Ring of Fire... and "Hurt"

(Tom Baldwin in Washington)
The lakeside home of Johnny Cash, where the late singer spent much of his troubled life entertaining guests ranging from The Beatles to US presidents, has burnt to the ground.

The charred chimneys, the only remaining structure standing yesterday morning, will be seen as an appropriate monument to the “Man in Black”.

Cash and his wife, June Carter, lived in the house at Hendersonville, near Nashville, Tennessee, for more than 30 years until their deaths in 2003. It featured in the Grammy-win-ning video for Cash’s cover of Hurt,his last hit in 2002, where he was shown mournfully surveying the remnants of his life.

The home had recently been bought by Barry Gibb, of the Bee Gees, who hoped to rebuild it in his own style. He was described yesterday as being “very, very upset” by news of the fire.

Richard Sterban, of the group the Oak Ridge Boys, who lives on the same road, said: “Maybe it’s the good Lord’s way to make sure that it was only Johnny’s house.”

Other musical neighbours included the singer, Marty Stu-art, who lives next door and was once married to Cash’s daughter Cindy. He said that the house was “a sanctuary and a fortress” for the country singer. “So many prominent things and prominent people in American history took place in that house — everyone from Billy Graham to Bob Dylan went into that house.” It was also visited by President Carter, a distant cousin of June.

Barbara Orbison, who lives nearby and is the widow of Roy Orbison, said: “That house had a really strong scent of Johnny and June. It was built on rock. It had to be a strong house to have survived right there at the lake. I guess it will be forever their house.”

The fire started about 1.40 pm on Tuesday. Although firemen arrived within five minutes, they could not stop the blaze spreading.

The cause is unknown, but Mr Steele said that the flames took hold quickly because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative to the exterior of the house. One firefighter was slightly injured.