Johnny Cash – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Johnny Cash – I’ve Been Everywhere

Happy 4th of July and a belated Canada Day.

I don’t think any performer is as popular and liked across generations and genres as Johnny Cash. I’ve met hard rock, country, and blues fans who love him. He was an American Icon. This man had been everywhere, and he had the stories to back it up.

The song originated in Australia in 1959, written by Geoff Mack, which name-checked towns like Mooloolaba and Wollongong. Lucky Starr popularized it in Australia at the time. Hank Snow gave it an American twist in the early ‘60s, with a rapid-fire list of U.S. towns delivered at a gallop, sounding like he was being chased by a state trooper and an angry tour promoter at the same time.

Hank Snow made this song popular in 1962 by taking it to #1 on the Billboard Country chart and #68 on the Billboard 100. Johnny covered this song in 1996, and it’s the version I remember. Cash had a way of making a song his own. He released it in 1996 but had been doing it for years live.

The genius of it, though, is that despite the fast pace, it never feels like a gimmick in his hands. There’s that world-weary baritone voice, like a man unrolling a crumpled map that’s been folded a thousand times. The song becomes not just about where he’s been, but what he’s seen, motels, hotels, and empty stages. He’s been everywhere, but not always by choice.

The song was on the album American II: Unchained produced by Rick Rubin. The album peaked at #26 on the Billboard Country Album Charts and #170 on the Billboard 200 in 1996.

I hope everyone living in the U.S. has a happy, safe Fourth of July! I know I will!

I’ve Been Everywhere
I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road,
When along came a semi with a high and canvas-covered load.
“If you’re goin’ to Winnemucca, Mack, with me you can ride.”
And so I climbed into the cab and then I settled down inside.
He asked me if I’d seen a road with so much dust and sand.
And I said, “Listen, I’ve traveled every road in this here land!”

I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.

I’ve been to
Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota,
Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota,
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma,
Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma,
Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo,
Tocopilla, Barranquilla, and Padilla, I’m a killer.

I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.

I’ve been to
Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana,
Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana,
Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa,
Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa,
Tennessee to Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
Grand Lake, Devil’s Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete’s sake.

I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.

I’ve been to
Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika,
Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica,
Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport,
Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport,
Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina,
Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a.

I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.

I’ve been to
Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado,
Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, El Dorado,
Larimore, Admore, Haverstraw, Chatanika,
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika,
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City,
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity.

I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.

I’ve been everywhere.

Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire

Johnny Cash crossed genre’s probably better than anyone. I’ve met metal, punk, and rock fans who love this man. It’s probably a combination of personality and music that draws people into his orbit. He is still crossing genres even after being gone for years.

This song was written by his best friend June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore in 1962. The inspiration came from June’s feelings about her relationship with Johnny Cash. At the time, their relationship was intense as Johnny was struggling with addiction and the complications of his personal life. When she wrote the song, they were just close friends at the time and not married yet. They would not get married until March 1, 1968.

Johnny wasn’t the first to record this song though. That would be Anita Carter who was June’s sister. She did a really good version of it but without those horns…it just doesn’t click like Johnny’s version does. Cash claimed that he dreamed of the song’s eventual arrangement, including the Mexican-style trumpets. He wanted the song to have a mix of country, rock, and mariachi sounds.

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and #17 on the Billboard 100 in 1963. It appeared on the compilation album Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash in 1963.

Vivian Cash (Johnny’s Ex-Wife): “She didn’t write that song any more than I did. The truth is, Johnny wrote that song, while pilled up and drunk, about a certain private female body part.”

Ring of Fire

Love is a burnin’ thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild

I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

…

A Complete Unknown

Sorry for the duplication but Bailey talked a little about the movie in a post I had a few weeks ago. I saw this movie tonight…and it was…

I want to get this down while it’s still in my brain. I saw A Complete Unknown tonight. I am very critical of music bios. I saw Queen but all I could do was pick out stuff that wasn’t right and I’m not a huge Queen history fan. So when I say I’m critical I really am. 99 percent of the time I would rather see a well-made documentary. I could watch a documentary on grass growing… but most music bios I’ve seen just make up things or get things completely out of order. This one not so…

Ok on this movie…FANTASTIC. I could just say that for a one-word review. I know Dylan’s early history pretty well up until the 1980s. When the characters showed up, I knew who they were like Bobby Neuwirth who was played by Will Harrison. I will say something out loud here that I don’t usually talk about. I’m not the biggest Pete Seeger or Joan Baez fan but this movie made me appreciate them more and I sure as hell appreciate Dylan more. I have nothing against them personally, I just never got into their music as much but both helped Dylan a lot…that I always gave them credit for.

