by Steve Turner
1951
April 27 Graduated from Keesler AFB, Mississippi Transferred to Brooks AFB, Texas
July Met Vivian Liberto in San Antonio, Texas
September Arrived in Landsberg, Germany, where he served with Twelfth RSM
1952
July 9 June Carter married Carl Smith
1953
January 1 Death of Hank Williams
June Brief mission in Foggia, Italy
October 16-25 Traveled to Paris, France, and London, England
1954
July 3 Received honorable discharge at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey
July 5 Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right (Mama)" at Sun Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
July Met bass player Marshall Grant and guitarist Luther Perkins
August 7 Married Vivian Liberto in San Antonio, Texas
September 9 Saw Elvis perform for the first time Auditioned for Sam Phillips at Sun Records
1955
Studied part-time at Keegan's School of Broadcasting, Memphis, Tennessee
March 22 Recorded "Hey! Porter"
May Recorded "Cry, Cry, Cry"
May 24 First child, Rosanne Cash, born in Memphis, Tennessee
June 21 First single released
August 5 Played Overton Park Shell, Memphis, Tennessee, with Elvis Presley
September 26 June Carter Smith gave birth to daughter, Rebecca Carlene
November 19 Wrote "I Walk the Line" backstage in Gladewater, Texas
December 12 Suggested "Blue Suede Shoes" story to Carl Perkins in Amory, Mississippi
1956
February 11 "Folsom Prison Blues" entered the country music charts
April 2 Recorded "I Walk the Line"
April 16 Second child, Kathy Cash, born in Memphis, Tennessee
June 15 Jack Clement began job as Sun's engineer
July 7 Debut on Grand Ole Opry (met June Carter)
August Toured Texas with Faron Young, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Horton
December 4 Million Dollar Quartet session with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley
December 6 June Carter Smith granted a divorce from Carl Smith
1957
January 19 Appeared on Jackie Gleason Show
February 17 Started first Canadian Tour
April 21 Started first California Tour
July Introduced to amphetamines
August 31 Met Don Law of Columbia Records in Los Angeles, California
September 10 Released first LP
October 11 First session with Jack Clement as producer ("Ballad of a Teenage Queen")
November 11 June Carter married Edwin "Rip" Nix
1958
May 15 Recorded Hank Williams's songs
July 14 Announced his departure from Sun
July 18 Final session at Sun
July 29 Third child, Cindy Cash, born in Memphis, Tennessee
August 1 Started Columbia contract
August Moved family to California
November First Columbia album released
1959
January 1 Played San Quentin prison, California (Merle Haggard was an inmate)
January 13 Recorded gospel songs for Columbia
February 3 Death of Buddy Holly
February 23 Subject of a feature in TIME magazine
March 23 Screen test in Hollywood
September 17 Performed on British TV
October 23 Appeared on Burl Ives's TV show
November Departure of his manager, Bob Neal
1960
March 2 Elvis left the army
June Filmed Five Minutes to Live
August 5 Drummer W. S. "Fluke" Holland joined the band, making it the Tennessee Three
November 5 Death of Johnny Horton
November 9 J. F. Kennedy elected president
1961
April 27 Started recording Hymns from the Heart
July Saul Holiff took over from Stew Carnall as Cash's manager
August 24 Fourth child, Tara Cash, born in Encino, California
September Cash family moved to Casitas Springs, California
November 14 Arrested for drunkenness in Nashville, Tennessee
December 7 In Dallas, Texas, June Carter appeared on Cash show for the first time
1962
February 11 June Carter joined the Cash show
May 9 Appeared on Mike Wallace show
May 10 Made his debut at Carnegie Hall, New York
June 15 Appeared at Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California
August First British Tour dates
November Played for troops in Korea
1963
January 1 Played San Quentin prison, California
February Joined Avenue Community Church, Ventura, California
March 25 Recorded "Ring of Fire"
June 8 "Ring of Fire" entered pop charts
September 30 Appeared on TV show Hootenanny
October 28 Beginning of Beatlemania in Britain
November 22 Assassination of President John F. Kennedy; Cash concert in Dallas was cancelled
1964
February 7 Beatles arrived in America
March 5 Recorded "Ballad of Ira Hayes"
July 26 Played Newport Folk Festival and met Bob Dylan
August 22 Placed ad lambasting radio stations for not playing "Ballad of Ira Hayes"
1965
January 10 Appeared on Shindig!
