraged her to study acting. She studied with Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
and Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner , also known as Sandy, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of Method acting that is now known as the Meisner technique....
at the Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
in New York. Her acting roles included Mrs. "Momma" Dewey in Robert Duvall's
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
1998 movie The Apostle
The Apostle
The Apostle is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Robert Duvall, who stars in the title role. John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson and Billy Joe Shaver also appear...
, Sister Ruth, wife to Johnny Cash's character Kid Cole, on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is an American post-Civil War western/drama series created by Beth Sullivan. Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn, played by Jane Seymour, left Boston in search of adventure. She goes to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she establishes herself as doctor/adviser.The show ran on CBS...
(1993–1997), and Clarise on Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
in 1957. June was also "Momma James" in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James.
As a singer, she had both a solo career and a career singing with first her family and later her husband. As a solo artist, she became somewhat successful with upbeat country tunes of the 1950s like "Jukebox Blues" and, with her exaggerated breaths, the comedic hit "No Swallerin' Place" by Frank Loesser. June also recorded "The Heel" in the 1960s along with many other songs. She won a Grammy award in 1999 for her solo album, Press On. Her last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003 and won two additional Grammys. It contains bonus video enhancements showing extracts from the film of the recording sessions, which took place at the Carter Family estate in Hiltons
Hiltons
Hiltons is an unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Kingsport–Bristol –Bristol Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, on September 18–20, 2002. The songs on the album include "Big Yellow Peaches," "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea," "Temptation" and the trademark staple "Wildwood Flower
Wildwood Flower
"Wildwood Flower" is an American song, best known through performances and recordings by the Carter Family. However, the song predates them. The original title was "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets"...
".
Her autobiography was published in 1979, and she wrote a memoir, From the Heart, almost 10 years later.
Personal life
Carter was married three times and had one child with each husband. All three of her children would go on to have successful careers in country music.She was married first to honky-tonk singer Carl Smith
Carl Smith (country musician)
Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...
from July 9, 1952, until their divorce in 1956. Together they wrote "Time's A-Wastin'". They had a daughter, Rebecca Carlene Smith, aka Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith....
, a country musician.
June's second marriage was to Edwin "Rip" Nix, a former football player, police officer, and race car driver, on November 11, 1957. They had a daughter, Rosanna Lea aka Rosie
Rosie Nix Adams
Rozanna Lea "Rosey" Nix was an American singer-songwriter. She was born July 13, 1958, the daughter of June Carter Cash and her second husband Edwin "Rip" Nix, and the stepdaughter of the famous country singer Johnny Cash...
, on July 13, 1958. The couple divorced in 1966. Rosie Nix Adams
Rosie Nix Adams
Rozanna Lea "Rosey" Nix was an American singer-songwriter. She was born July 13, 1958, the daughter of June Carter Cash and her second husband Edwin "Rip" Nix, and the stepdaughter of the famous country singer Johnny Cash...
was a country/rock singer. On October 24, 2003, Rosie died on a bus from possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carter and the entire Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
had performed with Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
for a number of years. In 1968, Cash proposed to Carter during a live performance at the London Ice House
London Ice House
The London Ice House is an arena in London, Ontario, Canada. It was originally built in 1963 and was home to the London Knights ice hockey team from 1965-2002. The arena had a capacity of 5,075 and was originally known as Treasure Island Gardens, but most notably known as the London Gardens, from...
in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, and they married on March 1, 1968. They remained married until her death in May, 2003, just four months before Cash died. Carter and Cash had one son, John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash is an American Country music-singer, author, songwriter and producer. He is the only son of Johnny and June Carter Cash.-Biography:...
, who is a musician, songwriter and producer.
In 1970, Carter's distant cousin, future US President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, became closely acquainted with Cash and Carter and maintained their friendship throughout their lifetime. In a June 1977 speech, Jimmy Carter acknowledged that June Carter was his distant cousin, with whom they shared a common patrilineal ancestor.
Carter was a longtime supporter of SOS Children's Villages
SOS Children's Villages
SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental international development organisation which has been working to meet the needs and protect the interests and rights of children since 1949. It was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Imst, Austria...
. In 1974 the Cashes donated money to help build a village near their home in Barrett Town, Jamaica, which they visited frequently, playing the guitar and singing songs to the children in the village.
