The beautiful, passionate spirit of June Carter Cash lives on. And the Johnny Cash estate honored her Wednesday with a gorgeous photo of the remarkable woman.
The tweet: “Celebrating the life of June Carter Cash, who was born on this day in 1929.” And in the photo, you can see a young version of the legendary singer. She’s smiling. The sun hits her face just right, giving her face a natural glow. The photo catches her as she’s pulling back her long, brunette hair. It’s probably from the late 1960s.
As the tweet points out, June Carter Cash would be 92 today. Happy heavenly birthday.
June Carter Couldn’t Escape Her Musical DNA
June Carter Cash couldn’t help but be a singer. You can’t escape your DNA. Her family was recording country music two years before she was born to Ezra and Maybelle Carter in Maces Springs, Virginia. By 1943, when June Carter Cash was barely into her teens, she went on the road with her family. More specially, it was Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. The next decade, the family was touring with Elvis Presley.
Most know June Carter Cash through her relationship with her powerhouse husband, Johnny. But the two were star-crossed for several years.
She married her first husband, singer Carl Smith, in 1952. The two, who were parents to Carlene, divorced in 1956 at about the same time she met Johnny Cash backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Within a year, June Carter Cash married husband No. 2. He was Rip Nix, the former University of Tennessee football player who worked as a sheriff’s deputy and owned a garage. Later in life, he patented “Line a Bed.” The two broke up in 1966. They had one child together, Rosie. Tragically, Rosie died in 2003 of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, months after her mother died. She is buried near June.
While still married to Rip, June went on tour with Johnny Cash. This was in 1961. Obviously, there was chemistry. But Johnny was married to his first wife, Vivian. And he was the father to four young daughters. Johnny and Vivian divorced in 1966. So for the first time, both Johnny and June were free.
Finally, She Was Free to Marry True Love Johnny Cash
The two recorded Jackson in 1967. A year later, Johnny proposed to June while on stage during a concert in Canada. They married in Franklin, Kentucky. In 1970, Johnny and June became parents to their first and only son, John Carter Cash.
The two were meant for each other, it just took them years to make their union official.
In her fabulous career, June Carter Cash won five Grammys. She died May 15, 2003 of complications from heart surgery. Johnny and the rest of the family were with her when she died. Johnny stayed on this earth for four more months. He died Sept.12 of that same year.
So lift your glasses to June Carter Cash. Maybe sing a bit of Jackson to salute the brilliant woman on her birthday.