Now the actors and actresses, Timothée Chalamet was outstanding and did all of the singing live as they filmed. You have to respect that and it came out great. I knew nothing about this guy before this movie…he really impressed me. Monica Barbaro played Joan Baez and she did all of the singing like Timothee did…she did an incredible job. Edward Norton played Pete Seeger and he had his look and sound down. Elle Fanning played Sylvie Russo, Bob’s girlfriend who was photographed with Bob on the album Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Only one thing was wrong with that….her real name was Susan “Suze” Rotolo. Bob had asked if they would change her name.

Writer-Director James Mangold said that Dylan had a reason for the change. “Bob talked to Jim a lot about the script, and the one thing he wanted was Suze’s name to be changed in the script because he felt like she wasn’t a public figure, she always wanted to remain a private person. I really held that in my heart, the gravity of Bob’s choice, because they had stayed close until she passed away in 2011.”

Johnny Cash was played by Boyd Holbrook and was right on the mark with him. He came up in pivotable scenes. The movie basically covers 1961 with Bob coming to see Woody Guthrie to Bob playing electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. They also at least got some small appearances from important people. Albert Grossman, Bob’s manager and he would later on manage Janis Joplin and The Band. John Hammond is shown briefly and Dave Van Ronk a folk musician.

I was worried they would not get the feel of that time. That came off well and the movie would be enjoyed by non-Bob Dylan fans as well as fans. The small details they got right..they found the same kind of microphone for the Newport festivals. When I see them do things like that…I know they have most of the movie correct. No it’s not 100 percent correct but damn close. Because of time restraints, they don’t go into the British Invasion and how that affected him but it does show him playing a Kinks song which I thought was cool.

Quotes

Bob Dylan: I don’t think they want to hear what I want to play.
Johnny Cash: Who’s they?
Bob Dylan: You know, the people who decide what folk music is or isn’t.
Johnny Cash: Fuck them, I wanna hear you. Go track some mud on somebody’s carpet. Make some noise, B.D.

_________________________________________

The Making Of

…

Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

I first heard Kristofferson as a kid with Why Me on the radio during the seventies. I also remember him on SNL with his then-wife Rita Coolidge. You could tell Kris had been having some fun but it sounded good. Then I found Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee and I found out that Kris wrote that song…I became a fan. Plus he was one of the Outlaws in country music that I really liked.

In the sixties, Kris was working as a janitor in Nashville while living in a run-down tenant house. He was also a janitor at Columbia Records at the same time. This might seem normal for a songwriter who was trying to make a mark but the man had something else as well. He was a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford University earning a master’s degree in English language. He also served as a captain in the U.S. Army, where he became a helicopter pilot, in addition to having completed U.S. Army Ranger School. The guy was highly talented and very smart.

He befriended Johnny’s wife, June Carter. June liked Kristofferson, and would often sneak demo tapes of his songs in her purse to bring home to Johnny. At night, she’d play the tapes for him in their bedroom above Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee. Every night Cash would listen and throw them out the bedroom window into the lake below.

There are many stories about how Johnny got the song…but this is the version that Johnny told. At the time, Kristofferson was also working part-time as a helicopter pilot for the Army Reserve. On a routine flight training mission, Kristofferson veered off his course and headed for Cash’s home. After landing the chopper on Cash’s lawn, he walked up to the home with the demo of “Sunday Morning Coming Down” in hand. Cash said he heard the chopper land and walked out to find Kristofferson walking up to him.

“As I approached, out stepped Kris Kristofferson, with a beer in one hand and a tape in the other,” Cash said. “I stopped, dumbfounded. He grabbed my hand, put the tape in it, grinned and got back into the helicopter and was gone, a bit wobbly, but almost straight up, then out high above the lake where all his songs lay on the bottom. He disappeared through the clouds. I looked at the tape of “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “Me And Bobby McGee.”

The first version of this song was not by Johnny Cash. Ray Stevens did the first version of the song. Ray’s version peaked at #55 on the Country Charts in 1969. Johnny Cash did the most successful version releasing it in 1970. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts, #1 on the Canada Country Charts, and #30 in Canada on the RPM charts.