Death
June Carter Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 15, 2003, of complications following heart valve replacement surgery, in the company of her family and her husband of 35 years, Johnny Cash who died less than four months later on September 12, 2003. At Carter's funeral, her stepdaughter, Rosanne CashRosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
, stated that "if being a wife were a corporation, June would have been a CEO. It was her most treasured role." June and Johnny Cash are buried in Hendersonville Memory Gardens
Hendersonville Memory Gardens
Hendersonville Memory Gardens located at 353 East Main Street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA was formerly known as Woodlawn Memorial Park East...
near their home in Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is a city in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 51,372 at the 2010 census. Hendersonville is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 18 miles northeast of downtown Nashville. The city was settled around 1784 by...
.
Awards
Carter and her future husband, Johnny CashJohnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
reached #2 on the US Country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts with their 1967 duet of "Jackson
Jackson (song)
"Jackson" is a song, written in 1963 by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler, about a married couple who find that the "fire" has gone out of their relationship...
". Their performance won the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group.
The two - now married - won the 1971 Grammy Award, for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, for their 1970 duet "If I Were a Carpenter".
Carter Cash won the 2000 Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Folk Album, for her 1999 album Press On.
Carter Cash's last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003. Carter Cash won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, and she also won the while the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female...
for the single "Keep on the Sunny Side
Keep On the Sunny Side
Keep On the Sunny Side is a popular American song originally written in 1899 by Ada Blenkhorn with music by J. Howard Entwisle . The song was popularized in a 1928 recording by the Carter Family...
".
Carter Cash ranked #31 in CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.
Carter Cash was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Film portrayal
June Carter was played by Reese WitherspoonReese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
in Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
, a 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
biopic of Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
). The film largely focuses on the development of their relationship over the course of 13 years, from their first meeting to her finally accepting his proposal for marriage. Witherspoon's portrayal led her to receive many awards for her role, including an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
. Witherspoon also performed all vocals for the role, singing many of June's famous songs, including "Juke Box Blues
Juke Box Blues
"Juke Box Blues" is a country music song written by June Carter Cash's mother, Maybelle Carter and June's sister, Helen Carter. The song was recorded by June Carter Cash, and was one of her few hits...
" and "Jackson
Jackson (song)
"Jackson" is a song, written in 1963 by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler, about a married couple who find that the "fire" has gone out of their relationship...
" with Phoenix.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Bluegrass | US Country | ||
| 1975 | Appalachian Pride Appalachian Pride Appalachian Pride is the first solo album by June Carter Cash. It was released in 1975.The entirety of this album's original sequence is included on the retrospective Keep on the Sunny Side: June Carter Cash - Her Life in Music.- Track listing :... |
— | — |
| 1999 | Press On Press On Press On is the Grammy Award-winning second album by singer June Carter Cash. It was released in 1999 by the Risk Records label and then later re-released by the Dualtone label.... |
— | — |
| It's All in the Family | — | — | |
| 2003 | Wildwood Flower Wildwood Flower (album) Wildwood Flower is the last album from June Carter Cash. It was released in 2003 on the Dualtone record label. It was produced by John Carter Cash.- Track listing :#"Keep on the Sunny Side" Wildwood Flower is the last album from June Carter Cash. It was released in 2003 on the Dualtone record... |
2 | 33 |
| Louisiana Hayride Louisiana Hayride (album) Louisiana Hayride is a live album by June Carter. This CD covers her comedy routines and her musical abilities. It is all recorded live from the Louisiana Hayride.-Track listing:#"Thirty Days"#"Big Iron"#"Elvis Story & Poem"#"Gotta Travel On"... |
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| 2005 | Keep on the Sunny Side: June Carter Cash - Her Life in Music Keep on the Sunny Side: June Carter Cash - Her Life in Music Keep On The Sunny Side: June Carter Cash - Her Life In Music is a compilation album by June Carter Cash which spans from 1939 with The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle on the radio to her 2003 album Wildwood Flower... |
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| Church in the Wildwood: A Treasury of Appalachian Gospel | — | — | |
| Ring of Fire: The Best of June Carter Cash | — | — | |
| 2006 | Early June | — | — |
Albums with Johnny Cash
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 1967 | Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter is the twenty-fourth album released by country musicians Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in 1967 , on Columbia Records. The album consists exclusively of duets by Cash and Carter, most famously "Jackson", though "Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man" was also... |
