The Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, Tenn., walks the line around a ring of fire surrounding the Man in Black.
A half-block off Nashville’s famous Broadway strip of legendary honky-tonks, the museum is rather small considering it covers Cash’s 48-year music career. But the red brick building packs a lot into a small space, tracing the highs and lows of his life from the backwoods of Arkansas to legendary status on the stages of the world.
Over the years, Cash had 134 singles on the Billboard charts, spanning 38 consecutive years. His 98 studio albums sold in excess of 100 million copies, not including albums released after his death in 2003. In addition to playing music, Cash had a television variety show and dabbled in movies. His career comes alive here through concert videos and film clips.
The wonderful thing about a museum like this is that it illustrates the many facets of the artist. Opened on April 26, 2013, with the blessing of the Cash family, this museum will appeal to the die-hard fans as well as the casual observer. Everyone who walks through the doors will come away learning something new about a man named Johnny Cash.
The Johnny Cash Museum is at 119 Third Avenue in downtown Nashville. It’s open from 11am-7pm daily except major holidays. For information, go to www.johnnycashmuseum.com or call 615/736-9909.
1,164th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2 a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in November 22 • 2013.
