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Johnny Cash’s Sister Opens Up About His Faith

Johnny Cash became a Christian at a young age. His sister, Joanne, said her big brother accepted Jesus when he was 12, at “the little country church” where the family worshipped in Dyess, Arkansas.

But there was a whole lot of back sliding. When Johnny Cash hit it big in country music, he was using several kinds of drugs to stay up or calm down. He was drinking, too. His personal demons led to the downfall of his first marriage and very nearly wrecked his music career.

However, Joanne Cash said that her brother was his own, living redemption story. He recommitted his life in 1972. By this time, Johnny had married June Carter Cash. And the couple welcomed their only child together, John Carter Cash, in 1970.

“He, like all of us, was not perfect,” said Joanne Cash about her brother, Johnny. “We are not perfect. That’s why we need a Savior. Johnny knew he wasn’t perfect… He fell. He went into the dark side. And in the drug years, he almost lost his life… But God showed him some sort of a light. And I believe that was the Lord. It was the Holy Spirit leading him out of that darkness. And it changed his life… That’s why… he gave his heart back to the Lord and emerged from that darkness… I want people to know that as long as there is life and breath, there is hope.”

Joanne Cash is talking about her brother as part of a publicity tour for the documentary “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon.” It’ll have a three-day, exclusive run in theaters from Dec. 5-7. Joanne Cash spoke to Fox News Digital about the documentary. It explores the man behind songs like “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Orange Blossom Special” and will feature never-before-seen conversations Cash had about his faith and how it helped heal his soul.

Joanne Cash is doing a publicity tour for the documentary “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

Johnny Cash died in September, 2003. He survived wife, June, by only four months. But his music still lives on. His final album was “American IV: The Man Comes Around.” Coincidentally, the album’s title song is about Judgment Day. And Joanne Cash is bringing back more of her brother’s stories with the documentary. Their mother was a strong Christian. And brother, Jack, loved the Lord so much he wanted to be a preacher. However, Jack died when he was 14.

Joanne Cash also revealed exactly when her brother Johnny knew he’d have a career in music.

“There was something special about Johnny from the very beginning,” she said. “We would listen to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night when it came on. That was something that not only he listened to, but all of us looked forward to. He said, ‘Isn’t it great? Listen to that music. One day, you’re going to hear me on the radio.’ I kind of laughed because I was a kid. And I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yes, you’re going to hear me sing one day on the radio.’ I didn’t believe it at the time, but I certainly believe it now.”