The death of music legend Johnny Cash on Sept. 12 drew a wide range of emotions and reactions from Mississippi State University students.
Some students were not even aware of Cash’s death, while others were devastated by the loss. Many people were deeply touched by the mark that Johnny Cash left on this world with his music.
Senior Laura Meigs described the loss as, “the death of a legend.”
MSU alumnus Rego Rue remembers when Cash visited Mississippi State in the early ’60s.
“Doug Cater, one of my fellow pledge brothers, was in charge of getting musical acts to come to Starkville,” he said.
Rue said after the concert, which was in Lee Hall, Cash went back to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house.
“There he sang and played along with me and my fraternity brothers,” Rue said. “This is when he signed my 1960 silver-tone Roebuck guitar.”
Rue still has the guitar.
“Cash’s influence spread over so many different styles of music, not just country,” senior Kelli Miller said. “His presence will be missed, but his music will live on and will continue to influence artists to come.”
Other students had never listened to Cash’s music, but still felt the impact of his death. “I didn’t really listen to his music, but from what I have heard I know that he was making a break into a younger audience,” Baeley Williams said.
Some students hold Cash on a higher pedestal.
“Johnny Cash put out numerous albums and “it’s a tragedy that the music industry had to lose such a talented man,” junior Sarah Harrison said.
MSU junior John Mark Looney spoke of Cash’s undeniable songwriting ability, “Johnny Cash was a great singer/songwriter and he left an example for other singer and songwriters to follow,” Mark Looney said.
Most of the time news of a celebrity death travels fairly quickly, but some MSU students were not aware of Cash’s passing.