Tommy Cash was a prominent country singer from the 1900s and the younger brother of country music legend Johnny Cash. The 84-year-old singer passed away on September 13, 2024.
The Johny Cash Museum confirmed Tommy's demise on September 14, but the cause remains unrevealed. Tommy died a day after the 21st anniversary of his brother Johnny Cash, who passed away from diabetes complications on September 12, 2003.
The Johnny Cash Museum shared a heartfelt tribute as they announced the demise of Tommy Cash through Instagram on September 14, 2024:
“We are saddened to announce that the world lost a bright light last evening with the passing of Tommy Cash,” reads the post
Tommy was born in Dyess, Arkansas, the youngest sibling of four sons and three daughters. Not much is known about his childhood, but he started his first band while still in high school.
All you need to know about the late country singer Tommy Cash
Tommy Cash was greatly influenced by his brother's artistic journey and enlisted for the U.S. Army soon after graduating high school. While serving in the armed forces, he actively engaged with music and worked as the Armed Forces Radio Network DJ.
After leaving the army, Tommy began working as a musician in Hank Williams Jr.'s band. The band paved the way for the singer's solo career, and he signed the first record deal with Musicor Records in 1965. He released at least three singles under the label, including "I Guess I'll Live," "I Didn't Walk the Line," and "Along the Way."
Tommy joined the United Artists Records in 1968 and released his debut album, Here's Tommy Cash, in the same year. He showed no signs of stopping and kept dropping back-to-back projects, like - Six White Horses, Cash Country, Only a Stone, Cashin' In Brylen, and more.
The singer secured his first big hit with the single, Six White Horses, in 1970. The track was an ode to the late Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy. It peaked at #4 on Billboard's U.S. Country chart and was covered by Waylon Jennings in 1971. He landed two more top 10 hits - Rise and Shine and One Song Away - on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1970.
Over the five decades of his career, Tommy Cash collaborated with country music icons, including his elder brother Johnny Cash. The brothers worked together on Guess Things Happen That Way. The track came out in 1990 as a single for Tommy's 25th Anniversary Album.
Tommy and Johnny Cash shared a bitter-sweet relationship in the 1960s when Johnny was known for doing drugs and reportedly went violent at times. The Cash brothers seemed to have fixed the relationship in the following years.
Taking the stage together in 1987 at Austin City Limits, they performed That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine. At the beginning of the show, Johnny officially introduced Tommy Cash to the audience while talking about their brotherly love:
“We’ve been down the road together, Tommy and I. Had a lot the same problems, shared a lot of the same joys, a lot of the same sorrows as brothers do.”
Johnny Cash continued:
“Brothers don’t get along sometimes, but brothers make up, because brothers love each other.”
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Tommy reportedly released his 23rd and last album, Fade to Black, in September 2008. The 15-track project was more of a tribute to the late Johnny Cash and featured a duet called Some Kind of a Woman with George Jones. It also featured fresh takes of Johnny Cash's top hits like Get Rhythm, San Quentin, and more.
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