What was the exact date of Johnny Cash's birth?

Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932. He was born J. R. Cash in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Ray Cash and Carrie Cloveree Cash, and later became one of American music’s most influential singer-songwriters.

Cash grew up during the Great Depression in the farming community of Dyess, Arkansas, where his family worked cotton fields. His childhood experiences, including the death of his older brother Jack in a sawmill accident, influenced the themes of hardship, faith, guilt, and redemption that ran through his music. He began writing songs as a child and later served in the U.S. Air Force before pursuing a recording career.

Cash initially used the name J. R. because his parents could not agree on a first name. When he joined the Air Force, he adopted “John R. Cash,” and he later became widely known as Johnny Cash. He died on September 12, 2003, in Nashville, less than four months after the death of his wife, June Carter Cash. The date is sometimes confused with March 1, but February 26, 1932, is the established birth date.