Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in Arkansas part of larger story | Backroad Travels
In the middle of rice fields, the modest home of a country icon is a not only glimpse of his life, but a snapshot of a greater story.
Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in Dyess was added recently to the National Register of Historic Places.
The house is owned by Arkansas State University, which spent $575,000 to buy, restore, furnish and landscape the property.
It now provides hundreds of visitors from across the nation and the world a glimpse into the making of The Man in Black.
But the Cash home is just part of a federal resettlement area for Delta farmers called the Dyess Colony.
Read the full story here:
Inside Johnny Cash's Boyhood Home
Happy Thanksgiving!
Now it's time for something completely different! Tyler Evans has been a big part of livefastdiepoor.com from the beginning, mostly behind the camera. Now we made him jump in front of it to kick off his own series, Tyler Evans Rock Journalist - His channel is at:
So as a special treat, we get to share Tyler's first couple videos on this channel.
From Tyler,
In the beautiful farming community of Dyess, Arkansas, we were given the rare opportunity to take a tour through the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. The folks from Arkansas State University took us on a guided walkthrough, giving us intimate access to things that won't be accessible to the public when the home becomes a museum in 2014. The house, which Ray Cash moved his family into in 1935, is a relic of rock and roll history. It's where Johnny Cash learned to sing, and its setting served as a muse for some of his most popular songs, like Five Feet High and Rising, and Pickin' Time.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Dr. Ruth Hawkins & her team for letting us intrude on their valuable time and offer the LFDP folks a glimpse inside the restoration process
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More on the boyhood home:
A VERY laggy walkthrough of the ASU Dyess Colony Boyhood home of Johnny Cash
made with ezvid, free download at Trying out some new screen capture software on my laptop/wifi. Not really optimum for Second life :p It's an awesome sim to check out sometime.
Johnny Cash boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas
September 2013
Dyess Arkansas' Only Elevator? Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Museum
This is a really neat elevator and it might be the only elevator in Dyess, AR. I forgot to ask while there so I am not sure if there is anymore elevators but judging from the size of the town, I'm thinking it might be the only elevator in town. Johnny Cash was born in Kinsland, AR but his family moved to Dyess when he was around 3 years old. His boyhood home has been restored and looks as closely as it possibly can when Johnny was living there through out his childhood. The administrative building of Dyess Colony houses the museum that recollects Dyess' history along with a section dedicated to Johnny Cash and his family and career. For more information about this historic place, go to for photos we took here and out at the boyhood home of Johnny Cash go to my FB photo album at this link I also have a video of the journey from town to the location of the boyhood home at this link on my YT Channel
Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Restoration
Arkansas State University's Heritage Sites program, working with the Cash family, has restored the boyhood home of Johnny Cash in Dyess, Ark. The project began in 2011 as A-State took possession of the shell of the original house. After four years, it opened to the general public on Aug. 16, 2014. Members of the Cash family, siblings Tommy and Joanne, daughters Tara, Cindy and Rosanne toured the restoration and weighed in on the house.
The Economic Impact of the Historic Dyess Colony
The Arkansas Parks, Recreation, and Travel Commission hold their monthly meeting in Dyess, Ark.
Exploring Arkansas Special Edition: Country Music
Tune in to dive into The Natural State's rich country music history with visits to see Historic Dyess Colony: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home; Arkansas Living Treasure and fiddle maker and player Violet Hensley; Mountain View, Arkansas, bluegrass prodigy Mary Parker; and Searcy, Arkansas, banjo builder Randall Wyatt!
Cindy Cash Interview
Johnny Cash's daughter, Cindy, talks about her first opportunity to view the restored Dyess Colony and the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.
Childhood Home Of 'The Man In Black' Is Now An Official American Treasure
The home where country music icon Johnny Cash lived from age 3 through high school has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Dyess is a small Arkansas town close to the Tennessee border. The house is owned by Arkansas State University, which spent $575,000 to buy, restore, furnish and landscape the property. The five-room farmhouse was built in 1934 as part of the Dyess Resettlement Colony by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Cash died in 2003 at age 71 after an incredibly successful musical career. Among his many hit songs were I Walk the Line and Ring of Fire.
