His father was one of the best-selling musicians of all time, and now Johnny Cash’s son has given a rare insight into his dad’s final days – revealing Cash was “pretty much blind” and in “constant pain” towards the end of his life.
When the singer passed away in 2003 following a battle with diabetes and other illnesses, he left his legacy and that of his beloved wife June to their son, John Carter Cash.
Shortly after, while still grieving both of his parents’ deaths within just months of each other, John, now 48, came across stacks of papers in his father’s writing, with poems, lyrics and notes containing some of his best work. He has now worked with his siblings, as well as other top artists to transform the works into a tribute album called, Johnny Cash: Forever Words.
While his father enjoyed decades of success in the limelight, he also had his struggles – with regular trips to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, but he ultimately found his strength through his love for second wife June. Now, their son has revealed all in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60.
While Cash was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s, the family later discovered he also had diabetes. Not long after, June passed away. Her final wish was for him to keep performing once she’d gone, and he continued right until his own death just four months later.
Speaking about the musician’s final days, John told Starts at 60: “Music was his therapy towards the end, it was his life and his only way of self expression. He was pretty much blind, he was in constant physical pain, he had bouts of pneumonia, but he kept going and persisting. In the face of his own mortality, no matter what the mountain was that he was encountering, he persisted.”
The close proximity of his death to that of his wife’s – who he married in 1968 after proposing just months before on stage – has led many to wonder if he could have died of a broken heart, but John insisted: “I believe he would still be with us today if his body hadn’t given out. It was the love that carried him, and it was all tied in with music.”
Asked about his mother’s wish for his father to keep performing, John said: “Yes it was her wish, it was both of their wishes. The songs came out that much stronger with the pain, it was how he expressed himself.”
He added: “The strength and persistency in the face of whatever it was that he encountered, he continued even though his body gave up.”
Cash’s battle with addiction was portrayed in hit 2005 movie Walk The Line, as well as his struggles and fights with his wife June. However, while that movie ended with a “happy ending”, the reality was somewhat different.
John said the battles continued throughout his early memories, but they’d always come out stronger than ever.
“It was hard to miss [his addiction]. It was certainly in your face. That’s the essence of his songs, it was hopelessness and the acknowledgement of hopelessness,” he said. “There was a depth to the sad realisation of his addiction, there was also an ongoing triumph that would return. Then we’d be reminded of the beauty and the love that he had. No matter what we went through, in the end it only brought us closer together.”
Speaking about Cash’s love for his wife, John added: “He hit some pretty hard rock bottoms while I was still a young teenage boy, and alcohol too. But the troubles they had in their relationship may have defined the lasting strength of it, in some ways. It strengthened the steel.
“By the end of their lives, they were more loved than they ever had been. The forgiveness and the strength. There may be more love affairs that have less scars and wounds, but they were the key to each other’s survival – and the strength that came from prevailing through the struggles.”
Now, John is promoting the new album, with songs performed by everyone from Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp and Brad Paisley, to Kris Kristofferson, Alison Krauss and Willie Nelson, among many others.
Meanwhile, Roseanne Cash, one of Johnny’s daughters from his first marriage, sings ‘The Walking Wounded’, about the discrimination faced by many Vietnam veterans. Speaking of his sister’s work, John said: “If I had heard that from her, and didn’t realise Dad had written the words, then I would have believed it was her writing it. The words connected deeply with each individual artist.
“I have communicated with my father in ways that before, when he passed away, I couldn’t. I was in a different place. Now when I read the words, it’s almost as if he’s speaking to me and I’m hearing things I wouldn’t have before.”