Johnny Cash [ tickets ], who had been hospitalized at Baptist Hospital in Nashville since March 10 for treatment of pneumonia, returned home on Tuesday night (4/1), according to a hospital spokesperson.

The fabled country-music veteran, 71, suffers from autonomic neuropathy, a disease of the nervous system that makes him very susceptible to pneumonia. In 1998, a bout with pneumonia nearly killed him.

According to Cash's official website, his manager Lou Robin said that "it won't be long" before Cash resumes recording songs for his next album.

In recent years, Cash has been hospitalized several times. Prior to his most-recent stay, he was admitted in August 2002 for an allergic reaction. In November of 2001, he was hospitalized twice with bronchitis.

Despite his heath problems, Cash has continued to record. He released a new album titled "American IV: The Man Comes Around" last November, a set that features his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." The "Hurt" music video is currently getting heavy airplay on VH1 and CMT.

In February, Cash claimed the 11th GRAMMY^® award of his career, this time in the Best Male Country Vocal Performance category for "Give My Love to Rose."