This video was produced by YT Wochit Entertainment using
Memories of Lepanto, AR in the early 50's
Thanks to Mrs. Betty Sharp, we can share these precious home movies with all of you. Scenes of everyday life in Lepanto from the early 50's. I have also posted still shots captured from this video and have posted them on the Facebook Lepanto, AR page. Enjoy. With love, Betty Sharp and Kim Richardson Emery
Johnny Cash (Best Songs) vol.1
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author.[1] He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide.[2][3] Although primarily remembered as a country music icon, his genre-spanning songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of multiple inductions in the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.
Cash was known for his deep, calm bass-baritone voice,[a][5] the distinctive sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, which is characterized by train-sound guitar rhythms; a rebelliousness[6][7] coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor,[4] free prison concerts,[8][9] and a trademark, all-black stage wardrobe, which earned him the nickname The Man in Black.[b] He traditionally began his concerts by simply introducing himself, Hello, I'm Johnny Cash,[c] followed by his signature song Folsom Prison Blues.
Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career.[4][12] His signature songs include I Walk the Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, Get Rhythm, and Man in Black. He also recorded humorous numbers like One Piece at a Time and A Boy Named Sue; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called Jackson (followed by many further duets after their marriage); and railroad songs including Hey, Porter, Orange Blossom Special and Rock Island Line.[13] During the last stage of his career, Cash covered songs by several late 20th-century rock artists, notably Hurt by Nine Inch Nails and Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode.
J. R. Cash was born on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas,[14][15] to Ray Cash (May 13, 1897 in Kingsland, Arkansas – December 23, 1985 in Hendersonville, Tennessee) and Carrie Cloveree (née Rivers; March 13, 1904 in Rison, Arkansas – March 11, 1991 in Hendersonville, Tennessee). He was the fourth of seven children, who were in birth order: Roy, Margaret Louise, Jack, J. R., Reba, Joanne, and Tommy (who also became a successful country artist).[16][17] He was primarily of English and Scottish descent.[18][19][20] As an adult he traced his surname to 11th-century Fife, after meeting with the then-laird of Falkland, Major Michael Crichton-Stuart.[21][22][23] Cash Loch and other locations in Fife bear the name of his family.[21]
At birth, Cash was named J. R. Cash.[24] When Cash enlisted in the United States Air Force, he was not permitted to use initials as a first name, so he changed his name to John R. Cash. In 1955, when signing with Sun Records, he took Johnny Cash as his stage name.[7]
In March 1935, when Cash was three years old, the family settled in Dyess, Arkansas, a New Deal colony established to give poor families a chance to work land that they had a chance to own as a result. J.R. started working in cotton fields at the age of five, singing along with his family while working. The family farm was flooded on at least two occasions, which led him later to write the song Five Feet High and Rising.[25][page needed] His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression inspired many of his songs, especially those about other people facing similar difficulties. He had sympathy for the poor and working class.
Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack. In May 1944, Jack was pulled into a whirling head saw in the mill where he worked and was almost cut in two. He suffered for more than a week before dying on May 20, 1944, at the age of 15.[25][page needed] Cash often spoke of the horrible guilt he felt over this incident. According to Cash: The Autobiography, his father was away that morning, but Johnny and his mother, and Jack himself, all had premonitions or a sense of foreboding about that day. His mother urged Jack to skip work and go fishing with his brother. Jack insisted on working since the family needed the money. On his deathbed, Jack said he had visions of Heaven and angels. Decades later, Cash spoke of looking forward to meeting his brother in Heaven.[7]
Cash's early memories were dominated by gospel music and radio. Taught guitar by his mother and a childhood friend, Cash began playing and writing songs at the age of twelve. When young, Cash had a high tenor voice, before becoming a bass-baritone after his voice changed.[26] In high school, he sang on a local radio station. Decades later he released an album of traditional gospel songs, called My Mother's Hymn Book. He was also significantly influenced by traditional Irish music, which he heard performed weekly by Dennis Day on the Jack Benny radio program.[27][page needed]
15 Cool and Unusual Places to Visit in Arkansas
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15 Cool and Unusual Places to Visit in Arkansas