Tommy Cash, Country Singer & Johnny Cash’s Brother, Dies at 84

Music

Tommy died one day after the 21st anniversary of his older brother’s passing.

Tommy Cash attends the Johnny Cash Limited-Edition Forever Stamp launch at Ryman Auditorium on June 5, 2013 in Nashville.

Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Tommy Cash, a country singer and the younger brother of Johnny Cash, has died. He was 84.

The news of Tommy’s passing was confirmed on Saturday (Sept. 14) in a social media post by the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville.

“We are saddened to announce that the world lost a bright light last evening with the passing of Tommy Cash,” reads a statement on Instagram from Icon Entertainment CEO Bill Miller, who founded the museum.

A cause of death was not provided at press time.

Tommy died on Friday, just one day after the 21st anniversary of late country music icon Jonny Cash, who passed away on Sept. 12, 2003, from complications of diabetes.

“Tommy Cash was a loyal supporter of the Johnny Cash Museum and a very beloved member of our extended family as well as a highly respected member of the music industry,” Miller added. “This great man will be deeply missed by his friends and many loyal fans around the world. Please keep Tommy’s beloved wife, Marcy and his family in your prayers.”

Tommy was born in Dyess, Ark., on April 5, 1940. Following the artistic path of his older brother, Tommy enlisted in the U.S. Army and worked as a radio DJ for the Armed Forces, and later performed as a musician with Hank Williams Jr.‘s band.

Tommy’s solo music career began to take off after scoring his first record deal in 1965. Three years later, he released his debut album, Here’s Tommy Cash, and scored his first top 10 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs in 1970 with “Six White Horses,” a tribute to John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The track, which reached No. 4, was later covered by country great Waylon Jennings.

Tommy scored two more top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs in 1970 with “Rise and Shine” and “One Song Away.” He went on to perform as a musician over the decades, teaming up with his big brother Johnny on “Guess Things Happen That Way” in 1990.

“He performed around the world throughout his career, carrying on the Cash legacy long after his brother, Johnny Cash, passed in 2003,” Miller concluded in his statement.

See the Johnny Cash Museum’s announcement about Tommy Cash’s death on Instagram here.

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