Johnny Cash was an American singer and songwriter who continues to be one of the bestselling musical artists of all time. He is best known for blending country, rock, blues, and gospel in his music, ushering in the Countrypolitan and Outlaw country movements. Cash was also a successful actor, writer, and activist. His lifelong support for SOS Children's Villages, a nonprofit advocating for children in need, led to the creation of the Johnny Cash Memorial Fund to carry on that legacy after his death. John Carter Cash is the only son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. He has produced five Grammy Award-winning albums and owns and operates the Cash Cabin Studio in Tennessee. He is also the author of House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father, Johnny Cash . Mark Stielper has chronicled the life of the Man in Black for nearly forty years, contributing to a dozen Cash biographies, appearing on screen in documentaries, and speaking at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Cash museum.

Johnny Cash himself called Stielper "my friend, the family historian" and said, "He knows more about me than me.".