CLAREMONT, CA — The Johnny Cash Commemorative First-Class Forever stamps will make a special appearance on June 5 at the Johnny Cash Tribute Show featuring singer James Garner with DJ and rock historian Brian “Mr. Rock N’ Roll” Beirne. The show takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Candlelight Pavilion, 455 W. Foothill Blvd. in Claremont.

This is the national first day of sale for the Johnny Cash Forever stamp, which will be sold outside the Candlelight Pavilion starting at 6:00 p.m. There will also be a collectible silk screen cachet envelope for sale and a free Johnny Cash special pictorial postmark available.

The Johnny Cash free special pictorial postmark can also be obtained by mail for 30 days after the event. Mail items to be postmarked, with applicable First-Class postage affixed, in a cover envelope addressed to: Johnny Cash Postmark, c/o Postmaster, 140 N. Harvard Ave., Claremont CA 91711-9998. Be sure to include your return address.

This local dedication coincides with the First Day of Issue ceremony for the Johnny Cash Forever stamp which takes place the same day in Nashville, TN, at the Grand Ole Opry – Ryman Auditorium. The Johnny Cash Forever stamp is being issued as part of the exciting new Music Icons stamp series. Resembling the appearance of a 45 rpm record sleeve, the square 46-cent Forever stamp features a photograph taken by Frank Bez during the photo session for “Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash” (1963).

Fans of Johnny Cash and his music can get additional information about the Johnny Cash Tribute Show by calling (909) 626-1254 or visiting the Candlelight Pavilion website at: www.candlelightpavilion.com.

Johnny Cash (1932–2003) is best remembered internationally as a country music artist, but his influence extends from rock and folk to blues and gospel. Cash found inspiration for his music in the stories of outlaws and laborers, and in his own life experience. A child of the Depression, he grew up in rural Arkansas, and the culture of that time and place remained with him all his life. Themes of redemption, loneliness, love, loss, and death colored his music with a gritty realism that differed markedly from other socially conscious popular music.

By the 1960s, Cash had become one of the top names in country music, known to many simply as “The Man in Black.”  He had a string of hits that included “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Cry, Cry, Cry,” “I Walk the Line,” and the Grammy award-winning “A Boy Named Sue.” He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

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