Cash was born '''J.R. Cash''' in [[Kingsland, Arkansas]] in [[1932]], the son of a poor farmer. His family soon moved into a farm in [[Dyess, ArkansasMississippi]], which was provided at little cost by the government as part of the [[New Deal]]. Cash's father had a severe drinking problem and was physically and emotionally abusive to his family. By age five Cash was working in the [[cotton]] fields, singing along with his family as they worked. Cash was very close to his brother Jack. In 1944, a tragic incident occurred that affected Johnny Cash the rest of his life: his beloved brother Jack was killed in an accident. He was pulled into a whirring table saw in the mill where he worked and almost cut in two. He suffered for over a week before he died. Cash always talked of the horrible guilt he felt over this incident because he had gone fishing that day. On his deathbed, the young man had visions of Heaven and angels before he died. Almost sixty years later, Johnny still talked of looking forward to meeting his brother in Heaven. His early memories were dominated by [[gospel music]] and [[radio]]. He began playing [[guitar]] and writing songs as a young boy, and in high school sang on a local radio station. He was dubbed "John" upon enlisting as a radio operator in the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], which refused to accept initials as his name. Thereafter, he was known as Johnny and sometimes as John R. While an airman in [[West Germany]], Cash wrote one of his most famous songs, "[[Folsom Prison Blues]]" after seeing the [[B-Movie]] ''[[Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison]]''.
