The legendary life and storied career of June Carter Cash span the length and breadth of country music. Born in the foothills of Appalachian southwestern Virginia less than two years after the Bristol recording sessions that produced the “Big Bang” of modern country music, she became an acclaimed singer, songwriter, actress, comedienne, author, musician, evangelist, philanthropist, mother and wife. Along the way, she performed with Hank Williams (and sang at his funeral), toured with Elvis, and studied theater at New York’s mythic Neighborhood Studio with acclaimed directors Lee Strasberg and Sandy Meisner. She hung out and swapped songs with Eartha Kitt. Became a member of the Grand Ole Opry at age 20. June and Patsy Cline babysat each other’s kids. Ruth Graham was one of her best friends. Her first husband, Carl Smith, was the biggest country artist of the 1950s. And her marriage and musical collaborations with Johnny Cash continue to inspire generations of fans and lovers of love everywhere.
In between, June received five GRAMMY Awards—for “Jackson” and “If I Were a Carpenter” with Johnny Cash, her recording of “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and her albums Press On and Wildwood Flower—and was named Woman and Mother of the Year by Youth for Christ International, and was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.
A member of the fabled Carter family, her legendary life & career span the length & breadth of country music.
And, one of her greatest contributions to our musical heritage, Valerie June Carter, of Maces Springs, Virginia, daughter of Mother Maybelle, niece of A.P. and Sara, the fabled Carter Family, sister of Helen and Anita, the celebrated and sublime Carter Sisters, mother of Carlene and Rosie and John Carter, while sitting in her kitchen in Madison, Tennessee, on a hot summer’s day in the summer of 1962, composed one of the greatest songs in history, one that will forever define her legacy and portray so powerfully the searing, burning nature of all-consuming love.
Oh, the fire went wild.
