Rosanne Cash facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rosanne Cash
Cash in 2012
Background information
Born	(1955-05-24) May 24, 1955 (age 70) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country Americana country pop country folk
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter author
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Ariola Columbia Capitol Manhattan Blue Note House of Cash
Signature

Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, and author. She is the oldest daughter of famous country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash.

Rosanne Cash's music blends many styles, including country, folk, pop, rock, and blues. She is especially known for her Americana music. In the 1980s, she had many hit songs that appeared on both country and pop music charts. Her biggest hit was "Seven Year Ache" in 1981. This song reached number one on the U.S. country singles chart. It also made it into the Top 30 on the U.S. pop chart.

In 1990, Cash released an album called Interiors. This album was very personal and different from her earlier pop-country style. After this, she moved from Nashville to New York City. She has continued to write songs, record albums, and perform. She has also written three books and edited a collection of short stories. Her writings have been published in well-known magazines and newspapers.

Cash won a Grammy Award in 1985 for her song "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me". She has been nominated for 12 other Grammy Awards. She has had 11 songs reach number one on the country charts. She also has 21 songs that made it into the Top 40 country singles. Two of her albums have sold enough copies to be certified gold records. In 2014, Smithsonian magazine gave her an American Ingenuity Award for her work in performing arts.

On February 8, 2015, Rosanne Cash won three Grammy Awards. She won for Best Americana Album for The River & the Thread. She also won Best American Roots Song with John Leventhal. And she won Best American Roots Performance for her song "A Feather's Not A Bird". In October 2015, she was honored by being added to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Family

Rosanne Cash was born in 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father, Johnny Cash, was just starting his music career at Sun Records at that time. She is the first of four daughters. Her mother, Vivian Cash, had a diverse family background.

Rosanne's parents, Vivian and Johnny Cash, married in San Antonio, Texas. They later lived in Memphis, Tennessee. As Johnny Cash became more famous, the family moved to California in 1958. They first lived in Los Angeles, then on a farm in Ventura. Her parents separated in 1962 and later divorced. Rosanne and her sisters grew up with their mother in a quiet, rural area.

After finishing high school around 1973, Rosanne Cash joined her father's touring show. She first helped with costumes, then sang backup vocals. Sometimes, she even sang solo. Her first studio recording was on Johnny Cash's 1974 album, The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me. She sang the main part on a song called "Broken Freedom Song".

In 1976, Johnny Cash recorded Rosanne's song "Love Has Lost Again". This was her first song to be professionally recorded. That same year, she worked briefly for CBS Records in London. She then returned to Nashville to study English and drama at Vanderbilt University. Later, she moved to Los Angeles to study acting. In 1978, she recorded a demo with songwriter Rodney Crowell. This led to her first full album with a German record label, Ariola Records.

Music Career Highlights

Rosanne Cash performing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 2011

First Albums and Success

Cash recorded her first album in 1978. However, it was not released in the United States. It is now a rare item for collectors. Most of the album was recorded in Munich, Germany. Even though Cash was not happy with the album, it caught the attention of Columbia Records. They offered her a recording contract.

She started performing in California clubs with Rodney Crowell's band, The Cherry Bombs. Cash and Crowell married in 1979.

In 1980, Cash released her first album with Columbia, Right or Wrong. This album had three songs that made it into the Top 25. The first song, "No Memories Hangin' Around," was a duet with Bobby Bare. It reached number 17 on the Country Singles chart in 1979. Even though Cash was expecting her first child and could not tour, the album was a success with critics. Cash and Crowell moved to Nashville in 1981.

Rising to Fame in the 1980s

Cash's career really took off with her second album, Seven Year Ache, released in 1981. Critics loved the album, and it sold very well. The title song became a number one hit on the Billboard Country Chart. It also crossed over to the Billboard Pop Chart, reaching number 22. The album had two more number one country hits: "My Baby Thinks He's a Train" and "Blue Moon with Heartache". The album was certified Gold, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies.

Cash's third album, Somewhere in the Stars (1982), did not sell as well as Seven Year Ache. However, it still reached the Top 100 on the U.S. pop album charts. It also included three U.S. country chart singles: "Ain't No Money", "I Wonder", and "It Hasn't Happened Yet".

After a three-year break, Cash released her fourth album, Rhythm & Romance (1985). This album had two number one hits, "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me" and "Never Be You". It also had two other songs that reached the Country Top 10: "Hold On" and "Second to No One". Rhythm & Romance was praised for mixing country and pop music. "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me" won a Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

In the 1980s, Cash toured less because she was raising her family with Rodney Crowell. She continued to record music. In 1987, she released King's Record Shop, which many critics called her best album. It produced four number one hits, including a cover of her father's song "Tennessee Flat Top Box". It also included "The Way We Make a Broken Heart", "If You Change Your Mind", and "Runaway Train". This album became Cash's second gold album.

In 1988, Cash recorded a duet with Crowell called "It's Such a Small World". This song also reached number one on the country charts. Billboard magazine named Cash the Top Singles Artist of the year.

In 1989, Columbia Records released her first collection of hit songs, Hits 1979–1989. This album included two new hit singles. One was a Beatles cover, "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", which reached number one on the Billboard country charts. The other was "Black and White," which earned Cash her fifth Grammy nomination.

Changes and New Directions

In 1990, Cash released Interiors. This album was very personal and she produced it herself. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs. Critics called it a "brilliant, introspective album" and her "masterpiece." Interiors was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. It had one Top 40 single, "What We Really Want." This album marked a change in Cash's music style and her move away from Nashville.

In 1991, Cash moved to New York City. In 1992, she and Crowell divorced. Her next album, The Wheel, released in 1993, was a very honest look at the end of her marriage. This album was Cash's last for Columbia Records. Critics praised it, but its two singles did not make it onto the charts.

Life in New York and Beyond

Cash settled in lower Manhattan. In 1995, she married producer and musician John Leventhal. She signed with Capitol Records and released 10 Song Demo in 1996. This album was a collection of simple home recordings.

She also started a writing career. In 1996, Hyperion published her short story collection, Bodies of Water, which received good reviews. In 1997, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Memphis College of Art. She often speaks publicly about writing and music.

In 1998, she and Leventhal began working on an album called Rules of Travel. However, the recording was paused when she became pregnant. Later, she could not sing for two and a half years because of a polyp on her vocal cords.

During this time, Cash focused on her writing. She published a children's book, Penelope Jane: A Fairy's Tale (2000). The next year, she edited a collection of short stories by songwriters.

After her voice recovered, she started recording again. In 2003, she released Rules of Travel. This album featured guest artists like Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle. It also included a touching duet with her father, Johnny Cash, called "September When It Comes." Rules of Travel was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award.

In 2005, some of her earlier albums were re-released. A new collection of her best songs from 1979 to 2003 was also released.

Rosanne Cash at the 2006 South by Southwest Festival

In 2006, Cash released Black Cadillac. This album was about the loss of her stepmother, June, and her father, Johnny, who both passed away in 2003. Her mother, Vivian Cash, passed away in 2005 as Rosanne finished the album. Critics highly praised Black Cadillac. It was named one of the Top 10 albums by many publications. The album was nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award.

Cash toured a lot to support the album. She created a special show with videos, images, and stories from her songs and family history. In 2006, a short film about the album and interviews with Cash was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In late 2007, Cash had brain surgery for a rare condition called Chiari malformation type I. She had to cancel her concerts to recover. After a successful recovery, she started writing and performing again in 2008. She wrote about her experience in New York Times article "Well, Actually, It Is Brain Surgery".

Cash released her next album, The List, on October 6, 2009. This album is based on a list of 100 great country and American songs that her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she was 18. Cash chose 12 songs from the list for the album. The album features duets with famous singers like Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. In 2010, the Americana Music Association named The List the Album of the Year.

Besides her own recordings, Cash has sung on albums by many other artists. She has also appeared on tribute albums for musicians like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

Cash wrote a memoir called Composed: A Memoir (2010). This book is about growing up with and without her father. It also tells how she became a talented artist in her own right. The book became a New York Times Bestseller.

In 2012, Cash released a song called "Land of Dreams." This song was used to promote tourism to the United States.

Cash signed with Blue Note Records in 2013. She released a new album, The River & the Thread, on January 14, 2014. This was her first album of new songs in over four years.

