Best Known As: Country music legend and wife of Johnny Cash
Name at birth: Valerie June Carter
June Carter Cash was the daughter of country music legend Maybelle Carter, the wife of Johnny Cash and the writer of the contemporary classics "Ring of Fire," "Jackson" and "If I Were A Carpenter." June Carter began performing with her sisters and mother in 1939 under the name of The Carter Family. (June's aunt and uncle, A. P. and Sara Carter, were also famous bluegrass and gospel stars.) During the 1950s, June went off to New York and worked as an actress, returning to Nashville to occasionally perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Carter married Johnny Cash in 1968 and together they performed and recorded for the next three decades. Her first solo recording, Press On, won a Grammy in 1999, and her last album, Wildwood Flower (2003, released posthumously) earned her two more Grammys.
The Carter Family helped Chet Atkins get his start in the country music business... June Carter Cash was married twice before her marriage to Johnny Cash: first to singer Carl Smith (1952-56) and then to Edwin 'Rip' Nix (1958-1966)... June Carter Cash was played by Reese Witherspoon in the 2005 film Walk the Line.
Representative Albums: "Keep on the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music," "Wildwood Flower," "Press On"
Representative Songs: "Jackson," "If I Were a Carpenter," "It Ain't Me Babe"
Biography
Songwriter, singer, actress, comedienne, and matriarch of country music June Carter Cash was born Valerie June Carter in Maces Springs, VA, on June 23, 1929. Taught by her mother (the legendary Mother Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family) to play autoharp, June entered the spotlight in 1937 singing with her sisters Helen and Anita, eventually performing as the Carter Sisters after the death of June's uncle A.P. Her good humor and quick wit prompted June to perform comedy skits and monologues during the show, and led to a novelty recording of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with country comics Homer & Jethro which eventually hit number nine on the country charts in 1949.
In 1952, Carter married Carl Smith, with whom she performed at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, and their daughter, Rebecca Carlene (later to record under the name Carlene Carter), was born in 1955. After their divorce in the late '50s, Carter was managed by Colonel Tom Parker and toured with Elvis Presley, and while living in Nashville, she met and briefly married local police officer Rip Nix with whom she another daughter, Rosie. Although Carter dabbled in acting during the '50s, she returned to the musical stage in 1961 when the Carters joined Johnny Cash's road show. Rumor has it that Cash had kept an eye on June since her appearances with the Carter Sisters in the early '50s, commenting, "I'm going to marry that girl someday" (despite the fact that both of them were still married to other people at the time). In 1963, Carter co-wrote the song "Ring of Fire" with Merle Kilgore, which Cash (supposedly June's inspiration for the song) took to number one. Their Grammy-winning duet "Jackson" came true when Cash and Carter "got married in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout" in 1968. Cash has long credited June for forcing him to shake his addiction to amphetamines and encouraging his spiritual development, saying, "she is the person responsible for me still being alive. She came along at a time in my life when I was going to self-destruct." Another Grammy (for "If I Were a Carpenter") and the birth of Carter's third child, son John Carter Cash, followed in 1970.
