Country star Tommy Cash, younger brother of Johnny, dead at 84
Country singer Tommy Cash, the younger brother of Johnny Cash, died Friday, a day after the 21st anniversary of his legendary sibling’s death. He was 84.
The Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, Tenn., confirmed his death in a Saturday Instagram post.
“I knew him for over 50 years,” museum founder and CEO Bill Miller wrote. “Tommy Cash was a loyal supporter of the Johnny Cash Museum and a very beloved member of our extended family as well as a highly respected member of the music industry.
“This great man will be deeply missed by his friends and many loyal fans around the world,” he continued. “Please keep Tommy’s beloved wife, Marcy and his family in your prayers.”
Tommy was born in Dyess, Ark., on April 5, 1940, Billboard reported. Likely inspired by his big brother, he enlisted in the Army and was an Armed Forces radio DJ before eventually performing with Hank Williams Jr.’s band.
His voice and look resembled Johnny, who he honored with the song “My Brother Johnny Cash” on his 2008 album, “All I Care About — Shades of Black.”
Tommy Cash’s career didn’t take off until 1965, when he landed his first record deal before releasing his debut album “Here’s Tommy Cash” three years later, Billboard reported.
He scored two more Top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs in 1970 with “Rise and Shine”and “One Song Away,” the outlet said, adding that the Cash brothers joined forces in 1990 on “Guess Things Happen That Way.”
Cash’s death came the day after the 21st anniversary of Johnny’s death on Sept. 12, 2003, from diabetes complications. He was 71 and heartbroken over the death of his wife, June Carter Cash, earlier that year.
Their love story was chronicled in the much-beloved 2005 biopic “Walk the Line,” which starred Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
The film also painfully showed how the tragic death of Johnny and Tommy’s Johnny’s older brother Jack — whom Johnny was very close to — rocked the family after the boy died from a freak accident with a table saw in 1944.
