In 1963, Johnny Cash met a talented young group at the Roanoke Fair. Impressed by their harmonies, he invited them to join his tour with “nothing more than a simple handshake.”
Originally called The Kingsmen, they changed their name after spotting a box of tissues. Don Reid joked, “We could have ended up as The Kleenex Brothers.”
Touring with Cash for a decade, they admired his vast musical knowledge—“He was a living, breathing encyclopedia of music.”
Their 1965 hit Flowers on the Wall won two Grammys, even outshining The Beatles and The Supremes.
