To millions of fans, Johnny Cash is "the Man in Black," a country music legend who sings in an authoritative baritone about the travails of working men and the downtrodden in this country. Lesser known is the fact that Johnny Cash was present at the birth of rock and roll by virtue of being one of the earliest signees to Sam Phillips' Sun Records back in 1955. Cash was part of an elite club of rock and roll pioneers at Sun that included Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The four were collectively referred to as "the Million Dollar Quartet" after an impromptu gathering and jam session at the Sun recording studio on December 4, 1956. What Cash and his group, the Tennessee Two, brought to the "Sun Sound" was a spartan mix of guitar, standup bass and vocals that served as an early example of rockabilly. Cash recorded a string of rockabilly hits for Sun that included "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Folsom Prison Blues" and "I Walk the Line." The latter was first of more than a dozen Number One country hits for Cash and also marked his first appearance on the national pop singles charts.
Get full artist bio (courtesy of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

 
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