Fife roots of Johnny Cash celebrated in the Kingdom this weekend

Johnny Cash and his wife June at Edinburgh Castle in 1981. Cash travelled to Scotland to explore his Fife roots during the 1980s and on this trip they made a television show "Christmas in Scotland". PIC: TSPL.

The three-day Cashback festival will be held at Woodside Hotel in Aberdour with a number of bands to celebrate the legacy of the country, blues and rock and roll star.

On Saturday, author Ian Rankin will give a talk on his favourite Johnny Cash record.

The Fife roots of Johnny Cash, the Man in Black

Johnny Cash photographed ahead of his 1981 concert at Falkland Palace. PIC: TSPL/Denis Straughan.

Cash's links to Fife became deeply important to the star in later years. He discovered his links to the Kingdom by chance on a flight from the US when he sat next to Major Michael Chrichton-Stuart, hereditary keeper of Falkland Palace.

Palace records show that a William Cash sailed from Scotland to Salem, Massachusetts, with a boatload of pilgrims in 1612.

In Fife, place names including Easter Cash, Cash Feus, Wester Cash and Cash Mills farm indicate the importance of the name over time.

Johnny Cash at the gates of Falkland Palace in 1981. PIC: TSPL.

To explore his roots, Johnny Cast travelled to Fife at least three times in the 1980s and in 1981 he played a televised concert at Falkland Palace with American music legend Andy Williams,

Such was the fascination with his family's past, he later had his ancestry traced back to the 11th century.

Biographer Stephen Millar told a BBC Documentary in 2010 that it appeared Cash was descended from a man called William Cash who lived in Strathmiglo in the late 17th Century.

The singer's daughter Roseanne further claimed that the Cash family was descended from Ada, the sister of King Malcolm IV.

His daughter told the BBC that whenever her dad went into hospital in later years of his life, he checked himself in under the name of Malcolm.

John McTaggart, who owns the Woodside Hotel, where the festival takes place, says more people should know about Cash's connection to Fife.

He said the Elvis connection to Prestwick Airport was well known, as was the link between Kirriemuir and AC/DC's Bon Scott.

Mr McTaggart told the BBC: "People love that musical heritage".