At Folsom Prison
At Folsom Prison | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | May 6, 1968 | |||
Recorded | January 13, 1968 | |||
Venue | Folsom State Prison (Folsom, California) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:05 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Bob Johnston | |||
Johnny Cash chronology | ||||
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Singles from At Folsom Prison | ||||
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Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is the first
Despite little initial promotion by Columbia, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison was a hit in the United States, reaching number one on the
Background
Johnny Cash became interested in Folsom State Prison, California, while serving in the United States Air Force Security Service. In 1953, his unit watched Crane Wilbur's 1951 film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. The film inspired Cash to write a song that reflected his perception of prison life.[1] The result was "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash's second single on Sun Records. The song became popular among inmates, who would write to Cash, requesting him to perform at their prisons.[2] Cash's first prison performance was at Huntsville State Prison in 1957.[3] Satisfied by the favorable reception, he performed at several other prisons in the years leading up to the Folsom performance in 1968.[3]
A few years after attaining commercial success from songs such as "
Recording
On January 10, 1968, Cash and
Cash decided to hold two performances on January 13, one at 9:40 am and one at 12:40 pm, in case the first performance was unsatisfactory.
Cash opened both shows with a rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues", followed by many songs about prison, including "The Wall", "
- "The Long Black Veil""
- "Send a Picture of Mother"
- "The Wall"
- "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog"
- "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart"
- "Joe Bean"
- "Jackson
- "I Got a Woman"
- "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer"
- "Green, Green Grass of Home"
- "Greystone Chapel"
- "Folsom Prison Blues"
- "Busted"
- "Dark as a Dungeon"
- "Cocaine Blues"
- "25 Minutes to Go"
- "Orange Blossom Special"
- "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer"
- "Give My Love to Rose"
- "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog"
- "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart"
- "Joe Bean"
- "Jackson"
- "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man"
- "I Got Stripes"
- "Green, Green Grass of Home"
- "Greystone Chapel"
- "Greystone Chapel" (repeat)
Reception and impact
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Rolling Stone Album Guide | (Legacy) [23] |
The album release of At Folsom Prison was prepared in four months. Despite the recent success of "Rosanna's Going Wild", a Cash single released just before the Folsom concerts that reached number two on the country charts, Columbia initially invested little in the album or its single "Folsom Prison Blues". This was due partially to Columbia's focusing its promotional efforts on pop stars rather than country artists.[24][25] Nevertheless, the single charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 25, 1968; it also hit the country charts a week later.[26][27] The single suffered a setback when Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Radio stations ceased playing the single due to the macabre line: "I shot a man in Reno / Just to watch him die". Reeling in the success prior to the assassination, Columbia demanded Johnston remix the single with the line removed. Despite protests from Cash, the single was edited and re-released. The new version became a success, reaching number one on the country charts and the top forty on the national charts.[28] The single prompted the album to climb the album charts, eventually reaching number one on the Top Country Albums chart and number thirteen on the Pop Albums chart—the forerunner to the Billboard 200.[29] By August 1968, Folsom had shipped over 300,000 copies; two months later it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over 500,000.[30][31]
At Folsom Prison received rave reviews. Al Aronowitz of Life stated Cash sang the songs like "someone who has grown up believing he is one of the people that these songs are about."[32] For The Village Voice, Ann Fisher wrote that "every cut is special in its own way" and Richard Goldstein noted the album was "filled with the kind of emotionalism you seldom find in rock."[33][34] Fredrick E. Danker of Sing Out! praised At Folsom Prison as "an album structured an aural experience for us".[35]
The success of At Folsom Prison revitalized Cash's career; according to Cash, "that's where things really got started for me again".