Kris passed away on September 28, 2024.

Sunday Mornin’ Comin’Down

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head, that didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast,
Wasn’t bad so I had one more, for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet,
For my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair,
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day

I’d smoked my brain the night before on cigarettes and songs
That I’d been pickin’
But I lit my first, and watched a small kid cussin’ at a can
That he was kickin’
Then I crossed the empty street and caught the Sunday smell
Of someone fryin’chickin
And it took me back to somethin’ that I had lost somehow,
Somewhere along the way

[Chorus]
On the Sunday morning sidewalk, wishin’ Lord that I was stoned
Cause there is something in a Sunday, makes a body feel alone
And there is nothing short of die’n, half a lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city sidewalks, Sunday morning coming down

In the park I saw a daddy,
With ‘w(?)’ laughin’ little girl who he was swingin’
And I stopped beside a Sunday school,
And listened to a song that they were singin’
Then I headed back for home and somewhere far away
A lonely bell was ringin’
And it echoed through the canyons like the disappearing dreams
Of yesterday

[Chorus]
On the Sunday morning sidewalk, wishing Lord that I was stoned
Cause there is something in a Sunday, make a body feel alone
And there is nothing short of die’n, half a lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin’ city sidewalks, Sunday morning coming do

Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session

You don’t get more rockabilly than Carl Perkins. This concert was a show built around the man. The guests that showed their support were Dave Edmunds, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and Roassane Cash. Plus you had Stray Cats Slim Jim Phantom on drums and Lee Rocker on bass.

It’s pretty cool to see these other legends openly admiring Carl Perkins. Most grew up with his songs and they show their appreciation.

Dave from A Sound Day featured the Roy Orbison concert in the eighties which was a little later on than this one. I remember both of them and this one I watched at a friend’s house at the time on VHS.

Everyone takes a turn singing Carl Perkin’s classic songs in this one. It was filmed at London’s Limehouse Studios in front of a live audience on October 21, 1985. It’s a great show and Carl Perkins hadn’t lost a thing on guitar. Perkins was around 53 at the time.

They had Johnny Cash, Rob Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis do a quick intro for Perkins at the beginning. It’s the bottom video on this post. They also played at The Capitol Theater in New Jersey on September 9, 1985. You can find that one on YouTube also.

Carl Perkins: “Nothing in the music business has even come close to this for me. At times I felt I was going to break down crying.”

Here are the guest Musicians:

Carl Perkins (guitar, vocals)
George Harrison (guitar, vocals)
Ringo Starr (drums, tambourine, vocals)
Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals)
Dave Edmunds (guitar, vocals, musical director)
Rosanne Cash (vocals, maracas)
Phantom, Rocker & Slick {Slim Jim Phantom (drums), Lee Rocker (double bass), Earl Slick (guitar)}

Backing Musicians

Mickey Gee (guitar)
Geraint Watkins (piano)
John David (bass guitar)
Dave Charles (drums)
Greg Perkins (bass guitar)

…

Johnny Cash – Delia’s Gone

First time I shot her
I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

When I first heard this song in the 1990s I did a double-take. Did he sing what I thought he sang? I had never heard the original version he did in the 60s. I do prefer the 1994 version but both are worth a listen.

This song is coming from a man who once had a lyric that stated I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. This song…goes much darker than that.

Johnny Cash originally recorded this song written by Karl Silbersdorf and Dick Toops on his 1962 The Sound of Johnny Cash album.

He re-recorded it in 1994, on American Recordings produced by Rick Rubin. He explained why he chose to redo the song: “‘Delia’s Gone’ is the Devil’s deed of daring, we were talking about ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’ and I said, ‘I want another song like that.’ So Rick and I started listening and we found ‘Delia’s Gone.’ We realized I had recorded it in the ’60s, but not the way I’ve recorded it on American, and that I should work it up and do it over. So we started working on it and we did it and we came up with this version.”

in 1992, Rick Rubin reached out to Cash with the prospect of releasing a new album of music on his label, American, to which Cash was initially skeptical, but curious. Johnny Cash didn’t know who Rick Rubin was and couldn’t understand why Rubin would want to work with him. Johnny Cash’s sales were not like they were in the 60s and early 70s. Rubin just told him to grab a guitar and sing some songs he would want to do.

