Country Music's Royal Couples

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash

He was the man in black. She was the woman whose blue eyes he saw everywhere. Country music fixtures before they ever met, together they formed a partnership as solid as bedrock. Looking back at their history, it's really no surprise that Johnny and June Carter Cash were drawn to one another. Both were born into families who embraced country music, both could command a stage. They ran in the same social circles and were introduced by none other than the King himself, Elvis Presley.

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But for all their similarities, there were vast differences. June‘s image remained wholesome throughout her career. Johnny was a bit of a loner, not only credited with roughing up country music's clean-cut image, but blighting his own through drug and alcohol addiction. With her help, he worked hard to overcome his addictions, though it proved to be a lifelong struggle: As late as 1985, he checked himself into the Betty Ford Center.

While Johnny Cash won numerous accolades during his lifetime, June is probably most famous for coauthoring (with Merle Kilgore) "Ring of Fire," the atypical and dark love song about her unrequited love for Johnny during their early friendship. The Cashes remained together until her death in 2003. He died a little less than 4 months later. They are buried beside each other in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Next: George Jones and Tammy Wynette