Belmont University to House Johnny Cash’s Personal Archives
Belmont University in Nashville will become the permanent home for Johnny Cash's personal archives through a partnership with the Cash family and the John R. Cash Revocable Trust. The collection, valued at $8.6 million, encompasses correspondence, handwritten lyrics, photographs, scrapbooks and other materials spanning Cash's life and career, with funding support from notable music industry figures including Scott Borchetta and Mike Curb.
The archives will anchor a new Johnny Cash Learning Center at Belmont's Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business. The facility will include digitized collections accessible online, physical and digital exhibits, educational programming, and a dedicated research room for scholars. The digitization effort will be led by Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel, allowing students and researchers across disciplines to engage directly with materials documenting one of American music's most significant artists.
- Johnny Cash's personal archives valued at $8.6 million will be permanently housed at Belmont University in Nashville
- The collection includes correspondence, handwritten lyrics, photographs and personal documents from across the legendary artist's career
- A new Johnny Cash Learning Center will feature digitized materials for public online access and dedicated research facilities for scholars