5 | — |
| 1973 | Johnny Cash and His Woman Johnny Cash and His Woman Johnny Cash and His Woman is an album by American country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1973 . It is a collection of duets by the couple, some of which had not appeared on any previous releases. The album peaked at No... |
32 | — |
| 1978 | Johnny & June Johnny & June Johnny & June is a compilation album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Bear Family Records in 1978 . Like The Unissued Johnny Cash it consists of material that was either unreleased or not widely available. Most of the songs were recorded from 1964 to 1965, with the exception of... |
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| 2006 | 16 Biggest Hits: Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash 16 Biggest Hits (Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash album) 16 Biggest Hits is a 2006 Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash compilation album. It is part of a series of similar 16 Biggest Hits albums released by Legacy Recordings.-Track listing:#"It Ain't Me Babe" – 3:04... |
26 | 126 |
| June Carter and Johnny Cash: Duets June Carter and Johnny Cash: Duets Duets is an album made by the famous country music singer Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash, released in 2006.The album is made of duets by the singers mentioned before with song that Cash had previously released.... |
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Selected Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1949 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside Baby, It's Cold Outside Baby, It's Cold Outside may refer to:*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1948 song by Frank Loesser*"Cold Outside", a song by country music band Big House from their self-titled debut album*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1991 short story by Isaac Asimov... " (w/ Homer and Jethro Homer and Jethro Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. Haynes and Kenneth C. Burns , popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs... ) |
9 | — | Singles only |
| 1956 | "Juke Box Blues Juke Box Blues "Juke Box Blues" is a country music song written by June Carter Cash's mother, Maybelle Carter and June's sister, Helen Carter. The song was recorded by June Carter Cash, and was one of her few hits... " |
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| 1971 | "A Good Man" | 27 | 12 | |
| 2003 | "Keep On the Sunny Side Keep On the Sunny Side Keep On the Sunny Side is a popular American song originally written in 1899 by Ada Blenkhorn with music by J. Howard Entwisle . The song was popularized in a 1928 recording by the Carter Family... " |
— | — | Wildwood Flower |
NOTE: June Carter released at least 19 additional non-charting solo singles between 1950 and 1975.
Singles with Johnny Cash
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country | CAN | CAN AC | |||
| 1965 | "It Ain't Me Babe It Ain't Me Babe "It Ain't Me Babe" is the title of a 1964 song by Bob Dylan, first included on his album Another Side of Bob Dylan. The song's opening line is allegedly influenced by musicologist/folk-singer John Jacob Niles' composition "Go 'Way From My Window." Niles is referred to by Dylan as an early... " |
4 | 58 | — | — | — | Orange Blossom Special Orange Blossom Special (album) Due to the acclaim that the cover of the song "Orange Blossom Special" received from the audiences that attended live concerts of Cash, a single of the song was released previous to the album, in February of 1965 reaching number three in the Billboard singles. During the mid 1960s, the authorship... |
| 1967 | "Jackson Jackson (song) "Jackson" is a song, written in 1963 by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler, about a married couple who find that the "fire" has gone out of their relationship... " |
2 | — | — | — | — | Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 |
| "Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man" | 6 | — | — | — | — | Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter | |
| 1970 | "If I Were a Carpenter" | 2 | 36 | 1 | 13 | 11 | Hello, I'm Johnny Cash Hello, I'm Johnny Cash Hello, I'm Johnny Cash is an album released by country singer Johnny Cash on Columbia Records in 1970 . "If I Were a Carpenter", a famous duet with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, earned the couple a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1971 ; the song also... |
| 1971 | "No Need to Worry" | 15 | — | 7 | — | — | International Superstar International Superstar International Superstar is an double compilation album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1972 . It is a combination of previously released material, including hit singles like "A Thing Called Love" and "The One on the Right is on the Left", and new material... |
| 1972 | "If I Had a Hammer If I Had a Hammer "If I Had a Hammer " is a song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the progressive movement, and was first recorded by The Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, and then by Peter, Paul and Mary.- Early... " |
29 | — | — | — | — | Any Old Wind That Blows Any Old Wind That Blows Any Old Wind That Blows is an album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1973 . The album spawned three hits, most notably "Oney," which hit #2 on the country singles chart. The title track and Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer" also charted... |
| 1973 | "The Loving Gift" | 27 | — | 22 | — | — | |
| "Allegheny" | 69 | — | 35 | — | — | Johnny Cash and His Woman | |
| 1976 | "Old Time Feeling" | 26 | — | 24 | — | — | Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 |