Johnny Cash

One of music's most iconic figures, Johnny Cash escaped a tough background in post-Depression America to develop a hard-bitten country style that defined the "outlaw" spirit, making him a hero for ordinary folks. Raised on gospel, he learned guitar and started writing songs as a boy, impressing Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, who released his first country records Hey Porter and Cry Cry Cry in 1955. Breakthrough hits Folsom Prison Blues and I Walk The Line followed and he toured with country legends the Carter Family (marrying June Carter, who wrote one of his biggest hits Ring Of Fire). A former drug addict who lived on the edge, he was hero-worshipped by the underprivileged after a rebellious concert and live album from San Quentin prison and was re-discovered in his final years by younger audiences after a series of sombre, emotional albums for Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, including a heartbreaking cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt.