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Johnny Cash Estate Wishes Fans Happy Labor Day with Epic Photo of Country Legend

The Johnny Cash estate, with a simple photo, acknowledged Labor Day. Standing up for working men and women always was important to the country superstar.

Via Twitter, the estate posted a classic photo of Johnny Cash. He’s wearing a simple white shirt with a frill at the cuffs to go with a black vest. He’s hunched over a desk, writing something with a pencil. Here’s hoping the Man in Block was writing one of his signature songs.

“Happy Labor Day!” wished the Johnny Cash estate. Right back at ya.

Johnny Cash Definitely Stood Tall with Working People

The Johnny Cash estate didn’t provide any more details about the photo. But Cash definitely looks on the young side. He definitely came from working-class roots. His parents were poor farmers in Arkansas. Young Johnny served in the military before he moved to Memphis to begin his music career. To make ends meet, Cash even sold appliances. By 1955, he released his first song with Sun Records.

No list of Labor Day songs would be complete without Oney. Johnny Cash released it in July, 1972. It’s about a factory worker who wants to celebrate his retirement day by getting retribution against his boss. Oney is the name of the boss. And according to the song, he stayed on everyone’s back. As the last minutes of the work day count down, Cash sings about wanting to kick some boss tail.

Johnny Cash also speaks the first part of the song, as he dedicates it:

To the working man, for every man that puts in a hard eight or 10 hours a day of work and toil and sweat. Always got somebody looking down his neck, trying to get more out of him than he really ought to have to put in.”

The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country Chart.

Rosanne Cash Chastised Band for Using Dad’s Image

Although Johnny Cash died in 2003, his name and image got pulled into a present-day anti-vax protest. The group the Steel Woods used an image of Cash to protest Covid vaccine mandates at concert venues. The photo the band used was the cover of Cash’s 1974 album, the Ragged Old Flag.

Rosanne Cash, Johnny’s daughter, immediately called for the band to pull her father’s image. She posted on social media:

“Their statement, not my dad’s from beyond the grave,” Rosanne Cash tweeted. “This is an irresponsible and thoughtless misuse of the image and supposed beliefs of someone who cannot offer his own opinion. Please remove his picture from your press release. I hope you all get vaxxed.”

The band complied and pulled the photo.

Meanwhile, fans of Johnny Cash can listen to new takes of his old songs. The new album Johnny Cash at the Carousel Ballroom will be released Sept. 24. It features 28 songs from a live concert in 1968.