June 27 Caused 508-acre forest fire in Los Padres National Park
July 25 Defended Bob Dylan in pages of folk magazine Broadside after Dylan went electric
August 31 Met the Beatles in their trailer at Cow Palace, San Francisco
October 4 Arrested in El Paso, Texas, with stimulants and tranquilizers
October 27 Folk singer Peter La Farge found dead
December 28 Appeared in court in El Paso, Texas
1966
June Carter divorced Edwin "Rip" Nix
March Kris Kristofferson arrived in Nashville, Tennessee
May 5 Second British Tour
May 11 Met Dylan backstage at Sofia Gardens, Cardiff, England
May 16 Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album released
June 30 Divorce proceedings started by Vivian Liberto Cash
August 29 Beatles's final concert, San Francisco, California
October 10 Bought land in Hendersonville, Tennessee
December 13 Arrested for "picking flowers" in Starkeville, Mississippi
1967
January 11 Recorded "Jackson" with June Carter
March Purchased home on Old Hickory Lake
June 27 Was sued for $125,000 because of forest fire Bob Johnston replaced Don Law as Cash's producer
November 2 Jailed overnight in Lafayette, Georgia,
November Dr. Nat Winston brought in to wean Cash off drugs
November 5 Attended First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, Tennessee, with June
1968
January 3 Cash's and Vivian's divorce finalized
January 11 Vivian Liberto Cash married Dick Distin
January 13 Recorded concert at Folsom Prison, Represa, California
February 22 Proposed to June onstage in London, Ontario
March 1 Married June in Franklin, Kentucky
April 9 Martin Luther King assassinated
May 4—19 British Tour
May Holiday in Israel
June 6 Robert Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles, California
August 5 Death of Luther Perkins
October 23 Played Carnegie Hall, New York
October 2 5 -
November 3 British Tour
November 6 Richard Nixon elected president
December 3 Elvis Presley TV comeback
December 10 Visited Wounded Knee
1969
January Far East Tour, including Vietnam
February 18 Recorded with Bob Dylan in Nashville for Nashville Skyline
February 24 San Quentin concert for album and TV documentary
June 7 -
September 27 First ABC television series
September 27 Sell-out at Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California
October 1 Abbey Road by the Beatles released
October 18 Nashville Banner reported Cash was outselling Beatles
December Featured on the cover of Life magazine
December Billy and Ruth Graham visited Cashes for the first time
1970
January 2 1 -
May 13 Second ABC television series
March 3 Fifth child, John Carter Cash, born in Madison, Tennessee
April 9 Break-up of the Beatles
April 17 Played White House as guest of President Nixon
May 24 Appeared as guest at Billy Graham Crusade, Knoxville, Tennessee
September 23—
March 3 1 , 1971 Third ABC television series
October 24 Release of A Gunfight starring Cash and Kirk Douglas
1971
February 16 Recorded the song "Man in Black''
February 17 Appeared on This Is Your Life
March Australian Tour
May 9 Public declaration of his Christian faith at Evangel Temple
September 9 Biography Winners Got Scars Too by Christopher Wren was published
November 2 Flew to Israel to film Gospel Road
November Baptized in Jordan by Rev. Jimmy Snow (second baptism)
1972
February 11 Performed on first Grand Ole Gospel Time show at Ryman Theater
June 17 Appeared at Explo '72 in Dallas, Texas, with Billy Graham
August 10 Lou Robin took over from Saul Holiff as manager
October 23 Nashville premiere of Gospel Road
1973
January 23 Vietnam peace treaty signed
September 1 Appeared with Billy Graham at SPRE-E '73 in London,England
October 15 Hosted Country Music Association Awards
1974
January Guest appearance on Columbo with Peter Falk
August 8 Resignation of President Richard Nixon
December Spent Christmas with Billy and Ruth Graham
1975
January 22 June's father, Ezra "Eck" Carter, died
August Published first autobiography,Man in Black
September 9-25 European Tour
October 25-31 Japanese Tour
1976
February Broke ankle while in Montego Bay, Jamaica
March 20 Johnny Cash Homecoming Day in Kingsland, Arkansas
July 4 Was Parade Marshall in Bicentennial celebration, Washington, D.C.
