Hendersonville, Tenn. ? Family, friends and musicians gathered Monday at Johnny Cash’s funeral to pay tribute to a giant in American music.

“He represented the best of America; we’re not going to see his like again,” said singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who wrote Cash’s 1970 hit “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

More than 1,000 people attended the private two-and-a-half-hour service at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, about 15 miles north of Nashville — the same church where Cash mourned the death of his wife, June Carter Cash, in May.

Cash, 71, died Friday of respiratory failure caused by complications from diabetes. He had been in declining health for years.

“I can almost live in a world without Johnny Cash because he will always be with us,” said Cash’s daughter, singer Rosanne Cash.

Among the celebrities attending were country singers Vince Gill, Hank Williams Jr., Travis Tritt, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Dunn, the Statler Brothers and the Oak Ridge Boys. Other celebrities in attendance included rock-rapper Kid Rock, actress Jane Seymour and former Vice President Al Gore, a native of Tennessee.

Hank Williams Jr., center, and Kid Rock, right, arrive for the Monday funeral of country music legend Johnny Cash in Hendersonville, Tenn.