RISON - A piece of Cleveland County history - and music history - has returned to the county this week and will soon be on display in the local courthouse.
This week’s episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast focuses on music icon Johnny Cash’s infamous suit worn during his 1976 Bicentennial concert at the Rison High School football field.
The episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and on clevelandcountyherald.com
Herald Publisher Britt Talent and co-host Douglas Boultinghouse discuss the history with one of Cash’s cousins and local historians, Wayne Cash, and County Judge Jimmy Cummings.
The icon was born in Kingsland, and always considered Cleveland County home, as documented in many of his songs.
Cummings was in attendance at the 1976 homecoming concert and recalls seeing the suit on the legend, and then where it was once displayed at the Courthouse for many years.
The suit’s homecoming is returning it to its rightful place in the County according to the Judge.
Cummings said the suit will be displayed in the center of the lobby so it will be the first sight when entering any of the three doors to the Courthouse.
The suit, made for the musician by Ukrainian-American tailor and fashion designer Nudie Cohn, has made its rounds around the world.
Like Johnny Cash’s famous song “I’ve Been Everywhere,” his cousin Wayne jokes that the suit itself could sing the line, “I’ve been everywhere, man!”
According to Wayne Cash, the suit was loaned to a regional arts museum in Pine Bluff for a period of time before it was returned to the county, where it was rotated between the courthouse and the Pioneer Village for display during the annual Crafts Festival.
It was at the Village that Talent said he and Roy Phillips (also a cousin of Johnny Cash) found the suit in the back of the McMurtrey House years ago.
Wayne Cash said the Cleveland County Historical Society was aware of the suit’s location, but it was sort of an “out of sight, out of mind” case as the Village had been locked up for several years before being revitalized under the Kickstart Cleveland County Community Development Initiative.
With the suit in the possession of the Historical Society, Wayne Cash worked closely with Johnny Cash’s management team out of Nashville, Tennessee that manages his museum.
Wayne Cash personally drove the suit to Nashville where it was then put on display during a 2016 exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio honoring Johnny Cash.
The musician was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.
After the Hall of Fame exhibit, the suit returned to Nashville where Wayne Cash picked it up and drove it back to Arkansas, this time to Dyess, where Arkansas State University hosts the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Museum.
The suit has remained in Dyess all this time until it returned to Cleveland County this week.
A display case is being constructed that will soon be placed inside the Cleveland County Courthouse for the suit.
Cummings said the suit will be available for viewing during regular hours at the Courthouse, and also during special events.
An official installation date of the case will be announced soon. According to Wayne Cash, it will take multiple days to complete the process.
The timing of the suit returning home follows the unveiling of a statue in the American Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. honoring Johnny Cash.
During the podcast, Wayne Cash and Judge Cummings share their stories of attending the ceremony alongside Rison Mayor Charles Roberts, Kingsland Mayor Sharon Crosby and many others, including members of Johnny Cash’s family.
Wayne Cash has been instrumental in preserving the music icon’s legacy in Cleveland County, working to establish the Johnny Cash Historical Marker tour through the county.
Beginning with Johnny Cash’s birthplace at Kingsland, markers are placed with QR codes to be scanned.
Once scanned, the code provides a narrated story for that site read by the legend’s daughter and musician in her own right, Rosanne Cash.
The codes also direct the tourist to the other stops in the county, which include the Kingsland Post Office, Cleveland County Courthouse and the Rison High School football field where Johnny Cash performed in 1976.