The album was re-released on October 19, 1999, with three extra tracks excluded from the original LP: "
In 2008, Columbia and
At the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969, the album Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes while the song, "Folsom Prison Blues" won Cash the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. In 2018, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[51][52]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " The Long Black Veil" | Marijohn Wilkin, Danny Dill | 3:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Send a Picture of Mother" | Cash | 2:11 | |
2. | "The Wall" | June Carter) | Billy Edd Wheeler, Jerry Leiber | 2:56 |
6. | "Give My Love to Rose" (with June Carter) | Cash | 2:41 | |
7. | "I Got Stripes" | Cash, Charlie Williams | 1:42 | |
8. | "Green, Green Grass of Home" | Curly Putman | 2:57 | |
9. | "Greystone Chapel" | Glen Sherley | 5:34 |
Re-release (1999)
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " June Carter) | Billy Edd Wheeler, Jerry Leiber (as Gaby Rodgers) | 3:12 |
15. | "Give My Love to Rose" (with June Carter) | Cash | 2:41 |
16. | "I Got Stripes" | Cash, Charlie Williams | 1:57 |
17. | "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer" (previously unreleased) | Cash, Carter | 7:08 |
18. | "Green, Green Grass of Home" | Curly Putman | 2:29 |
19. | "Greystone Chapel" | Glen Sherley | 6:02 |
Legacy Edition (2008)
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Opening announcements from Hugh Cherry" | 1:01 | |
2. | " June Carter) | Billy Edd Wheeler, Jerry Leiber (as Gaby Rodgers) | 3:12 |
20. | "I Got a Woman" (with June Carter) | Ray Charles, Renald Richard | 4:37 |
21. | "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer" | Cash, Carter | 7:06 |
22. | "June's Poem" (performed by June Carter) | 0:58 | |
23. | "Green, Green Grass of Home" | Curly Putman | 3:19 |
24. | "Greystone Chapel" | Glen Sherley | 2:49 |
25. | "Closing announcements" | 1:42 | |
Total length: | 65:31 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Old Spinning Wheel" (performed by Carl Perkins) | On a Monday" | 1:43 |
23. | "Green, Green Grass of Home" | Putman | 3:24 |
24. | "Greystone Chapel" | Sherley | 3:35 |
25. | "Greystone Chapel" | Sherley | 2:38 |
26. | "Hugh Cherry Introduces Johnny's father, Ray Cash, Associate Warden Walter E. Craven and Floyd Gressett, and closing announcements" | 3:10 | |
Total length: | 75:58 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" (Documentary film) | 130:00 |
2. | "Interviews
| |
3. | "Bob Irwin: "Remixing the Folsom Recording"" | |
4. | "Marty Stuart: Performance of "Hangman"" | |
5. | "Ronda Sherley: "Glen Sherley's My Last Day"" | |
6. | "Folsom Inmate Lefty: "Orange Blossom Special Harmonica"" |
Personnel
- Johnny Cash –
- June Carter – vocal
- Marshall Grant – bass guitar
- W.S. Holland – drums
- Carl Perkins – electric guitar, vocals on track 2.
- Luther Perkins – electric guitar
- Phil Balsley) – vocals
- Bob Johnston – producer
- Bob Breault – engineer
- Bill Britain – engineer
- Jim Marshall – photography
Credited on 1999 re-issue
- Bob Irwin – producer
- Steven Berkowitz – producer, A&R
- Vic Aneseni – mixing
- Howard Fritzson – art direction
- Darcy Proper – mastering
- Frank Tozour – PQ editing
- John Henry Jackson – product manager
- Randall Martin – packaging manager
- Darren Salmieri – A&R
- Tim Smith – A&R
- Nick Shaffran – consultant
Charts
Chart (1968) | Peak position |
---|---|
Norwegian Albums Chart[53] | 7 |
UK Albums Chart[54] | 7 |
U.S. Pop Albums[29] | 13 |
U.S. Top Country Albums[29] | 1 |
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
Canada RPM LP Chart[55] | 27 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[56] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Ireland (IRMA)[57] | Gold | 7,500^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[59] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Citations
- ^ Pond, Steve (December 10, 1992). "Johnny Cash". Rolling Stone.
