G'day "y'all",

I was trawling through the web for any news I could find about John and June and I found this in The Tennessean. I hope some of you find it interesting.

Ryman exhibit honors Johnny and June Carter Cash

By Peter Cooper • THE TENNESSEAN • October 8, 2009

While a few onlookers viewed the items in the new Johnny and June at the Ryman exhibit as rare, fragile and untouchable totems of Nashville royalty, John Carter Cash chose to reach right in.

"I don't remember seeing this one," said Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash, grabbing a Fender acoustic guitar gifted to his father by Carl Perkins, with "Johnny Cash" inlaid up the guitar neck. "That's really cool."

For his entire life, Cash has had ready access to such things. Reaching inside an exhibit case is his birthright. But that doesn't mean his appreciation for his parents' careers or for the Ryman building where they met and where they performed has been dimmed.

"My parents saw the Ryman as the church of country music," he said. "The Ryman is very important to my family and to me. The people at the Ryman contacted me about doing an exhibit to pay historical tribute to my parents' association with the Ryman, and I'm really excited to see that happening."

Brenda Colladay, the curator at the Grand Ole Opry Museum, was instrumental in putting together the exhibit, which includes an autoharp played by June, outfits and footage from ABC's Johnny Cash Show (which was taped at the Ryman), handwritten lyrics of "What Is Truth?" with two verses of "extra" lyrics that Cash did not record, the gold record from Cash's Live at Folsom Prison album, footage from Grand Ole Opry appearances and other items of interest.

Not included are shards from the footlights that Cash kicked in 1965 — an incident that led to him being briefly banned from the Opry. It's not often that a music hall's staff chooses to pay formal tribute to someone who committed violence against the building.

"That's part of the history of this place now, my father knocking out those footlights," Cash said. "But if he said, 'I'm sorry I did that to the Ryman,' they believed him and appreciated him and he meant it. He loved the Ryman. After my father passed away, we did a musical tribute to his life that was filmed here."

Johnny and June first met in 1956, though they weren't married until 1968.

"The story goes that my father walked up to her, and that the reason he came (to the Grand Ole Opry that night) was he wanted to meet her. And he said, 'I'm going to marry you one day' here between these walls, and she said, 'Sure.' They were both married (to other people) at the time. That's pretty unusual."

The same year he met June, Cash made his Opry debut at the Ryman.

At the time, he considered playing that show in that room to be the achievement of his life's greatest ambition.

"As his last words filtered into the farthermost corners, many in the crowd were on their feet, cheering, waving and clapping," wrote the Nashville Banner's Ben A. Green. "They, too, had taken a new member into the family."



June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash are shown at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. A new exhibit at the Ryman honors the legendary country music couple's links to the revered institution. (LES LEVERETT)

I am very glad that the Ryman is finally giving Johnny and June Carter Cash some of the recognition they so deserve and kudos to Brenda Colladay for her contribution...

But you ain't seen NOTHING until you go to Corona!!!

Thanks for the information, Grahame! Are there any dates for this? I reread the article and if it's there, I am missing it.

Heyyyyyyyyyy Grahame! You beat me to it! My Dad saved the article from The Tennesseean and I was gonna put it in here, LOL. The article has a couple of other pictures in it as well as the one you have.

Paulette - the article in the paper doesn't have a date either. Hopefully it will be permanent, eh?

Patsy, If folks take the Back Stage Tour they can see the Johnny and June dressing room which is included in their dialog and has a few nice pictures, so that's always been there memorializing them. But it's great that they are having this other exhibit, too. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Lisa

Should have taken that tour!!!

Lisa, that sounds like a "must see." Nice that the Ryman is honoring Johnny and June. It is my humble opinion that no one is more deserving.

It's about time Nashville reconizes Johnny and June. It is well deserving

Thanks Lisa and permanent is good! Sounds like we need to plan another trip to Nashville soon! <wink>

Patsy, I would love to go to Corona but it's so far from KY but I still hope to get there someday.

Paulette-

If you come out here Shannon and I will buy you breakfast, lunch and dinner...

Patsy-

Thanks. You are absolutely right!!!
As Johnny said "that's tellin' it like it is, ain't it?"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BillMiller,

This is awesome!!!!
Can not wait to go to Nashville...
I love this picture too! you can just see the love they have for each other
Thanks Grahame & Lisa

An after thought- Grahame..I am going to use this picture as my new tagline!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CashandMe,

Great article...thanks for posting it. Johnny and June lead the final song at the Opry the night they moved from the Old Ryman to the New Opry House. A tribute to them is well deserved!

quote:

Originally posted by CashandMe:
This is awesome!!!!
Can not wait to go to Nashville...
I love this picture too! you can just see the love they have for each other
Thanks Grahame & Lisa

An after thought- Grahame..I am going to use this picture as my new tagline!

It is a very nice photo, Marion.

Bill, a visit to Corona is #1 on my wish list, mate.

Here's another update I found online about the Ryman Cash exhibit. I hope it is of some interest.

Johnny, June Carter Cash Ryman Exhibit Opens
Display Includes June's Autoharp

POSTED: 12:54 pm CDT October 8, 2009
UPDATED: 4:24 pm CDT October 8, 2009

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A new exhibit dedicated to Johnny and June Carter Cash is now on display at the Ryman Auditorium.

"It features an autoharp played by June, outfits and footage from "The Johnny Cash Show" plus the gold record from Johnny's "Live at Folsom Prison" album.

"The exhibit is included in ticket prices to tour the Ryman."

quote:

Patsy-

Thanks. You are absolutely right!!!
As Johnny said "that's tellin' it like it is, ain't it?"

It SURE is!! I was VERY disappointed in Nashville's tributes to Johnny and June.. In fact I sent a picture of them to the hotel ???? we stayed at for one of the CashBash in Nashville.. Sad....

I don't know anything about anything, especially in the United States, but it seems to me that John's and June's presence should be very readily felt and seen in at least Nashville and Memphis, not to mention the other places of significance in the Cash/Carter story.

I am disturbed at stories about how the only thing to see in Hendersonville is the cemetery. I have even heard one story about how, on the road named after John, the street sign was obscured by weeds. That's just plain disrespectful to anyone, let alone a very significant figure like John.

When I was at the cemetery for my mate's funeral on Thursday, I visited my mother-in-law's memorial garden and was very disappointed to find it rather overgrown and untidy despite the fact that we pay for regular maintenance. I spent an hour or so cleaning it up, made a list of jobs and visited the office to request more regular maintenance only to be told that only Lyn's eldest sister as the executor of the will could make that request. So why are we paying for maintenance if it then has to be requested and only one person can do so? I asked Lyn to contact her sister to follow the issue up as I think it is very disrespectful to their mother for her garden to be in any way unkempt. She would be better off with no garden, just a plaque on a wall, than to have an untidy one.

In the case of John and June, I humbly assert (as an outsider who knows so little that he is a knowledge vacuum) that it would be a national disgrace for the American people to fail to honour John and June and their legacy in perpetuity. You might as well dismantle Mt Rushmore while you're at it.

... just one bloke's opinion ...