Arkansas to Celebrate The Man in Black with Annual "Johnny Cash Day" on February 26

Put a "Ring of Fire" on your calendar for February 26, Arkansas residents!

As the Associated Press reported, the Arkansas House of Representatives gave final approval to a bill that would designate February 26 as "Johnny Cash Day" each year, with an impressive (but not surprising!) vote of 92-O. The bill will next proceed to Governor Asa Hutchinson, who will sign it, according to his office. The state Senate previously approved the bill earlier this month. (Worth noting: Johnny Cash Day won't be a legal holiday but rather a commemorative day, which may be celebrated with a yearly gubernatorial proclamation — and, we'd hope, plenty of Johnny Cash tunes played live throughout the state at various events and celebrations.)

As the bill, titled "An Act to Establish John R. "Johnny" Cash Day; And For Other Purposes," states, Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, and his childhood home was located in Dyess, Arkansas. February 26 is the late singer's birthday. Though he lived in the Nashville area for much of his life, he was an Arkansas native, and as the bill declares, his childhood home in Dyess "had a significant impact on his life and music."

The Natural State has a lot of love for Mr. Cash and pride for being the birthplace of the celebrated country music artist. In fact, in 2019, the Arkansas legislature voted to replace its two statues at the U.S. Capitol with a statue of Cash and civil rights trailblazer Daisy Bates.

We think we'll go blast Cash's 1972 tune "Arkansas Lovin' Man" off of his A Thing Called Love to celebrate the news. Tell all your Cash lovin' men and women about this exciting development ASAP, friends.