June Carter Cash (www.junecartercash.com/photos)
June Carter Cash
Country Music Singer
Country Music Hall of Fame
I spent several days in Nashville recently and enjoyed the entire visit, so I thought it appropriate to feature someone from that Music City. To make it even more meaningful, since we’re in the month of June, I chose June Carter Cash for my blog post.
Actually, this country music legend’s first name is Valerie. Her middle name is June, and she was born in Maces Spring, Virginia. Her maiden name is synonymous with the Carter family of musicians. She began performing with her mother, Maybelle, Aunt Sara and Uncle A.P. Carter when she was ten years old. The group morphed into The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, which included June, her sisters Helen and Anita, and their mother. June played autoharp, and was the frontperson and comedian.
When June was 16, she did the commercials on WRNL in Richmond, Virginia. The group, which then included Maybelle’s brother and cousin, The Virginia Boys, toured several states, and June’s special talent was comedy. She had a popular “Aunt Polly” slapstick routine in contrast to the serious country songs. Her father became manager of the group, but it wasn’t until 1950 that the Carters became part of the Grand Ole Opry. That’s where June met Johnny Cash. She and Cash became a celebrated duo for several years before they married, but June not only sang and wrote songs, she danced, acted in several movies and wrote her memoir From the Heart.
She and Johnny Cash were philanthropists to the international charity SOS Children’s Villages, primarily in Jamaica where they owned a home in Montego Bay.
Bio
- Born – June 23, 1929 in Maces Spring, Virginia
- Mother, singer Maybelle Addington; father, Ezra Carter
- 1946 – graduated from John Marshall High School, Richmond, Virginia
- 1949 – Living in Springfield, Missouri and performing with Mother Maybelle, sister Anita and lead guitarist Chet Atkins. The group performed on KWTO radio.
- 1950 – Became part of the Opry Company
Career
- 1957 – Clarise in Gunsmoke
- 1963 – Recorded “Ring of Fire” with Cash and The Carter Family
- 1964 – Sang “It Ain’t Me Babe” with Cash
- 1969-71 – A regular on The Johnny Cash Show
- 1983 – Mayhayley Lancaster in the television movie with Johnny Cash, Murder in Coweta County
- 1993-1997 – Sister Ruth, wife of Cash’s character, Kid Cole, in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
- 1998 – Mrs. “Momma” Dewey in The Apostle
Grammy Awards
- 1968 – “Jackson,” Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group; duet with Cash reached Number 2 on U.S. Country charts
- 1971 – Best Country Vocal Performance by a duo or Group for “If I were a Carpenter” with Johnny Cash
- 2000 – Best Traditional Folk Album, Press On
- 2004 – Best Traditional Folk Album, Wildwood Flower
- 2004 – Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Keep on the sunny Side”
- 2004 – Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Temptation” with Johnny Cash
- 2009 – Posthumously inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame
- 2025 – Posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
Personal
- 1952-56 – Married to Carl Smith, country singer and guitarist
- 1955 –September 26, daughter, Rebecca Carlene Smith, born
- 1957-1966 – Married to Edwin “Rip” Nix, football player, race care driver, police office and construction company owner
- 1958 – July 13, daughter, Rosie Nix, born
- 1968 – Married Johnny Cash in Franklin, Kentucky
- 1970 – March 3, son, John Carter Cash, born
- 2003 – May 15, June Carter Cash died at the age of 73
- 2003 – September 12, Johnny cash died at the age of 71
Further information
www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/june-carter-cash
www.npr.org/2005/11/24/5026598/june-carter-cash-a-pioneer-a-partner
Among my Klediments by June Carter Cash
My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:
Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists
