Forever Stamps 2021 Love – Love & Celebration, First-Class Postage

Value:  66¢ 1-ounce First-class rate (Forever)

Issue Date:  January 14, 2021

First Day City:  Loveland, CO

Printed by:  Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.

Printing Method:  Offset, microprint

Format:  Pane of 20

From Antony and Cleopatra to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, history is full of love stories.  One of the most well known in the modern era is the story of music legends Johnny Cash and June Carter.

Cash and Carter first met backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in July 1956.  Both were accomplished singers in their own right, and Carter toured with Cash as a back-up singer for years.  No one knows for sure when their romantic relationship began, but it was not until 1967 that they could officially be together.  (Carter divorced her second husband in 1966, and Cash and his first wife divorced in 1967.)

When asked about the start of her relationship with Cash, Carter later said, “It was not a convenient time for me to fall in love with him, and it wasn’t a convenient time for him to fall in love with me… I thought, ‘I can’t fall in love with this man,’ but it’s just like a ring of fire.”  Cash and Carter were married in February 1968 and had one son together.

Johnny Cash and June Carter may not have been each others’ first loves, but what they had was true love.  Cash often credited Carter with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol addiction.  The two were together for over 30 years and passed away just four months apart.  It truly was a love story for the ages.