Religion and Spirituality

Another aspect of his youth that influenced both his music and his image in later life, is his connections with his religion and spirituality. He was raised as a Christian, but his issues with drug addictions and his outlaw image shadowed and separated his connection to God. All of this reinforced the impossibility of categorising Cash. He did embrace his outlaw image, but contradicted it still, to be the self-confessed saint and sinner his name is mostly associated with. Yet, despite his downfalls, and his sins he remained to keep a complicated relationship with his faith and spirituality.

It was his faith and spirit that saved him during his suicide attempt during his early years, and allowed him to embody the paradox and contradiction he kept up through his life. His self-identificiation as a sinner plays dynamically with his religious evocations, and not only reinforces his contradictory, outlaw image but rather plays on it. His religious and spiritual upbringing made him the man that he is today, and arguably without religion wouldn't have had the opportunity to even create the persona of Johnny Cash, as he wouldn't have been influenced from such an early age.

An American Hero - Representing the Working Class

At no point during his successful career did Cash attempt to disguise the fact that he grew up in and lived the majority of his youth in an American working-class family, struggling to get by. He in fact thrives on the traditional masculinity of which has been produced from his poor upbringing, and chose to be influenced to achieve social justice. As he sees himself as a voice for the downtrodden and those alienated from society, he explored the angst of the men unable to break free from their existence in poverty, and their resentment for the rich and privileged.

While he became a rich and privileged person himself, he didn't ignore the plea of other fellow Americans, and still used his fame and power to be a voice/spokesperson for the ill-treated. Instead, he took advantage of his past in poverty and urged political leaders and government officials to stand up for justice and peace in the same manner that he had.

His representation of the working class is abundant in his song; "One Piece at a Time." A song which looks at an auto-worker stealing parts of a car one at a time so he can eventually build a Cadillac. Like his own saint/sinner binary, the song explores the traditional masculinity, and the frustrations which arise from their labour producing such product, but never being able to own them, they steal them in the process as part of a protest.

 

The Origins of his Music - Creating the "Outlaw Country" Genre

Cash grew up surrounded by music, and the majority of his life was inspired by the sounds he was brought up on. His mother would play guitar for the family and they would sing traditional country and gospel songs, which like Cash, originated from working-class America. Traditional country was typically conformist, and the hillbilly sound which he grew up with was of the Southern originated country, that thrived on purity and lack of artistic freedom. The rock and roll artists of Sun Records encouraged Cash's eclectic country/gospel sound to combine to produce a distinctive rockabilly sound that he eventually became famous for.

While Cash's outlaw projected image was definitively attached to his name, the Outlaw Country movement of the 60s/70s wasn't directly attached to Cash's music, instead was inspired by his refusal to conform to the standards of the country music genre. He inspired some of his friends in the industry to spur on the progressive genre hybrid that abolished the conformity that society required in the country music genre. With artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones rebelling against societies conformity, Outlaw Country came popular with songs about drinking, masculinity and drugs. While he's not always directly associated with the movement, his style of music has the same approach to what the other front-men of the movement also held.

He did become directly involved in a later decade when he joined the movements pioneering influences to create an Outlaw Country supergroup. The group, known as The Highwaymen featured Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. They released three studio albums together.

    

Prison Reform - Live at San Quentin/Folsom Prison Blues

As an advocate and representative of prison reform, Cash performed free concerts for prisoners during the height of his fame. His most famous examples are Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) and Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969). While he had his freedom, his empathy and identification with the prisoners allowed them to respect him, and the work he was doing against the dehumanisation of the inmates. In the song "San Quentin" he approaches his criticisms of the legal system by accusing politicians of overnighting the plight and human rights of prisoners.

While he hadn't served prison time himself, Cash's drug addictions, run-ins with the law and other sufferings from his life allowed him to sympathise with the prisoners. As a fallen man, worthy of redemption, he saw himself in the people that he believed were being mistreated. Merle Haggard, (who was serving time in San Quentin at the time) said that his work for prison reform and the live shows were the turning point in his own redemption. "It didn't even matter that he was free, because there was a connection there, an identification. This was somebody who was singing a song about your personal life." - Merle Haggard on Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin.

