Congressional leaders from both parties and members of the Cash family were among the several hundred guests who gathered on Tuesday for the unveiling of the statue.
They shared their memories of a man who grew up on an Arkansas cotton farm and turned a love of music into a decades-long career that gave voice to the struggles and triumphs of everyday Americans.
Relatives and members of Johnny Cash's family in front of the bronze statue. (AP PHOTO)
"Some may ask: Why should a musician have a statue here in the halls of the great American republic?" House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the unveiling ceremony. "The answer is pretty simple. It's because America is about more than laws and politics."
Each state selects two statues to place within the Capitol. The Cash statue is the second new figure Arkansas has sent to replace two existing images that had represented the state at the US Capitol for more than 100 years.
Known as the "The Man in Black," Cash was a vivid storyteller who sang with a deep voice songs like I Walk The Line, Ring of Fire, Jackson and A Boy Named Sue. The statue depicts the singer with a guitar slung across his back and a Bible in his hand. Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse created the statue.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said artistic creativity is an important part of the country's growth, and Cash's "substance" and "swagger" inspired generations of artists from every genre imaginable. He quoted singers such as Bob Dylan and Snoop Dogg about Cash's impact.
"He called Johnny Cash a real American gangster. That a compliment from Snoop Doggy Dogg," Jeffries said as the audience laughed. "What a life, what a legend, what a legacy."
Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, said her father would have viewed the statue "as the ultimate" honour in his life.
She said her father's hard upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic and that he loved the idea of America as a place of dreams and refuge.
"This man was a living redemption story," Rosanne Cash said. "He encountered darkness and met it with love."
Cash was born in Kingsland, a tiny town about 100km south of Little Rock. He died in 2003 at age 71. His achievements include 90 million records sold worldwide spanning country, rock, blues, folk and gospel. He is among the few artists inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
