Despite there being many Johnny Cash songs about failing and being down on your luck, that certainly wasn't true when it came to the singer's career. From the second his debut album — With His Hot and ...

Johnny Cash didn’t just sing country music; he was country music. We need not explain why that is the case, but the bottom line is that Johnny Cash was and always will be the epitome of country music.

Cash was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1997 about his career, from touring with Elvis to singing at prisons. He died in 2003.