Who Was Johnny Cash?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Jim Gigliotti, Who H.Q., Gregory Copeland (Illustrator)

Was Johnny Cash always the rebellious Man in Black that we remember him as today? Find out in this biography from the #1 New York Times bestselling series that takes us from Cash's childhood on an Arkansas cotton farm to his first days in rockabilly through his most famous years as a country music legend and icon of American songwriting.

Due to his wide range of musical talent and an incomparable career spanning forty-nine years, Johnny Cash has been inducted into the Country, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, and Gospel Halls of Fame. He also won 18 Grammys and 9 Country Music Association Awards. Who Was Johnny Cash? lets young readers learn about every step in Johnny Cash's groundbreaking musical career. As one of the best-selling American musicians of all time, Cash, born JR Carter, was known for his rich, deep voice and musical style that featured a chugging, train-like beat.

Genres: Biography, Music, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Chapter Books, Juvenile

112 pages, Paperback

Published June 7, 2022

About the author

Jim Gigliotti is a freelance writer who lives in Southern California with his wife and two children. A former editor at the National Football League, he has written more than two dozen books, mostly for young readers.

Reviews

[Ben Witzig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of the Christmas tradition. He had a tough life. But makes me want to listen to more of his music.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: J.R. Cash burst through the back door of the family's house in Dyess, Arkansas, one day in 1947. As usual, he was singing.

Premise/plot: One of the newest titles in this biography series by Penguin is of Johnny Cash. (I've always called them "big head" biographies. But apparently they are Who HQ biographies). What you see is what you get--no big surprises. This is a biography of singer Johnny Cash written for an mid-elementary school audience. This one--like all the others that ever were or ever shall be--are heavily illustrated.

My thoughts: I never knew I liked Johnny Cash--no, loved Johnny Cash--until I read G. Neri's picture book biography Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. After reading the picture book, I began listening to Johnny Cash's music and discovering his work album by album. I love so many songs. I liked this biography. Definitely more text than the picture book. Still illustrated. I think one of my favorite, favorite things about this one was the illustrations.

I'm not super familiar with all the titles in this series. I've just read a handful. But I do like this one.

[Blake Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book.its a great book to learn new things every time you turn a page.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for young readers, this mini biography covers the most basic beats of Johnny's life with many original and enjoyable illustrations.

[Amanda up North · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for this new Who title to become available from our library system.
I picked it up yesterday before going to a dueling piano concert that a friend had gotten tickets to. So much fun and a fantastic variety of music. Folsom Prison Blues was still playing in my head when I got home and started reading this.
It didn't disappoint. Satisfying for the basic biography it's intended to be. Topics like drugs and Vietnam are well handled. It's very well illustrated with actual likenesses (I place a lot of value on the quality of the illustrations in this series).

I've been familiar with Johnny Cash's music all my life, growing up listening to my dad's old 45 records. I loved the Highwaymen era. And still, I learned a couple of new facts in these pages.
I enjoyed reading about how smart Johnny was, and about his military service.

Compared with dozens of other books I've read from the series, this one is worth five stars.

[Goddess of Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...he never forgot to pay that care and concern forward..."

This introduction to the life of Johnny Cash offers a nice run down of his personal and professional life, noting he was not just a Country singer but also a Gospel singer, this book does not attempt to paint a portrait of a perfect man but of a real one who attempted to learn the lessons of his own life, and was willing to share them with others, that they might learn also.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introduction to the life of Johnny Cash offers a nice run down of his personal and professional life, noting he was not just a Country singer but also a Gospel singer, this book does not attempt to paint a portrait of a perfect man but of a real one who attempted to learn the lessons of his own life, and was willing to share them with others, that they might learn also.

[Viktoria Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anther winning book from Who HQ. I learned a lot about this singers and life and family. I like the way Cash’s drug problem was addressed. It was not hidden but not dwelt on either. It was part of his story and the author made it so.

[Danielle Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. I was a curious how they were going to handle his drug addiction, but I think that they did a very good job for a book on this level for children. I definitely think it’s an appropriate book for a classroom.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grow up listening to Johnny Cash. My mom was a fan of country western music. I now appreciate all types of music. I learned a lot about JR Cash that I did not know before. I am glad I listened to his story.

[Kailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved Johnny Cash and the Who Was? books were my favorite as a kid, so this was super fun to listen to! I think kids books are probably the only audiobook I can handle since they’re so short 😂

[Jessica Bangerter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This “Who Was” skipped a lot of important or notable information, like the children he had with June etc. I understand you can’t pack everything in to such a short book, but it was such a brief history of Johnny himself.

[Kristy]

I’ve read many books about Johnny Cash & didn’t figure I would learn anything from this children’s book but surprisingly I did!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at an American icon.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info and pictures

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to the life of Johnny Cash. It was a fairly fast read and interesting.

[Hudson Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son picked this out for me at the library. Thanks buddy.

[Sarah Miner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a Johnny Cash fan but it was still interesting.

[Elizabeth McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quick read of information about Johnny Cash about his life.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny Cash transcended music. He sang for everyone.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked learning about Johnny Cash. My husband likes him and I didn't know anything about him.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnny Cash was a surprising man. So much life and so many accomplishments. I genuinely enjoyed learning about his life.