The River & the Thread is a collection of songs written with her husband, John Leventhal. They were inspired by trips through the American South. Cash described the album as "a mini-travelogue of the South, and of the soul." Their journey included visits to her father's childhood home and her own early childhood home.

Throughout 2014, Cash toured with John Leventhal. They performed songs from The River & The Thread and shared stories. The album was the number one album on Americana radio in 2014. Many major publications named it one of the top albums of the year.

On February 8, 2015, Cash won three Grammy Awards for The River & The Thread. She won for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song, and Best American Roots Performance.

In 2015, Cash was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She was also honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In 2018, Cash released a new album called "She Remembers Everything." On February 29, 2020, Cash and her band performed at the historic Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Personal Life

Rosanne Cash and her second husband, John Leventhal, in 2013

Rosanne Cash has three younger sisters: Kathy, Cindy, and Tara. Her parents divorced in 1966. Her father, Johnny Cash, married June Carter in 1968. June had two daughters from previous marriages. Johnny and June also had a son together, John Carter Cash, who is Rosanne's half-brother.

Rosanne's stepsisters, Carlene Carter and Rosie Nix Adams, both became country singers. Rosanne's stepmother and father passed away in 2003. Her mother passed away in 2005.

Cash married country singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell in 1979. They have three daughters: Caitlin Rivers, Chelsea Jane, and Carrie Kathleen. Rosanne also helped raise Crowell's daughter from a previous marriage, Hannah. Cash and Crowell divorced in 1992.

She married her second husband, John Leventhal, in 1995. They have one son, Jakob. Cash lives with her husband and son in Chelsea, Manhattan.

In February 2021, Cash appeared on the TV show Finding Your Roots. On the show, she learned more about her family history. Genealogists discovered that one of her ancestors, Sarah A. Shields, was a mixed-race woman born into slavery in South Carolina. Sarah and her siblings were freed in 1848 by their white father. Researchers also found that Cash has African ancestry on both her mother's and father's sides of the family. The show also revealed that Cash and actress Angela Bassett are distant relatives.

Health Journey

On November 27, 2007, Cash had brain surgery in New York. She announced that she had a condition called Chiari malformation type I. She expected to make a full recovery. The surgery was successful, but her recovery was slow. In March 2008, she had to cancel her spring concerts to continue healing. She wrote about this experience in an article for New York Times. She started writing, recording, and performing again in late summer of 2008.

Other Activities

Cash supports several charity organizations. She is a longtime board member of The Center To Prevent Youth Violence (CPYV). This group works to prevent gun violence among children. She was honored by this organization in 2005.

Cash often teaches as a guest speaker at colleges and universities. She shares her knowledge in English and Songwriting programs.

She has been involved with Children, Incorporated for over 25 years. This organization helps support and educate children and young adults around the world.

Cash was elected to the Century Association in 2009.

She also works with Arkansas State University on the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home project. This project has restored her father's childhood home in Dyess, Arkansas. The Cash family has helped raise money for the restoration through music festivals. Rosanne hosted the first two Johnny Cash Music Festivals in 2011 and 2012. She now shares hosting duties with her half-brother John Carter when the festival takes place in Dyess.

In 2014, Cash wrote essays for Oxford-American and a book called Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers On Their Unshakable Love For New York.

Cash strongly supports artists' rights in the digital age. She is on the board of the Content Creators Coalition. On June 25, 2014, Cash spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives. She talked about intellectual property rights and music licensing on the Internet.

In 2018, Berklee College of Music gave Cash an honorary doctorate degree.

Discography

Rosanne Cash during the presentation of her book at the Miami Book Fair International in 2011

Books and Articles

Rosanne Cash's writings have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Oxford American, New York Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Martha Stewart Living.

Awards and Honors

Academy of Country Music Awards

Americana Music Honors & Awards

Country Music Association Awards

Grammy Awards
Rosanne Cash has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards in different music categories.

Other honors

In 2021, Cash received The Edward MacDowell Medal. This award is given for important contributions to American culture.

On May 7, 2022, Arkansas State University awarded Cash an honorary doctorate degree. She was also the main speaker at their graduation ceremony.

See also

In Spanish: Rosanne Cash para niños