I'll never pass up a chance to consider the story of this Arkansas cotton farmer's son.
Johnny's life changed forever when he was 12, and his beloved older brother died in a table-saw accident. Maybe music was the one place Johnny could go to escape his pain.
He served in the Korean War, finding a talent for Morse Code, and sold vacuum cleaners for awhile to support his wife and daughters, but it wasn't long before his amazing voice -- "something primal" -- was rocketing him to music stardom.
A dizzying tour schedule and unhappy home life -- he fell for June Carter the moment he saw her at the Grand Ole Opry -- led to years of drug abuse, which he finally kicked with June's help. Their marriage became one of the most enduring in show business. Did Johnny -- hero to men who heard him sing at Folsom and San Quentin -- finally elude his own private lockup? We can hope.
So many of Johnny's songs are classics, but perhaps the most beautiful is his late-career "Hurt," sung during his short time as a widower. Your voice will always be with us, Johnny. Thank you!
Johnny's life changed forever when he was 12, and his beloved older brother died in a table-saw accident. Maybe music was the one place Johnny could go to escape his pain.
He served in the Korean War, finding a talent for Morse Code, and sold vacuum cleaners for awhile to support his wife and daughters, but it wasn't long before his amazing voice -- "something primal" -- was rocketing him to music stardom.
A dizzying tour schedule and unhappy home life -- he fell for June Carter the moment he saw her at the Grand Ole Opry -- led to years of drug abuse, which he finally kicked with June's help. Their marriage became one of the most enduring in show business. Did Johnny -- hero to men who heard him sing at Folsom and San Quentin -- finally elude his own private lockup? We can hope.
So many of Johnny's songs are classics, but perhaps the most beautiful is his late-career "Hurt," sung during his short time as a widower. Your voice will always be with us, Johnny. Thank you!