- ^ a b Simmons, Sylvia (January 2003). "Outta My Way". Mojo.
- ^ a b Johnny Cash (1975). Man In Black. Warner Books. p. 110. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (March 1, 1973). "Nothing Can Take The Place of the Human Heart: A Conversation with Johnny Cash". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 37
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 59
- ^ Cash, Johnny. At Folsom Prison liner notes. Columbia Records, CS–9639, 1968.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 61
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 65
- ^ Govoni 1970, pp. 29–30
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 66
- ^ Beley, Gene (Winter 2005). "Folsom Prison Blues". Virginia Quarterly Review. pp. 218–227. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 69
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 63
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 80
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 88
- ^ a b Streissguth 2004, p. 108
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 100
- ^ "At Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash". AllMusic.
- ^ Deusner, Stephen M. "Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition Album Review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^ "Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison Legacy Edition". popmatters.com.
- ^ "At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition : Johnny Cash : Review : Rolling Stone". April 21, 2009. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009.
- ISBN 9780743201698.
- ^ "Hot Country Singles". Billboard. January 27, 1968.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 127, 132
- ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. May 25, 1968.
- ^ "Hot Country Singles". Billboard. June 1, 1968.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, pp. 137–8
- ^ a b c "At Folsom Prison (1999 Expanded Edition) > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ Streissguth 2004, p. 142
- ^ a b "RIAA — Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ Aronowitz, Alfred G. (August 16, 1968). "Music Behind the Bars: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison". Life.
- ^ Fisher, Annie (October 17, 1968). "Riffs". The Village Voice.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (June 6, 1968). "Pop Eye". The Village Voice.
- ^ Danker, Frederick E. (September 1968). "Johnny Cash: A Certain Tragic Sense of Life". Sing Out!.
- ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. November 15, 1969.
- ^ Cash & Carr 1997, p. 58
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "At Folsom Prison (1999 Expanded Edition) (review)". AllMusic. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- The Library of Congress. October 25, 2006. Archivedfrom the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- Country Music Television.
- ^ Aizelwood, John (February 2002). "The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time". Blender. Archived from the original on April 19, 2002. Accessed via webarchive November 8, 2008.
- ^ "500 CDs You Must Own". Blender. April 2003. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ "The All-Time 100 Albums". Time. November 13, 2006. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ "10 of the best live albums every rock fan needs to hear". Guitar World. July 29, 2019.
- ^ "The 20 greatest live albums of all time". Far Out. June 11, 2020.
- ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- Pitchfork Media. Archived from the originalon November 3, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (October 16, 2008). "At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition (review)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 29, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
- ^ "Johnny Cash". Grammy.com. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Artists". Grammy.com. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "Johnny Cash — At Folsom Prison (Album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ "At Folsom Prison". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ "LP Chart". RPM. 12 (8). October 18, 1969. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Johnny Cash – At Folsom prison". Music Canada.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ "British album certifications – Johnny Cash – At Folsom prison". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Johnny Cash – At Folsom prison". Recording Industry Association of America.
References
- ISBN 0-06-072753-5.
- Govoni, Albert (1970). A Boy Named Cash: The Johnny Cash Story (1st ed.). New York, NY: Lancer Books.
- Streissguth, Michael (2004). Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece (1st ed.). ISBN 0-306-81453-6.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-446-89086-3.
- Geary, Daniel. "'The Way I Would Feel About San Quentin': Johnny Cash and the Politics of Country Music". Daedalus. 142 (Fall 2013). 64–72.
- Levy, Joe (2005). The 500 Greatest Albums of All Times (1st ed.). New York, NY: Wenner Books. ISBN 1-932958-61-4.
- Streissguth, Michael (May 7, 2018). "Johnny Cash's 'At Folsom Prison' at 50: An Oral History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 1, 2023.