Jim Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry in the early 1950s, didn’t know if Johnny Cash fit the bill at first. “When I came to appear on the Grand Ole Opry the first time, I waited two hours out in the waiting room before the manager of the Opry [Jim Denny] finally said, ‘Come on in,’” said Cash in Robert K. Oermann’s book Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain.
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“He looked at my black clothes and long hair and sideburns and said, ‘What makes you think you belong on the Grand Ole Opry?’” recalled Cash. “So I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a record in the Top 10. I think they’d like to hear me.’”
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On July 7, 1956, Johnny Cash made his Grand Ole Opry debut and performed three songs: “I Walk the Line,” “Get Rhythm” and “So Doggone Lonesome.” Throughout the years, Cash would continue to return to the Opry, even after his infamous 1965 performance, which resulted in his ban from the house. He was later welcomed back to the Opry in 1968 and remained a member until his death on September 12, 2003, at 71.
This year, the Grand Ole Opry will celebrate Cash’s life on the 20th anniversary of his passing on September 12. The “Opry Honors Johnny Cash” will feature performances by a number of artists influenced by Cash, including Rodney Crowell, The Gatlin Brothers, William Beckman, Jamey Johnson, The War and Treaty, Chris Janson, along with the the Opry debut of the Tennessee Four.
The Tennessee Four is comprised of Cash’s oldest grandson, Thomas Gabriel on vocals, and musicians who played with Cash, including guitarist Kerry Marx, bassist Dave Roe, and drummer Paul Leim.
In 1958, Cash moved to California and signed with Columbia Records, and later released songs like his No. 1, “Ring of Fire,” and “I Got Stripes,” which went to No. 4 on the country chart. Along with a heavier touring schedule, Cash also battled his addictions during this time and saw the end of his first marriage.
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Several years after his Opry ban, Cash married his singing partner June Carter, who was an Opry member early on with the Carter Sisters, in 1967. She helped him through his sobriety in the late 1960s, and a comeback of his career with the 1968 hit album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and his variety show, The Johnny Cash Show, which aired from 1969 through 1971.
Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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