Johnny Cash Becomes First Musician to Receive Statue in US Capitol

Genre-bending singer-songwriter Johnny Cash has posthumously achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first musician to be commemorated with a statue in the U.S. Capitol.
A bronze sculpture of the Grammy Award-winning singer will now represent the state of Arkansas as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, an exhibition of 100 statues—two from each state—aimed at honoring notable figures in history.
The statue was unveiled on Sept. 24 in Washington as congressional leaders, Arkansas officials, and more than 100 members of Cash’s family, including daughters Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash Schwoebel, Cindy Cash, and Kathy Cash-Tittle, as well as his sister Joanne Cash, gathered to remember Cash’s indelible legacy.
“He was an everyday man. He loved to fish, and he suffered the pain of loss. He was the son of Southern farmers and of the Great Depression,” Johnson said.
“Cash looks downward as he steps forward with his right foot. Lost in thought, he grapples with many different emotions, his left hand gripping his guitar strap at his chest, his right hand clasping a Bible at his side,” a description of the statue reads.
The bronze figure is one of two new statues that the state of Arkansas has donated to the U.S. Capitol.
Cash’s statue replaces the likeness of former U.S. Senator and Arkansas Governor James Paul Clarke in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center’s Emancipation Hall. The second statue, which depicts civil rights leader Daisy Bates, was unveiled in the National Statuary Hall in May, replacing a marble statue of attorney Uriah Rose.
However, in 1954, Cash—then in his early 20s—auditioned for the Memphis, Tennessee-based music label Sun Records, where he landed his first record deal.
Three years later, Cash released his debut studio album, “Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!,” which featured four of his hit singles: “Cry! Cry! Cry!,” “So Doggone Lonesome,” “I Walk the Line,” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”
Subsequent albums included “Ride This Train” (1960), “Blood, Sweat and Tears” (1963), “Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian” (1964), and “At Folsom Prison” (1968), among many others.
Cash was also known for his television show, “The Johnny Cash Show,” a country variety show that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1971.
Cash, whose career in music spanned nearly five decades, died on Sept. 12, 2003, at the age of 71 from complications of diabetes.
During the statue unveiling ceremony, Cash’s nephew, Dr. Mike Garrett, the executive director of Christian Counseling Associates Raleigh, said the singer’s family was “very encouraged” to see that his bronze likeness was holding a Bible.
“I think if there were visiting hours in heaven, I believe [Johnny] would say, ‘Kevin Kresse: You got that right,’” Garrett said, adding that Cash’s faith was an important part of his life.