Johnny Cash arrested crossing the Mexican border in 1965

Johnny Cash was arrested crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, Texas after customs officials found 100’s of pills in his guitar case. He received a suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine on October 5, 1965.

Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Although he is primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Late in his career, Cash covered songs by several rock artists.

Johnny Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice; for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black".

He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues."

In June 1965, his truck caught fire due to an overheated wheel bearing, triggering a forest fire that burned several hundred acres in Los Padres National Forest in California. When the judge asked Cash why he did it, Cash said, "I didn't do it, my truck did, and it's dead, so you can't question it." The fire destroyed 508 acres (2.06 km2), burning the foliage off three mountains and killing 49 of the refuge's 53 endangered condors. Cash was unrepentant: "I don't care about your damn yellow buzzards." The federal government sued him and was awarded $125,172 ($871,303 today). Cash eventually settled the case and paid $82,001. He said he was the only person ever sued by the government for starting a forest fire.

Although Johnny Cash carefully cultivated a romantic outlaw image, he never served a prison sentence. Despite landing in jail seven times for misdemeanors, each stay lasted only a single night. His most infamous run-in with the law occurred while on tour in 1965, when he was arrested by a narcotics squad in El Paso, Texas. The officers suspected that he was smuggling heroin from Mexico, but it was 688 Dexedrine capsules and 475 Equanil tablets that the singer had hidden inside his guitar case. Because they were prescription drugs rather than illegal narcotics, he received a suspended sentence.

Johnny Cash was later arrested on May 11, 1965, in Starkville, Mississippi, for trespassing late at night onto private property to pick flowers. (This incident gave the spark for the song "Starkville City Jail", which he spoke about on his live At San Quentin prison album.)

Retro History for October 5 The 50s 60s 70s 80s

Retro History For The Decade 1980

1988 Brazil adopts its Constitution
1988 Chilean population agrees at referendum against Pinochet regime
1988 Israel bans Meir Kahane's Kach Party on grounds of racism
1986 London Sunday Times reports Israel is stocking nuclear arms
1985 Grambling's Eddie Robinson wins record 324th football game
1984 13th Space Shuttle Mission (41-G)-Challenger 6-launched
1983 Lech Walesa wins Nobel Peace Prize
1982 1st New Jersey Devils game, tie the Pitts Penguins 3-3 at the Meadowlands
1982 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
1982 Hernan Siles Zuazo appointed president of Bolivia
1982 Unmanned rocket sled reaches 9,851 kph at White Sands, New Mexico
1981 Dutch guilder/Deutsche mark revalued up 5.5%
1981 Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg becomes an honarary American
1980 Formal opening of meditation hall of Zenshin Temple in Riverdale Bronx
1980 Kathy Whitworth/Donna Caponi Young win Portland Ping Team Golf Champ
1980 Yankees set AL attendance mark at 2,627,417

Retro History For The Decade 1970

1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer wins Nobel Prize for literature
1978 Sweden's Falldin government falls
1977 "Hair" opens at Biltmore Theater New York City for 43 performances
1976 Seattle and Toronto picks 30 unprotected players on other AL rosters Ruppert Jones (Seattle) and Bob Bailor (Toronto) are picked 1st
1975 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.
1970 John Creach, joins Jefferson Airplane
1970 PBS becomes a network
1970 Quebec separatists kidnap British trade commissioner James Cross

Retro History For The Decade 1960

1969 Carol Mann wins LPGA Mickey Wright Golf Invitational
1969 Monty Python's Flying Circus begins airing on BBC
1969 Tom Dempsey of New Orleans Saints kicks 55-yard field goal
1968 Battles between Catholic demonstrators and police in Londonderry
1968 KPLM (now KESQ) TV channel 42 in Palm Springs, California (ABC) begins
1965 Johnny Cash was arrested crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, Texas after customs officials found 100’s of pills in his guitar case. He received a suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.
1965 Chuck Linster performs 6,006 consecutive push-ups
1965 Dick McInnes stays aloft almost 12 hours in a kite
1964 KIXE TV channel 9 in Redding, California (PBS) begins broadcasting
1964 San Francisco Fire Department Museum is dedicated
1963 17th NHL All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Toronto 3-3 at Toronto
1963 Hyde St. Pier re-opens as State Historical Park
1963 Little Richard joins Everly Brothers Tour
1962 Beatles release their 1st record "Love Me Do"
1961 China and Nepal sign treaty
1960 British Labour party demands unilateral nuclear disarmament
1960 Eastern AL Electra turbo-prop crashed in Boston Harbor (61 die)
1960 KEYC TV channel 12 in Mankato, MN (CBS) begins broadcasting

Retro History For The Decade 1950

1958 KRTV TV channel 3 in Great Falls, Montana (CBS) begins broadcasting
1958 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1958 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya U.S.S.R.
1957 11th NHL All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Montreal 5-3 at Montreal
1957 12th Ryder Cup: Britain - Ireland, 7 - 4 at Lindrick GC, England
1957 Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilos sentenced to 7 years
1956 Yogi Berra becomes 4th Yank to hit a World Series grand slam
1954 Hurricane Hazel hits Eastern U.S.
1953 Earl Warren sworn in as 14th chief justice of U.S.
1953 50th World Series sees New York Yankees beat Dodgers, 4 games to 2, as New York Billy Martin's 12 hits set record; Yankees win record 5th consec WS
1952 19th congress of Communist Party meets in Moscow
1952 6th NHL All-Star Game: 1st Team ties 2nd Team 1-1 at Detroit
1950 "Pardon Our French" opens at Broadway Theater New York City for 100 performances

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Vintage Retro Music & Retro Pop Culture is our passion and what we LOVE. We keep it going everyday for the love of producing it for you to enjoy. Thanks for viewing. Much Peace! Johnny Cash arrested crossing the Mexican border in 1965.