June Carter Cash left the spotlight for most of the '70s and '80s, stating, "I worked with John, but I had enough sense to walk just a little ways behind him. I could have made more records, but I wanted to have a marriage." She did, however, write two autobiographies (1979's Among My Klediments and 1987's From My Heart) and also did some acting, notably on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and alongside Robert Duvall in The Apostle. She did eventually return to recording, releasing a collection of both traditional folk songs and Carter Cash originals entitled Press On in 1999 which won a Grammy for best traditional folk album. Johnny Cash's health seemed to deteriorate throughout the '90s just as his career went through a renaissance, and many fans were shocked when June Carter Cash died suddenly on May 15, 2003, following complications from heart surgery. Given the fact that she had remained apparently rock solid as he got weaker and weaker, it seemed as though Johnny might pass on, but Carter Cash would live forever. Luckily, she does live on today; through the children she raised (many of whom have become musicians themselves), through her writing and appearances on film, through the contributions she made to her husband's life, and most clearly in the music she left behind. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Gospel Road, Thaddeus Rose and Eddie, Johnny Cash: Cash in Ireland
First Major Screen Credit: Johnny Cash in San Quentin (1969)
Biography
The wife of legendary country musician Johnny Cash and a respected artist in her own right, June Carter Cash proved to be not only a pivotal figure in country music history but also a woman of many diverse talents. Born Valerie June Carter in Maces Springs, VA, the future starlet's mother was none other than Carter Family matriarch Maybelle Carter. As fate would have it, young Carter Cash took an immediate shine to the Autoharp when her mother began teaching her to play at an early age. Although the Carter Family would eventually disband, Maybelle would team with daughters June (on the Autoharp), Helen, and Anita in the late '50s to form the popular country quartet Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. A natural beauty who possessed a razor sharp wit, Carter Cash soon became popular for spicing up the live performances with comedy routines and monologues. Married to first husband Carl Smith in 1952, the couple performed together at the Grand Ole Opry and had a daughter, Rebecca (who later recorded under the name Carlene Carter), before separating later in the decade. Subsequently managed by Colonel Tom Parker and touring with Elvis Presley, Carter Cash embarked on a brief marriage to Nashville police officer Rip Nix (with whom she had another daughter) before deciding to try her luck with acting. Heading to New York to study under the tutelage of Elia Kazan (who had previously been spellbound by her live performance while scouting locations in Tennessee), the youthful country starlet was soon appearing in such television series as Gunsmoke and The Adventures of Jim Bowie in the '50s, and later had a recurring role in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman during the '90s. In addition to appearances on the long-running TV soap operas The Secret Storm and The Edge of Night, Carter Cash's feature roles included Country Music Holiday (1958), The Gospel Road (1973), and That's Country (1977). In 1997, she essayed the role of a southern preacher's mother in Robert Duvall's The Apostle.
Turning down an offer to appear on a variety show in favor of touring with Johnny Cash in 1961, their relationship soon blossomed into more than a professional one, and, in 1968, Johnny proposed to June on-stage in London, Ontario. Much more than just a wife to the country legend, the duo frequently toured together and June co-wrote (with Merle Kilgore) Cash's hit "Ring of Fire" (reportedly about her falling in love with him), and helped him write such enduring songs as, "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man," and "Jackson" (which earned the duo a Grammy). Johnny Cash also frequently credited his wife as a key figure in helping him to shake drug addiction and pull his life together. As a solo artist, Carter Cash released the albums Press On (A 1999 Grammy winner for Best Traditional Folk Album) and Wildwood Flower (2003). Two months after its release, June Carter Cash died suddenly on May 15, 2003, in Nashville as a result of complications from heart surgery. She was 73. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
June Carter Cash was born Valerie June Carter in Maces Spring, Virginia. She was born into country music and performed with the Carter Family from the young age of ten, beginning in 1939. In March 1943, when the Carter Family trio stopped recording together after the WBT contract, Maybelle Carter, with encouragement from her husband Ezra, formed "Mother Maybelle & the Carter Sisters" with her daughters: Helen; Anita; and June. The new group first aired on radio station WRTD in Richmond, Virginia, on June 1. Doc and Carl rejoined them in late 1945. June, then 16, was a co-announcer with Ken Allyn and did the commercials on the radio shows for "Red Star Flour", "Martha White," and "Thalhimers Department Store," just to name a few. For the next year, the Carters and Doc and Carl did show dates within driving range of Richmond through Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. She later said she had to work harder at her music than her sisters, but she had her own special talent, comedy. A highlight of the road shows was her "Aunt Polly" comedy routine. Carl wrote in his memoirs that June was "a natural born clown, if there ever was one." She attended John Marshall High School during this period.
Ezra Carter declined Grand Ole Opry offers to move the family to Nashville, Tennessee a number of times because the Opry would not permit Chet Atkins to accompany the group. Finally, in 1950 Opry management relented and the group, along with Atkins, became part of the Opry company. Here the family befriended Hank Williams and Elvis Presley (to whom they were distantly related), and June met Johnny Cash.
