The house of country music legend Johnny Cash has been destroyed by a fire.

The property was where Cash penned many of his songs, and was the location for the shooting of his famous video for 'Hurt'. It was caught by flames at around 1.40am local time. Firemen were unable to prevent the building from collapsing.

"So many prominent things and prominent people in American history took place in that house - everyone from Billy Graham to Bob Dylan went into that house," commented Cash's next door neighbour Marty Stuart. "It was a sanctuary and a fortress for him... a lot of writing that took place there."

The residence had been bought by former Bee Gee Barry Gibb, who was planning to renovate the property and use it as a songwriting base. The musician's representative Paul Bloch said the singer was "both saddened and devastated by the news."