WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnny Cash now stands among the most famous politicians, trailblazers and activists of American history as he became the first professional musician to be honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol.
Congressional leaders from both parties and members of the Cash family were among the several hundred guests who gathered Tuesday for the unveiling of the statue. They shared their memories of a man who grew up on an Arkansas cotton farm and turned a love of music into a decades-long career that gave voice to the struggles and triumphs of everyday Americans.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnny Cash now stands among the most famous politicians, trailblazers and activists of American history as he became the first professional musician to be honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rosanne Cash speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of her father, Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, and daughters of Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash Schwoebel, and Kathy Cash, listen to a band play his song "I Walk the Line" at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Daughter Rosanne Cash speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
People gather around the statue after the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, and daughters of Johnny Cash Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash Schwoebel, and Kathy Cash, listen to a band play his song "I walk the Line" at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, relatives of Johnny Cash daughter Rosanne Cash, sister Joanne Cash, daughter Cindy Cash, daughter Tara Cash Schwoebel, daughter Kathy Cash, and stepdaughter Carlene Carter, pose in front of the unveiled bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Joanne Cash, second from left, sister of Johnny Cash, touches his statue at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holds up a photograph of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
People crowd around after the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Joanne Cash, center left, sister of Johnny Cash, touches his statue accompanied by his daughter Rosanne Cash, far left, at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Daughter Rosanne Cash, center left, accompanied by other family members, looks up at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
FILE - Artist Kevin Kresse, works on a clay bust of Johnny Cash, April 23, 2024 in Little Rock, Ark. Kresse's full sculpture of Cash will be unveiled at the U.S. Capitol as part of the Statuary Hall collection. (AP Photo/Mike Pesoli, File)
"Some may ask: Why should a musician have a statue here in the halls of the great American republic?" House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the unveiling ceremony. “The answer is pretty simple. It’s because America is about more than laws and politics.”
Each state selects two statues to place within the Capitol. The Cash statue is the second new figure Arkansas has sent to replace two existing images that had represented the state at the U.S. Capitol for more than 100 years. Another statue depicting civil rights leader Daisy Bates was unveiled at the Capitol earlier this year. Bates mentored the nine Black children who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
The state’s legislature in 2019 voted to replace Arkansas’ two prior statues, which depicted little-known figures from the 18th and 19th centuries, with Bates and Cash.
Known as the “The Man in Black,” Cash was a vivid storyteller who sang with a deep voice songs like “I Walk The Line," “Ring of Fire,” “Jackson” and “A Boy Named Sue.” The statue depicts the singer with a guitar slung across his back and a Bible in his hand. Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse created the statue.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said artistic creativity is an important part of the country's growth, and Cash's “substance” and “swagger” inspired generations of artists from every genre imaginable. He quoted singers such as Bob Dylan and Snoop Dogg about Cash's impact.
“He called Johnny Cash a real American gangster. That a compliment from Snoop Doggy Dogg,” Jeffries said as the audience laughed. “What a life, what a legend, what a legacy.”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders led a group of Arkansas lawmakers at the ceremony. She said she grew up in a musical family where “after God and country, came Johnny Cash.” She noted how Cash struggled with addiction but went on to perform for prisoners and held a deep religious faith. She described him as a “hymn-singing Christian” who also experienced difficult times.
“When so much in today's world is fake, Johnny Cash was very real,” Sanders said.
Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, said her father would have viewed the statue “as the ultimate” honor in his life. She said her father's hard upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic and that he loved the idea of America as a place of dreams and refuge.
“This man was a living redemption story,” Rosanne Cash said. “He encountered darkness and met it with love.”
Cash was born in Kingsland, a tiny town about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Little Rock. He died in 2003 at age 71. His achievements include 90 million records sold worldwide spanning country, rock, blues, folk and gospel. He is among the few artists inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Cash's statue will be the newest added to the Capitol since one from North Carolina depicting the Rev. Billy Graham was unveiled in May.
Associated Press staff writer Andrew DeMillo reported from Little Rock.
From left to right, relatives of Johnny Cash daughter Rosanne Cash, sister Joanne Cash, daughter Cindy Cash, daughter Tara Cash Schwoebel, daughter Kathy Cash, and stepdaughter Carlene Carter, pose in front of the unveiled bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Rosanne Cash speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of her father, Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, and daughters of Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash Schwoebel, and Kathy Cash, listen to a band play his song "I Walk the Line" at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Daughter Rosanne Cash speaks at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
People gather around the statue after the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, and daughters of Johnny Cash Rosanne Cash, Tara Cash Schwoebel, and Kathy Cash, listen to a band play his song "I walk the Line" at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
From left to right, relatives of Johnny Cash daughter Rosanne Cash, sister Joanne Cash, daughter Cindy Cash, daughter Tara Cash Schwoebel, daughter Kathy Cash, and stepdaughter Carlene Carter, pose in front of the unveiled bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Joanne Cash, second from left, sister of Johnny Cash, touches his statue at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holds up a photograph of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
People crowd around after the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Joanne Cash, center left, sister of Johnny Cash, touches his statue accompanied by his daughter Rosanne Cash, far left, at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Daughter Rosanne Cash, center left, accompanied by other family members, looks up at the unveiling of a bronze statue of singer Johnny Cash, created by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
FILE - Artist Kevin Kresse, works on a clay bust of Johnny Cash, April 23, 2024 in Little Rock, Ark. Kresse's full sculpture of Cash will be unveiled at the U.S. Capitol as part of the Statuary Hall collection. (AP Photo/Mike Pesoli, File)