July 6 Recorded with Waylon Jennings
1977
January Earle Poole Ball joined on keyboards
May Awarded associate degree of theology by Christian International School of Theology
May 15 With Billy Graham at crusade in South Bend, Indiana
August 16 Death of Elvis Presley Ordained as Christian minister
October 17 Filmed Christmas Special with Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins
1978
February 1-5 Five nights with Billy Graham in Las Vegas, Nevada
March Unissued Cash material released by Bear Records, Germany
April 10-11 Played Prague with daughter Rosanne
September 28 Hospitalized with cystic sinusitis
October 23 Death of Mother Maybelle Carter
December Took entire staff to Israel
1979
March 11-21 British Tour
March 31 Johnny Cash museum opened
May 4 Margaret Thatcher won British election
June 24-27 Appeared with Billy Graham in Nashville, Tennessee
August 13 Renewed marriage vows in Jamaica
September 4 Denied drugs and marriage problems
October 18 Received UN Humanitarian Award
December Recorded in London, England, with Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello
1980
January Vacationed in Britain, Italy, and Egypt
March
July 30_
August 5 Los Angeles concerts cancelled due to Cash's illness
August 11 Appeared on the Muppet Show
October 13 Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
December 8 John Lennon killed in New York City
1981
April 23 Stuttgart, Germany. Concert with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins was recorded
June 15-23 Australian Tour
June 24 Marshall Grant sued Cash for $2.6 million
July 29 Prince Charles married Diana Spencer in London, England
September Ribs broken by ostrich
December 21 Cash family held up by masked gang at their Jamaican home
1982
January 9 Part of Gallatin Road was renamed Johnny Cash Parkway, Hendersonville, Tennessee
April 17 Hosted Saturday Night Live
September 22 Started filming Murder in Coweta County
1983
May 20 Four days in the hospital to treat compressed vertebrae
October 17-22 Filmed Christmas special at Carter Fold in Virginia
November 10 Cut hand badly when in Nottingham, England
November 2 2 -
December 16 Hospitalized in Nashville, Tennessee, for bleeding duodenal ulcer
December 20 Taken to Betty Ford Center
1984
January 31 Checked out of Betty Ford Center
April 12 Recorded "Chicken in Black" single
May 23 Performed at Bob Hope's 81st Birthday Special
November 12-17 Filmed Christmas Special in Montreux, Switzerland
December Recorded with Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson
1985
February 7 Appeared on the David Letterman Show with Waylon Jennings
April 22 Surgery on abdominal scar tissue
June 4-17 Australian Tour
July 13 Live Aid took place in London, England, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
September Recorded in Memphis with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and others
September Filmed The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James Rainbow,
October Rainbowlast album for Columbia, released
December 23 Death of Ray Cash at age eighty-eight
1986
January Filmed TV movie Stagecoach Challenger space shuttle exploded
June Published novel Man in White
July 17 Columbia did not renew Cash's contract, after twenty-eight years
August 21 Signed with Polygram
September Started recording for Polygram label, Mercury
1987
April Sang duets with Kris Kristofferson at Bottom Line, New York
May 16 Developed irregular heartbeat during concert at Council Bluffs, Iowa
August 22 Played in Gdansk, Poland
1988
February 12 Endorsed Senator Al Gore's bid to run as a presidential candidate
February Rosanne Cash had a hit with "Tennessee Flat Top Box"
March 22 Johnny Cash exhibit opened at Country Music Hall of Fame
April 20-28 German Tour
April 30-May 12 British Tour
December 12 Routine medical check-up detected artery blockage
December 19 Hospitalized for bypass surgery
1989
January 3 Left hospital
May Johnny Cash tribute album, Till Things Are Brighter, released in Britain
May 3 Life-threatening chest problem in Paris
August 24-26 Canceled three shows because of bronchitis and respiratory infection
November 19 Entered a drug treatment center for relapse prevention
December 6 Left drug treatment center
1990
January Had tooth removed, which later caused cyst problem
February 7 Stopped TV taping due to jaw pain
March 1 Highwaymen press conference
at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee
March 3-17 Highwaymen Tour
September 17-
October 9 Highwaymen Tour
1991
February 20 Won Living Legend Award at Grammies
March 11 Death of Carrie Cash at the age of eighty-six
May 1 Creation of Cash Country in Branson, Missouri, was announced
May 5-23 Highwaymen tour Australia and New Zealand
1992
January 15 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
April 1-26 Highwaymen tour Scandinavia and Europe
May Failure of Cash Country announced
October 16 Appeared at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Celebration at Madison Square Garden, New York
1993
February 8 Recorded "The Wanderer" in Dublin for U2 album Zooropa
February 27 Met Rick Rubin backstage at Rhythm Cafe, Santa Ana
May 17-20 Did first recordings for Def American in Rick Rubin's Hollywood living room
July 8 Death of Roy Cash at the age of seventy-one
December Played the Viper Room, Hollywood, California
1994
February 13-
March 3 Toured Australia and New Zealand with Kris Kristofferson
April 18-21 Filmed video for "Delia's Gone" with Kate Moss
April 26 Released American Recordings
June 26 Played Glastonbury Festival, England
October 17 Filmed Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman with Jane Seymour
October 3 1 -
November 8 Recorded third Highwaymen album in Santa Monica, California
1995
February American Recordings wins Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album
May 4 Canceled European Tour after jaw surgery complications
May 31-June 28 Highwaymen Tour
September 7-29 European Tour
November 3 -
December 3 Highwaymen tour New Zealand, Australia, and Far East
1996
November Released Unchained, second album with Rick Rubin
November 11 Filmed Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
December 9 Appeared on Larry King Live
1997
September 16 Told band of his retirement plans, Washington, D.C.
October 15 Cash: The Autobiography published
October 25 Final concert in Flint, Michigan
October 22 Book tour cancelled due to ill health
October 29 Entered hospital for tests
1998
January 19 Death of Carl Perkins
February Unchained won Grammy for Best Country Album
June 24 Joined Kris Kristofferson onstage in Nashville, Tennessee
August 6 Hospitalized for four days
1999
January Given Lifetime Achievement Award at Grammies
April 6 All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash, New York
