Johnny Cash Museum in Downtown Nashville

When I told my daughter we were going to visit the Johnny Cash Museum during our trip to Nashville, she asked, “Who is Johnny Cash?” I played one of his more popular songs, Ring of Fire, and she replied, “That’s the music my bus driver listens to.” Haha!

We enjoyed learning more about Johnny Cash – from his time in the military to his prison performances. And on the second floor of the same building is the Patsy Cline Museum – which was my daughter’s favorite museum in all of Nashville.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find at the Johnny Cash Museum in downtown Nashville.

The Life of Johnny Cash

When we first stepped in to the museum, I read a hand-written note on the wall. “Hello! I’m Johnny Cash.” I found myself reading it the way I had heard it as a kid – in the signature voice of the music legend himself. But the artifacts and exhibits I would see throughout the museum provided great insights into the life of Johnny Cash.

The first corridor of the museum walks you through the early years of Johnny Cash. Learn where he grew up, his time and role in the military, and his first prison performance in January 1958 in San Quentin State Prison.

I’ve never seen the movie, “Walk the Line” with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, so I wasn’t familiar with his personal challenges with drugs and alcohol. In fact, that, combined with the constant touring and other things led his first wife to divorce him.

He later married famous singer June Carter, whom he had met 13 years prior while performing at the Grand Ole Opry.

Johnny Cash died in 2003, but even in his later years, he continued to write music and perform. Near the exit of the museum, you can see the music video from his rendition of Hurt from Nine Inch Nails. Johnny died seven months after the music video was filmed.

The Music of Johnny Cash

Other than recognizing a few of the most popular songs from Johnny Cash, I was pretty unfamiliar with Johnny’s music. I was definitely clueless to the history of his songs and the way he went about making a name for himself.

Johnny Cash recorded his first songs in 1955, Hey Porter and Cry! Cry! Cry! In the late 50s, Johnny recorded two live albums in prisons – Folsom Prison and San Quentin State Prison.

At one point, in about 1956, Johnny ended up in a recording studio with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The producer recorded the impromptu jam session. My daughter and I found that same scene at Madame Tussauds Nashville, over by the Grand Ole Opry – it’s worth making a trip out to that museum, too.

Here’s a list of some of Johnny’s most popular songs throughout his career:

• A Boy Name Sue
• Man in Black
• Ring of Fire
• Folsom Prison Blues
• I Walk the Line
• Jackson
• Sunday Morning Coming Down
• Hurt

Throughout the museum, you can not only see the record covers for his albums, but you can listen to many of his songs. Whenever you see a pair of headphones, put them on and select a tune from Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash – the Movie Star

You may not have known that Johnny Cash also starred in a few movies. He had a few roles in films and television prior to starring in headlining the Johnny Cash Show (1969-1971).

Some of his films and TV appearances included:

• Five Minutes to Live
• A Gunfight
• Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus (he was the narrator)
• Shotgun Slade
• The Partridge Family
• Little House on the Prairie
• The Muppet Show
• Hee Haw
• Saturday Night Live
• The Magical World of Disney

Take a moment to sit in the little theater and catch a few snippets of Johnny as an actor.

The Other Interests of the “Man in Black”

One of the best exhibits in the museum was Johnny Cash’s rendition of Ragged Old Flag. It’s a poem he wrote and later read with some music playing the background. The exhibit has images of the flag and the handwritten notes of the poem. Take a moment to listen to the poem in its entirety.

In 1980, Johnny was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I also learned that Johnny had been invited to the White House to meet President Nixon. He even performed there during his visit. He was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2001. You can see the tuxedo and dress worn by Johnny and June on display at the museum.

In the final corridor of the museum, as you make your way to the exit, you learn about the other “hobbies” of Johnny Cash. He was an author, an artist, a humanitarian and more. The final element in the corridor is a TV screen of the music video of Hurt that he filmed several months before his death.

The Details

Address: 119 3rd Ave S., Nashville, TN 37201

Cost: Adult tickets are $19.95 and children’s tickets are $15.95 (ages 6-15). Children 5 and under are free with a paid adult admission. AAA, Military, Seniors, Students (please show college ID) can receive a $1 discount on admission.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Website: https://www.johnnycashmuseum.com/

Disclosure: I received two complimentary admissions to Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

PIN THIS