Johnny Cash’s Tour Bus Ends Its Journey
 at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

(COLUMBUS, OH) – JC Unit 1, Johnny Cash’s infamous tour bus, will take its place in history at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cash, the only person to be inducted to the Rock and Roll, Country Music, and Songwriter Halls of Fame, used the bus for all his tours. The bus is being spruced up by Creative Mobile Interiors (CMI), a custom conversion specialist in Grove City, Ohio, before heading up to Cleveland to take its place at the Hall of Fame.

Cash used the vehicle for all his tours, including the 1991 Highwayman Tour, where the vehicle also ferried Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Johnny sold the bus three months before his death in 2003 to the American Heritage Music Foundation in Blytheville, Arkansas.  They in turn sold it to MotoeXotica in St. Louis Missouri, who auctioned it on e-Bay in 2005.             

The bus was purchased by Dave Wright, a collector of vintage motor coaches in Ocala, Florida. “This is a rolling monument to Johnny Cash.  He is a legendary and enduring musical figure,” said Wright, a Cash fan.  After buying the bus and having it restored by CMI in 2005 he loaned the bus to Cash’s band, The Tennessee Three. After a cross country tour, the bus went to Fender Museum of Music and the Arts in California.

“It will now be placed where it can be appreciated by anyone who wishes to visit and pay homage to the Man in Black. This is the only bus he ever had,” said Wright “A lot of music was created and played on this bus.” From June Carter’s blue velour upholstered furniture to a coffee cup ring Johnny left on a table, you feel their presents when you walk on the bus.

The bus also holds a bit of American history. The walnut in the stateroom comes from Johnny’s farm in Tennessee, which was used by Ulysses S. Grant as his headquarters during the Civil War.  The vehicle has four separate rooms decorated mainly in black. Each room has its own TV, VCR and radio.  There’s a center galley with sink, stove, refrigerator, freezer and dinette.  The rear stateroom has two sleeper sofas. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, with a permanent collection drawing from rock and roll artifacts, is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of the music and the cultural context from which it emerges. The Museum continually augments its own collection of thousands of artifacts with items on loan from artists and collectors from around the world. The Museum is a nonprofit institution that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music

 CMI was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in four plants totaling 21,000 square feet in Grove City, Ohio.  The company specializes in converting motor coaches, Sprinter vans, trailers and mini-coaches into luxury, commercial and specialty vehicles outfitted with custom top-of-the-line amenities and electronics.  CMI can be reached at (614) 539-4600, or at www.creativemobileinteriors.com.