Country icons Johnny Cash and June Carter were married in Franklin, Kentucky on March 1, 1968. To celebrate, the Simpson County Tourism is hosting an inaugural Walk the Line – A Johnny and June Pop Up Event on Saturday, March 4, 2023, with events themed around the couple.
British photographer Alan Messer, who served as Johnny and June’s photographer from 1987 until the end, will share personal stories and photos from his time with the family at 10:30am at the Simpson County History Center, 207 North Main Street. This speaking event is free and Simpson County Tourism invites the community and visitors to attend the presentation. The history center also has copies of the couple’s marriage license available in its gift shop.
Franklin’s coffee shop, Millhouse Café, located at 126 North Main Street on the downtown square, is hosting Johnny Cash songs performed live by musician Tommy Johnson from 11am to 1pm. In addition, the café is offering a special latte inspired by the couple plus Instagram photo opportunities. The café is open on Saturday, March 4 from 8am to 3pm.
The Cash’s married at the Franklin First United Methodist Church, a block away from where the history center is currently located. The church is opening its sanctuary to walk-in tours from 11am to 1pm. Guests can take photos where Johnny and June said their vows and learn more about the wedding ceremony during this timeframe.
The Gallery on the Square, 110 North Main Street, is opening a small display of Johnny and June art pieces, created by Simpson County Guild Members, to commemorate the country icons.
“It is an honor to celebrate and remember the union of two country music artists who paved the way for so many in the industry today,” Simpson County Tourism Executive Director Amy Ellis said. “We invite everyone to join us on March 4 to help us keep the memory of the day Johnny and June Cash tied the knot in Franklin, Kentucky.”
Simpson County Tourism encourages visitors to take photos and use the hashtag #VisitFranklinKy and tag social media pages: Facebook – Franklin Simpson Tourism, Instagram – VisitFranklinKy, and TikTok – VisitFranklinKy.
Additional Alan Messer Bio Information: Alan Messer has been photographing musicians for five decades. His career started at sixteen on December 4th, 1967, working from Dezo Hoffmann’s London studio as a freelance and as a staff photographer for the Record Mirror, pop magazine.
During the seventies, Alan was the resident Old Grey Whistle Test photographer (BBC TV), toured briefly with Iggy Pop and Deep Purple, and photographed many visiting touring American bands and artists, either in his London studio or on the road.
Excited by America and its music, Alan moved from his native England to Nashville in 1978 to open a studio. An amazing opportunity to photograph the country music scene unfolded, as his English style of photography attracted musicians, record companies and legendary artists like Johnny Cash.
During the ’80s, Alan Messer’s career soared, being a prolific primary Nashville photographer, often shooting a session or an album cover every day. Some of those sessions were in his studio or in Austin, Texas with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson or Joe Ely.
Alan is an acclaimed photographer with hundreds of albums and CDs to his credit and a Grammy for album packaging photography/design. He is as passionate about photography now as he was as a young boy with a camera and a roll of film.
Some musicians he photographed are: John Lennon, George Harrison, Keith Richards, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, The Who, Diana Ross, Deep Purple, Elton John, Bill Haley, Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Tanya Tucker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Ely, and more.
Some of Alan’s Nashville photographs of Johnny Cash and other artists were featured in Ken Burn’s PBS documentary, “Country Music.”
Currently Alan is working on his archives, a documentary and three books, Nashville and two Johnny Cash books.
-submitted by Simpson County Tourism