With her thin and lanky frame, June Carter often played a comedic foil during the group's performances alongside other Opry stars Faron Young and Webb Pierce.
Johnny Cash
Career highlights
June Carter Cash is best known for singing and songwriting, but she was also an author, actress, comedian, philanthropist and humanitarian.[2] Director Elia Kazan saw her perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and encouraged her to study acting. She studied with Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Her acting roles included Mrs. "Momma" Dewey in Robert Duvall's 1998 movie The Apostle, Sister Ruth, wife to Johnny Cash's character Kid Cole, on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-1997), and Clarise on Gunsmoke in 1957. June was also "Momma James," in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James.
As a singer, she had both a solo career and a career singing with first her family, and later her husband. As a solo artist, she became somewhat successful with upbeat country tunes of the 1950s like "Jukebox Blues" and, with her exaggerated breaths, the comedic hit "No Swallerin Place" by Frank Loesser. June also recorded "The Heel," in the 1960s along with many other songs. She won a Grammy Award in 1999 for her solo album, Press On. Her last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003 and won two additional Grammys. It contains bonus video enhancements showing extracts from the film of the recording sessions which took place at the Carter Family Estate in Hiltons, Virginia on September 18-20, 2002. The songs on the album include "Big Yellow Peaches," "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea," "Temptation," and the trademark staple "Wildwood Flower."
Her autobiography was published in 1979 and she wrote a memoir, From the Heart, almost 20 years later.[3]
Personal life
Carter was married three times and had one child with each husband. All three of her children would go on to have successful careers in country music.
She was married first to honky-tonk singer Carl Smith from July 9, 1952 until their divorce in 1956. Together they wrote "Times 'A' Wastin". They had a daughter, Rebecca Smith aka Carlene Carter, a famous country musician.
June's second marriage was to Edwin "Rip" Nix, a police officer and race-car driver, November 11, 1958. They had a daughter Rosie, on July 13, 1958. The couple divorced in 1966. Rosie Nix Adams later became a singer. On October 24, 2003, Rosie died on a bus from possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
John Carter Cash (born 3 March 1970) is the only child of Johnny and June Carter Cash. He is an American Country music-singer, songwriter and producer.
In 1968, Johnny Cash proposed to Carter during a live performance in London, Ontario, marrying on March 1, 1968.[3] At Carter's funeral, her stepdaughter, Rosanne Cash, stated that "if being a wife were a corporation, June would have been a CEO. It was her most treasured role."[4]
In 1967, the couple won a Grammy Award in the Best Country & Western Performance, Duet, Trio Or Group (vocal or instrumental) category for the song "Jackson". In 1970, they won again in the Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal category for the song, "If I Were a Carpenter".
Carter was a long-time supporter of SOS Children's Villages. In 1974 the Cashes donated money to help build a village near their home in Barrett Town, Jamaica, which they visited frequently, playing the guitar and singing songs to the children in the village.[5]
Death
June Carter Cash died in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 15, 2003, of complications following heart valve replacement surgery, surrounded by her family, and her husband of 35 years, Johnny Cash,[3][6] who died on September 12, 2003. Her second daughter, Rosey Carter Adams, died on on October 24, 2003, a month after her stepfather.[7]
Awards
In 1999, she won a Grammy Award for her album, Press On. Her last album, Wildwood Flower, was released posthumously in 2003 and won two additional Grammys. She ranked #31 in CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.
Bufwack, Mary. (1998). "Carter Sisters". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 85.
Cash, June Carter. Among My Klediments. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1979. ISBN 0-310-38170-3.
Dawidoff, Nicholas. In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music. Vintage Books, 1998. ISBN 0-375-70082-X.
McConnell, Carl P. A Brief History of My Family and an Autobiographical Sketch of My Musical Life. January 24, 1976. Background for liner notes for a Doc and Carl album recorded at Johnny Cash's Nashville studio.
Zwonitzer, Mark, with Charles Hirschberg. Will you miss me when I'm gone? : the Carter Family and their legacy in American music. New York Simon & Schuster, 2002.