While the association of Cash and prisoners did affiliate him with crime and wrong-doing, thus sustaining his outlaw image, he still chose to use his power to help others. He is noted to have said that at one of his prison concerts, he had the opportunity to cause a riot, and at the height of his drug addictions would have correlated with his erratic behaviour, but he still just used the performances as a chance to protest.

  

"The Man in Black" - More than a Sartorial Statement

At this point in his life, he had already realised of his influence and power, meaning he had opportunities to raise important issues in the media. His 1971 protest song "Man in Black" is no different. Originally starting as his nickname, following his on-stage costuming for him and the Tennessee Two, when they could afford little else than the matching black shirts they already owned. As time went on, he realised that his sartorial choices could become much more, and he used the song to protest his feelings towards society, and how he represented them. While it also embodied his masculinity and working class upbringing, his self-presentation raised issues with his outlaw image, and progressed his nature as a saint...

The lyrics of "Man in Black" clarified his sartorial statement as an allegiance and out of respect for the poor, prisoners, and a protest against racism and the Vietnam war. While Cash was still a representation of the working class, he fought to influence freedom and equality for his fellow Americans. His patriotism was a symbol of pride, and his sartorial choices were used as a representation of this, and the way his fame could allow him to be an icon for those facing injustices and the oppressed.

His fashion statement in itself was the contradictory notion of standing up against injustices, whilst all promoting his brand image, and maintaining the outlaw, hard-country, rocknroll image which had become expected of him.

Starting Fresh / June Carter Cash

In 1967, at the highest point of Cash's path to self-destruction, he travelled to a cave in Tennessee to commit suicide. Even at his worst he believed in the spirituality, and planned to die their amongst the Indian artifacts to become a part of history himself. While the poetic notion of being a collective part of historical remains became a part of the Cash spiritual and religious narrative, he (obviously) didn't go ahead with his original plans and determined that he must make a better life for himself...

It was after divorcing his first wife (because of the drug addictions) and proposing onstage to June Carter in 1968 (who promised to marry him once he had kicked his habits) that his life started to take a better turn. He rediscovered Christianity and they had their first child together. Prompting the start of 7 years clean of substances for Cash. His image was reinvented as he toured and dueted with his wife, who he clearly was madly in love with.

The following year, after the large success of his live prison albums, he started to host The Johnny Cash Show, a TV series in which he showcased contemporary artists, and hosted other segments of country music and history which were important to him. As a man on a mission, his show was one of his first opportunites outside of his music, to highlight important societal issues. He discussed prison reform, the Vietnam war and Native American activism, using his forum of media to influence a mass audience. It was during this period that his identity became fully formed, and he used his music and influence to help others in the same way he had been saved by music following his hardships in his own childhood. While gospel music and learning to play the guitar was his methods of escapism during his youth, he hoped to inspire people in the same way.

The Johnny Cash Show allowed his projected image to develop the saint/sinner binary, by stressing that he, despite all his flaws, still dedicated himself to trying to achieve a better life for his fellow ill-treated Americans.

Sustaining the "Outlaw" Image / Ring of Fire

Despite losing all control of his addictions, and becoming an nervous, wayward person as a result Cash still produced popular songs, and his creativity with his music lead to one of his most popular songs to this date; Ring of Fire. The 1963 hit was again popular on both the pop charts as well as on the country charts, spanning his appeal outside of the Southern Country and gospel genre he had been raised on. This period of Cash's life reinforced the image he held of being an "Outlaw" as he ended in jail several times, but never actually served a prison sentence. One of his most well-known run-ins with the law was in 1965, when he was arrested for attempting to smuggle amphetamines across the Mexican border.

The song, Ring of Fire was originally written by June Carter, who was at the time, falling in love with Cash, despite his current marriage to Vivian Liberto. It was first recorded by her sister, who had little success, Cash covered the song, adding in the sounds of the "mexican horns" after they reportedly came to him in a dream. His relationship with June Carter both on and off stage also worked to reinforce his outlaw image, with them both being famously involved while still in relationships with other people. The popularity of Ring of Fire only added to his increasing addictions, pressure, and added to the demons he struggled to fight. While his adulterous relations with June Carter fed and maintained the outlaw image, they were mostly overlooked because of his highly self-destructive addictions.