28 Vintage Photos of a Very Young Johnny Cash in the 1950s

John R. Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of Cash’s music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm, bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his backing band, the Tennessee Three, that was characterized by its train-like chugging guitar rhythms, a rebelliousness coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor, and his free prison concerts. Cash wore a trademark all-black stage wardrobe, which earned him the nickname “Man in Black.”

Johnny Cash’s early career, particularly in the 1950s, was a crucial period that shaped him into a country music legend. In 1954, Cash and his first wife Vivian moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He sold appliances while studying to be a radio announcer. At night, he played with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant. Perkins and Grant were known as the Tennessee Two. Cash worked up the courage to visit the Sun Records studio, hoping to get a recording contract. He auditioned for Sam Phillips by singing mostly gospel songs, only to learn from the producer that he no longer recorded gospel music. Cash eventually won over the producer with new songs delivered in his early rockabilly style. In 1955, he made his first recordings at Sun, “Hey Porter” and “Cry! Cry! Cry!,” which were released in late June and met with success on the country hit parade.

Cash’s next record, “Folsom Prison Blues,” made the country top five. His “I Walk the Line” became number one on the country charts and entered the pop charts top 20. “Home of the Blues” followed, recorded in July 1957. That same year, Cash became the first Sun artist to release a long-playing album. Although he was Sun’s most consistently selling and prolific artist at that time, Cash felt constrained by his contract with the small label. Phillips did not want Cash to record gospel and was paying him a 3% royalty rather than the standard rate of 5%.

In 1958, Cash left Phillips to sign a lucrative offer with Columbia Records. His single “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” became one of his biggest hits. He recorded a collection of gospel songs for his second album for Columbia. However, Cash left behind such a backlog of recordings with Sun that Phillips continued to release new singles and albums featuring previously unreleased material until as late as 1964. Cash was in the unusual position of having new releases out on two labels concurrently. Sun’s 1960 release, a cover of “Oh Lonesome Me,” made it to number 13 on the C&W charts.

Early in his career, Cash was given the teasing nickname “the Undertaker” by fellow artists because of his habit of wearing black clothes. He said he chose them because they were easier to keep looking clean on long tours.

By the end of the 1950s, Johnny Cash had gone from a struggling musician to one of country music’s biggest stars, setting the stage for his legendary career in the following decades. Here’s a selection of 28 amazing vintage photos of a very young Johnny Cash from the late 1950s: