10 Most Outspoken Men In Rock And Metal History

In the modern world, Johnny Cash is in an elite group of musicians who are apparently adored by everyone. Alongside the likes of Tom Petty and Dolly Parton, nobody seems to have a bad thing to say about The Man in Black, but it was a different story altogether in his heyday.

Cash was born in 1932 to a completely different society compared to the one in which we reside today. Now outdated and outrageous ideals were commonplace in Cash's world, but that didn't mean he was going to idly stand by and endorse them. Instead, Cash became an authority figure on prison life, Native American rights and opposing white supremacy. His representation for prisoners and their rights was highlighted by two iconic live albums, recorded in Folsom Prison and San Quentin respectively. Meanwhile Cash's 1964 album, 'Bitter Tears', is a classic record inspired by the ill-treatment of Native Americans.

However, Cash's controversies weren't all in good faith. In 1965, Cash was arrested on the Mexican-American border for possessing over 1,000 drug capsules of different varieties, but predominantly Dexedrine. He later pleaded guilty for possession of illegal substances and struggled with substance abuse for the rest of his career, despite going clean on several occasions.

Upon the announcement of Cash's $1,000 fine (an incredibly light sentence for the charges), Cash became the target of white supremacists as his rarely photographed Italian-American wife was captured by journalists. Mistaking her for an African American, white supremacist magazines said Cash supplied America "with dope and negro women." Cash waged a career-long war against alt-right groups in response, even writing a letter to his daughter Rosanne, saying he was "out fighting the KKK" while on tour.