Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

According to USAtoday, in the year 2013, Johnny Cash had been inducted into the second Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Along with the legendary "Man in Black," other music legends such as Albert King, Carla Thomas, the Memphis Jug Band, Kay Starr, The Bar-Kays, Phineas Newborn Jr., and six others had all been inducted. Johnny Cash had actually been a proponent for prisoners' rights during his lifetime. When he was a radio operator in the Air Force, Cash had watched the watched the film "Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison." This film had caused him to become inspired to compose his extremely popular song "Folsom Prison Blues." Johnny Cash became known for his concerts that he had played inside prisons. His biggest two being in Folsom Prison and San Quentin. However, he had played in prisons across the country. Ironically, and slightly funny, is why prisoners were so attracted to Johnny Cash and his music. A common misconception was that Cash had been a prisoner himself, but he had only been arrested for such acts as drunken stupor. Although, he did not do very much to let people know that he had not been a prisoner, aiding in his "tough guy" image. This image had stayed with him throughout his life, mostly in his music. His music had reached great levels of success, with "Folsom Prison Blues" reaching number four on the country charts in 1956 and his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" receiving an award from the MTV Video Music Awards. Johnny Cash was a man of legend and will go down in history as such. His music was played by my father to me and will most certainly be played by me to my children in the future.