Johnny Cash continues to make history.
A bronze statue of the late country singer-songwriter was unveiled inside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, the first time a musician has received such an honor.
Arkansas chose Cash to represent the state in the state Capitol after deciding in 2019 to replace previous statues of Sens. Uriah Rhodes and James Clark, who were removed for being Confederate and racist, respectively.
A statue of civil rights leader Daisy Bates was installed earlier this year.
The historic event drew hundreds of guests, including congressional leaders from both parties and members of the Cash family.
“Some may wonder why there should be a statue of a musician in the halls of our great American republic,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the ceremony.
“The answer is very simple: America is more than laws and politics.”
The statue, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, depicts the “Ring of Fire” singer with a guitar strapped to his back and a Bible in his hands.
Cash's daughter, Rosanne, said her father would have considered the statue “the greatest honour of his life.”
The country music star rediscovered his Christian faith later in life and committed himself to the Evangel Temple Church, but his particularly difficult upbringing in a government farming settler community gave him a strong work ethic, his daughter said.
“This man was a living redemption story,” Rosanne says. “He encountered darkness, but he faced it with love.”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders blessed the statue, recalling Cash's childhood in which he took second place to his family's faith and service to country.
“There's a lot of fakery in today's world, but Johnny Cash was the real deal,” Sanders said.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised Cash for inspiring generations of artists and contributing to the overall growth of the country.
In discussing Cash's influence, Jeffries cited Bob Dylan and Snoop Dogg, who collaborated with Cash on “Girl From the North Country.”
“He called Johnny Cash a real American gangster. That's a compliment from Snoop Doggy Dogg,” Jeffries said as the audience chuckled.
“What a life, what a legend, what a legacy.”
Cash died in 2003 from complications from diabetes at age 71.
He has won 13 Grammy Awards throughout his career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. In 1950, he voluntarily enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War, and in 1957, just three years after completing his military service, he released his first album, Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar.
With post wire
