] He was a poor sharecropper's son from Kingsland,
] Arkansas, who sang to himself while picking cotton in the
] fields -- then later sang to millions through recordings,
] concerts and his late-'60s TV variety show.
]
] He became a country music statesman who found a home with
] rap-rock producer Rick Rubin's American Recordings.
]
] He was called the "Man in Black," who once sang "I shot a
] man in Reno/Just to watch him die," but opened his
] concerts with the friendly, modest greeting, "Hello, I'm
] Johnny Cash."

It's a sad day in music.

CNN.com - 'Man in Black' Johnny Cash dead at 71 - Sep. 12, 2003