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June Carter Cash

Historical Figure

June Carter Cash

d. 2003

American singer (1929–2003)

Contemporary

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Biography

Valerie June Carter Cash was an American country singer, songwriter, comedienne, actress, and author. A five-time Grammy Award winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Before her marriage, she performed as June Carter, a name she continued to use professionally, including on songwriting credits. She played guitar, banjo, harmonica, and autoharp, and acted in several films and television shows. In 2009, she was posthumously inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and in 2025, she was named a posthumous inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Timeline

The story of June Carter Cash, told in moments.

1929 Birth

Born Valerie June Carter in Maces Spring, Virginia. The Carter Family was already country music royalty. She was performing onstage by age ten.

1961 Event

Joined the Johnny Cash road show. He was married. She was married. Both were spiraling. She co-wrote "Ring of Fire" about the feeling of falling for him. It became his biggest hit.

1968 Event

Johnny proposed onstage at a concert in London, Ontario. She said yes. They married a few weeks later. She'd helped him through his worst years of amphetamine addiction. He credited her with saving his life.

1999 Life

Won a Grammy for Press On at age 70. A raw folk album that proved she'd always been more than a sidekick. She played autoharp, guitar, banjo, harmonica, and acted in every major medium.

In Their Own Words (1)

Artifacts (12)

From the Heart

A memoir by the country music veteran detailing her personal life and career triumphs.

1987

The Last Days of Frank & Jesse James

From 1866 to 1882, Missouri's Frank and Jesse James led a gang that robbed banks, held up trains and became the most famous outlaws in American history. After 15 years of thievery, the legendary...

2003

Mother Maybelle's Cookbook: A Kitchen Visit with America's First Family of Country Song

Performer June Carter Cash shares the recipes of her childhood,full-course Southern meals, and includes a rich helping of Carter family anecdotes.

1989

I feel that I am here to defend the rights of men; I cannot consent to any amend...

nstituent Assembly declared full and equal citizenship for all free people of colour. In the debate Robespierre said: "I feel that I am here to defend the rights of men; I cannot consent to any...

Works Talk

perfectly constructed, a brilliant fusion of logic and emotion, as much a work o...

he delivered a speech on abolishing the death penalty, which the Assembly did not support. Hillary Mantel described his speech as "perfectly constructed, a brilliant fusion of logic and emotion, as...

Works Talk

A revolutionary war must be waged to free subjects and slaves from unjust tyrann...

ions. In his third speech on the war, Robespierre countered on 25 January 1792 in the Jacobin club, "A revolutionary war must be waged to free subjects and slaves from unjust tyranny, not for the...

Works Talk

Among My Klediments

1981

The Wildwood Flower: An Original Screenplay

1986

Wildwood Flower

2003

Keep on the Sunny Side: June Carter Cash - Her Life in Music

2005

Keep on the Sunnyside: Her Life in Music

2005

Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash: Jackson, 'Cause I Love You, What'd I Say & More

2006

More from the Contemporary

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