Johnny Cash Now Has a Statue at the U.S. Capitol

Lauren Novak September 25, 11:08 am

JOHNNY CASH AND THE COUNTRY GIRLS, Johnny Cash, 1981 — Everett Collection

Over 20 years after his death, country music legend Johnny Cash was honored with a very special statue. The statue of Cash, holding a Bible with a guitar slung across his back, is one of two new monuments at the United States Capitol. The Cash statue was added to the National Statuary Hall Collection to represent the state of Arkansas in the Capitol. Each state is allowed two statues in the Capitol that represent their state, and this was the first time that a musician was recognized with a statue in the collection.

Cash’s daughter Rosanne Cash and sister Joanne Cash were in attendance during the unveiling of the statue. During the unveiling ceremony, Rosanne shared, “I am very careful not to put words in his mouth since his passing. But on this day I can safely say that he would feel that of all the many honors and accolades he received in his lifetime, this is the ultimate.”

A statue of country music singer and Arkansas native Johnny Cash is unveiled as US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (3rd L), Democrat of New York, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (4th L), alongside members of the Cash family, applaud in Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2024

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

During the ceremony, the U.S. Air Force Band performed “I Walk the Line,” one of Cash’s most famous songs, which also inspired the title of the film based on his life and career, Walk the Line. The statue of Cash was joined by the statue of civil rights leader Daisy Bates. They replaced the statues of lawyer Uriah Rose and Sen. James P. Clarke.

American country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash (1932 - 2003) plays acoustic guitar in a still from his television variety series, 'The Johnny Cash Show,' circa 1968

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Rosanne continued about her father, “In some ways he felt imprisoned by his own addictions, woundedness and suffering, and a lot of that went into his music. That’s the gift of a great artist, is taking that suffering and making great art out of it, which he was fortunate enough to do.”

Joanne Cash, sister of the late American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash reaches out to touch the statue of her late older brother, that was unveiled during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol on September 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. Arkansas has replaced two statues that represented the state at the U.S. Capitol for more than 100 years, unveiling a statue of civil rights leader Daisy Bates, who mentored the nine Black children who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, earlier this year and now the statue of Johnny Cash

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

The concept of a National Statuary Hall began in the 19th century and has been expanded several times to accommodate more statues. Each statue is a gift of the state that represents it, and visitors can come see the statues at the U.S. Capitol. You can also look to see the statues from your state on the website!

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Johnny Cash Now Has a Statue at the U.S. Capitol

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