Johnny Cash- Tragic Hero
“The person starts by taking the drugs, but then the drugs start taking the person, that’s what happened to me” said Johnny Cash about his own addiction, in his autobiography Man in Black. Johnny Cash was born in a small town in Arkansas and used his musical talent and incredible story-telling abilities to win the hearts of Americans during the 1950s into the 1960s. But all that fame and fortune can take its toll on a person and cause that person to resort to desperate measures in order to go on with their lives. Johnny Cash’s decisions during his time of fame and the realization of his faults give way to him being called a tragic hero. Johnny Cash was a child of the depression and was no better off than most families of the plane states during the 1950s. Born J.R. Cash, Johnny grew up picking cotton in the small town of Dyess, Arkansas. J.R. wouldn’t become the infamous Johnny Cash until July of 1950, when he signed up for the Air Force. The Air Force would not accept his initials of J.R., so Cash quickly chose the name Johnny. Cash spent four years in the Air Force and was even transferred to Europe for almost 2 years. During this time, Cash kept a girlfriend close to home named Vivian Liberto and they would be wed in June of 1954 when Cash returned home. Cash’s free time in the Air Force led to his love of music and although the road to fame would be rough, in time Johnny Cash would become a country music legend. Cash auditioned for Sam Phillips at Sun Records on September 9, 1954. The audition went well, and although Phillips likes Cash’s authentic voice, he warned that he would be pushing Cash to sound more mainstream. Cash’s first single came out in March of 1955 however; it was not a hit with listeners. But Cash did not give up and his next single brought more and more fans to his music. Cash’s fame continued to grow and in 1958 he welcomed a new record contract with Columbia Records. A few years later, in 1962 Cash would make his debut at