Johnny Cash

Pain is the lifeblood of art and music. It inspires creativity and provides an outlet for all the emotions we cannot express using words alone. My opinion is not based on statistics, of course, but speaking from all the experience I've had listening to music I feel that an overwhelming amount of it addresses or is inspired by deep emotional feeling. Johnny Cash is a great example of the outlet music can provide for emotional hurt. Johnny was obviously deeply affected by the death of his brother Jack, and his pain is reflected in much of his songwriting. Cash's personal life, too, was wracked with troubles. He used alcohol and drugs heavily, and attempted suicide in 1968. While his life outside of music was a troubled one, his music career continued to gain momentum as Cash transferred his personal troubles to his songwriting. This is what makes music as an artform so amazing: it provides an escape for the artist and the listeners and gives them a chance to experience a connection with people who feel the same way. So while it was not a "good" thing that Johnny Cash had a lot of turmoil in his lifetime, it led to an inspiring new style of music, and a far-reaching influence on musicians and listeners to this day.