Johnny Cash’s Family Confirms Devastating News

The family of iconic country star Johnny Cash is reeling after the death of his young brother Tommy Cash, who passed away at 84, according to the New York Post.

Tommy, a country music success in his own right, passed away on the 21st anniversary of his older brother’s death, according to a statement by the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. “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.”

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Born in 1940 in Dyess, Arkansas, Tommy Cash grew up following in the footsteps of his brother Johnny, joining him in the Army and going on to serve as an Armed Forces DJ before joining the band of legendary singer Hank Williams. Even their voices were similar – Tommy exuded a baritone, husky timbre and cast his on-stage look in the image of his older brother, frequently performing in the trademark all-black shirt and tie. Tommy paid tribute to his brother on his 2008 album “All I Care About — Shades of Black,” which included the eponymous single “My Brother Johnny Cash.”

Though his critical acclaim never stacked up equally with his older brother, Tommy Cash signed his first major record deal in 1965 and took three years to release his debut album “Here’s Tommy Cash.” Two of his biggest singles from that period, “Rise and Shine” and “One Song Away,” scored in the top 10 most popular country songs of 1970. Twenty years later, the brothers joined forces in their 1990 duet “Guess Things Happen That Way.”

Johnny Cash passed away in 2003 from diabetes complications shortly after the death of his longtime wife June Carter Cash. He was 71. He lived just long enough to see his lifetime achievements planned for a big screen production, 2005’s “Walk the Line” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. In the film, the family’s trials early on in the brothers’ lives are chronicled, including the death of Johnny’s older brother Jack who died in a freak accident in 1944.

Johnny Cash, who introduced his brother during a 1987 show at Austin City Limits, spoke fondly of their shared childhood. “We’ve been down the road together, Tommy and I,” he said, the New York Times reported. “Had a lot the same problems, shared a lot of the same joys, a lot of the same sorrows as brothers do. Brothers don’t get along sometimes, but brothers make up, because brothers love each other.”

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