Random Amazing True Stories About Johnny Cash's Crazy Life (18 items)

(#4) He Almost Made An Entire Species Extinct

How many musical legends can say they nearly eradicated an entire species? Probably just Johnny Cash. Also, that's probably a good thing. In the 1960s, Cash parked his home-rigged “party truck” in a national forest in California, where it overheated and started a massive fire that scorched hundreds of acres.

Tragically, the blaze took out 49 of the area's 53 endangered California condors. Cash responded that he didn’t "care about your damn yellow buzzards."
(#2) He Was The First American To Intercept News About Joseph Stalin's Death

Johnny Cash, in addition to his indelible contribution to music, also managed to play a role in an important moment of world history. During his time with the Air Force, Cash became a crack Morse code operator.

This led to him intercepting and reporting on news from the Soviet Union that Joseph Stalin had died. Cash was actually the first American to hear that the seemingly indestructible dictator had finally expired.
(#10) June Carter Wrote 'Ring Of Fire' About Coveting Johnny Cash

Like many musical legends, Johnny Cash didn’t write all of his own songs. In fact, one of his biggest hits, "Ring of Fire," was written by June Carter, his future wife. Carter wrote the song about Johnny Cash, more specifically the guilt she felt over her feelings for him despite their marriages to other people.

She obviously got over it later! But seriously, it was an intense and torrid quagmire of passion and morality.
(#5) He Was Once Nearly Killed By An Ostrich

After nearly wiping out an entire species of bird (by himself), it was only natural that the birds look for their opportunity to strike back. They got it in 1981. Johnny Cash raised ostriches on his property, and he sometimes policed their behavior with the time-honored tradition of beating them with a stick.

As many know, ostriches are basically modern-day velociraptors, and one of his ostriches responded to the stick-whacking by kicking Cash with its massive, clawed foot. This opened up Cash’s belly and nearly ended him, forcing him to hold his own insides in as he raced to the hospital.
(#13) Cash Wrote 'Chicken In Black' To Upset Record Execs

Out of all the amazing songs in Johnny Cash’s discography, "Chicken In Black" is a bit of an outlier, though, there’s a good reason for it. Cash was annoyed with his record label, so he set out to make a song so terrible they would let him out of his contract.

He even recorded a music video for it, which featured him in a powder-blue cape and yellow jumpsuit. The song was about a singer’s brain being put into a chicken, because why not? Cash’s plan worked, and he was let out of his contract.
(#1) Cash Witnessed His Brother's Final Moments

Johnny Cash’s life was one of extremes from the very beginning. He was incredibly close with his older brother, Jack, and when Cash was 12 years old, he watched Jack fall victim to a table saw. Johnny felt an enormous amount of guilt over the incident, and it probably had more than a little to do with his reckless adult behavior.