Current:Home > NewsJohnny Cash becomes first musician honored with statue inside US Capitol -MarketStream
Johnny Cash becomes first musician honored with statue inside US Capitol
View
Date:2025-04-18 20:55:10
A statue depicting country music legend Johnny Cash was unveiled Tuesday morning at the U.S. Capitol, making the "Man in Black" the first musician to have his likeness represented in Statuary Hall.
At an unveiling ceremony in at the United States Capitol Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined over 100 members of the Cash family to reveal artist Kevin Kresse's bronze statue.
The 8-foot-tall statue depicts the "I Walk the Line" singer with his head slightly downturned, a Bible in one hand and the other on his chest. A guitar is slung over his back.
"Today we have the pleasure of recognizing — get this — the first musician to ever be honored with a statue here in the Capitol," Johnson said. "And Johnny Cash is the perfect person to be honored in that way. He was a man who embodied the American spirit in a way that few could."
Cash, a Kingsland, Ark. native, died in Nashville, Tenn., at the age of 71. Throughout his career, he produced 40 years of hits, including "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring of Fire," "A Boy Named Sue" and "Hurt."
Johnson shared that he recently learned, "as fate would have it," he is a distant half-cousin of Cash's, joining the many other Cash family members present for the reveal.
Rosanne Cash, the daughter of Johnny Cash, took the podium at the ceremony. "What a remarkable day," she said. "In my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined."
"Words cannot come close to expressing our pride to see my dad accorded such a singular privilege, the first musician in history to be included in the Statuary Hall Collection," Cash said on behalf of the family. "I'm very careful not to put words in his mouth since his passing, but on this day, I can safely say that he would feel that of all the many honors and accolades he received in his lifetime, this is the ultimate."
"Thank you Kevin Kresse for capturing his very essence in bronze," Rosanne Cash said. "You see this statue and you know this is no one else but Johnny Cash."
A sculptor from Little Rock, Ark., Kesse has crafted two other statues of Cash and other Arkansas musicians like Al Green, Glen Campbell and Levon Helm.
"In this statue, Kevin, I can actually see the 'gravel in his gut' and the 'spit in his eye,'" U.S. rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said later at the podium, referencing the iconic lyrics of "A Boy Named Sue."
The ceremony closed with a performance of "I Walk the Line" from the United States Air Force Band and the Benediction delivered by Dr. Mike Garrett, a nephew of Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash, Daisy Bates statues now represent Arkansas in Capitol
In the Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection, each state has the opportunity to donate two statues to represent their most notable residents.
The statue of Cash joins the Capitol on behalf of his home state Arkansas, which voted to replace its two existing statues in 2019, ones that have stood in the Capitol on behalf of the state for over 100 years.
Embedded content: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/08/01/johnny-cash-statue-unveiled-washington-dc-statuary-hall/74634737007/
The past two statues depicted Senator James P. Clarke and Uriah Rose, a lawyer who became the first president of the American Bar Association.
A statue of Daisy Bates, a civil rights activist and journalist who documented the end of segregation in Arkansas, most recently joined the gallery on behalf of Arkansas.
According to the Associated Press, the statues of Bates and Cash won out over proposed statue ideas of Sam Walton, Walmart's founder, and a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan.
Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter for The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Ground cinnamon products added to FDA health alert, now 16 with elevated levels of lead
- Memo to the Supreme Court: Clean Air Act Targeted CO2 as Climate Pollutant, Study Says
- Thousands were arrested at college protests. For students, the fallout was only beginning
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- With this Olympic gold, Simone Biles has now surpassed all the other GOATs
- 2024 Olympics: Why Simone Biles Was Stressing While Competing Against Brazilian Gymnast Rebeca Andrade
- Two women drowned while floating on a South Dakota lake as a storm blew in
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Missouri’s state primaries
Ranking
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- 17-Year-Old Boy Charged With Murder of 3 Kids After Stabbing at Taylor Swift-Themed Event in England
- Jury reaches split verdict in baby abandonment case involving Dennis Eckersley’s daughter
- Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's Son James Wilkie Shares Rare Photo of Family in Paris
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Deadly force justified in fatal shooting of North Carolina man who killed 4 officers, official says
- Judge overturns $4.7 billion jury award to NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers
- 2024 Olympics: Why Suni Lee Was in Shock Over Scoring Bronze Medal
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Tiffany Haddish Shares the NSFW Side Hustle She Used to Have Involving Halle Berry and Dirty Panties
New sports streaming service sets price at $42.99/month: What you can (and can't) get with Venu Sports
JoJo Siwa Shares Her Advice for the Cast of Dance Moms: A New Era
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Swimmer Tamara Potocka under medical assessment after collapsing following race
Flavor Flav, Alexis Ohanian step up to pay rent for US Olympian Veronica Fraley
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Missouri’s state primaries