That shows you the mindset of some stars…some. Cash was wondering why someone would want to work with him which blows my mind.

Rubin was finally able to convince him to make the album and it was released in 1994. The album marked the beginning of a career resurgence for Cash, who was widely recognized as an icon of American music but whose record sales had suffered during the late 1970s and 1980s

This song was inspired by a true-life story. Late on Christmas Eve, 1900, young lovers Delia Green age 14, and Moses Houston, age 16, attended a party that night.

As usual at parties, Moses had too much to drink. Witnesses say he began to tease Delia, making her angry. He called her his “little wife” and they were not married. This escalated to the point of Delia calling Houston a “Son of a Bitch”, which carried much more weight at that time than it does now. Moses then pulled out a gun and shot Delia in the groin, and he ran away.

Moses was caught by the authorities and not only confessed to the killing but said he would do it again! Delia ended up dying at 3:00 AM Christmas morning. Mr Houston got a life sentence but it ended up shorter. Cooney served 12 1/2 years, the last several years at a facility in Commerce, GA. He was granted parole in October 1913, by Governor John M. Slaton.

After 120 years without a headstone at her grave…Delia got one in 2020. Here is the article.

Delia’s Gone

Delia, oh, Delia
Delia all my life
If I hadn’t shot poor Delia
I’d have had her for my wife
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

I went up to Memphis
And I met Delia there
Found her in her parlor
And I tied her to her chair
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

She was low down and trifling
And she was cold and mean
Kind of evil make me want to
Grab my submachine
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

First time I shot her
I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

But jailer, oh, jailer
Jailer, I can’t sleep
‘Cause all around my bedside
I hear the patter of Delia’s feet
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

So if your woman’s devilish
You can let her run
Or you can bring her down and do her
Like Delia got done
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone

Max Picks …songs from 1956

Hello everyone…I changed the name of this series…I never liked the original name and I heard from a couple of commenters and I totally agreed… Last week I got great responses from many of you and I appreciate it.

1956

Rock and Roll was reviving up now. The song that represents it the most this year to me was Be-Bop-a-Lula. The song is a perfect piece of rock and roll. His voice with reverb is just magical and artists have been chasing that sound ever since. I can’t imagine hearing this on the radio back then. Gene Vincent must have sounded so alien to some people but it’s what rock and roll needed. The song was written by Gene Vincent, Donald Graves, and Bill “Sheriff Tex” Davis.

“That beginning – ‘we-e-e-e-e-l-l-l-l-l!’ – always made my hair stand on end.”
John Lennon

***We have a bonus today at the bottom out of Lubbock Texas***

Yes, I could have gone with the Elvis version but I wanted the rockabilly man who wrote the song. Carl Perkins with Blue Suede Shoes. This was released in January of 1956 on Sun Records. Carl was amazing with his songwriting, guitar playing, and singing. The man could rock with the best.

I will make a confession here…out of all the 50s artists…Buddy Holly was probably my all-time favorite. The man had it all and he was ahead of his time. I’ve said this before but if he would have lived…out of all the 50s artists…he is the one that could have made a huge mark in the 60s alongside the British Invasion bands. They were playing modified versions of the songs he already wrote. This was not a massive hit… in fact it was a B side but one I’ve always liked. Blue Days, Black Nights. You WILL be seeing/hearing more Buddy in this series.

Now we are getting to the meat on the bone. Little Richard sings what was my dad’s favorite rock song…Long Tall Sally. The only time I remember getting a standing ovation is when I was 16 in a bar (shhhh don’t tell) playing this song with our band. Little Richard’s voice was fierce…I compare it to Jimi Hendrix’s guitar…just relentless. The song was written by Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell, and Richard Penniman (Little Richard).

Saw Uncle John with Long Tall Sally
They saw Aunt Mary comin’
So they ducked back in the alley

It’s hard to go through these songs and pick only 5. Let’s close things out with The Man in Black! Johnny Cash released this in 1956 on Sun Records.

***BONUS: Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Scotty Moore, and Carl Perkins all in one place….backstage at a High School in Lubbock Texas in this really short clip. I wish we could hear the music.***

Johnny Cash and Neil Young – Little Drummer Boy

I have to admit…I didn’t know this existed until a few days ago. I was looking for more Dylan Christmas songs and this popped up. I will be honest…Little Drummer Boy has never been my favorite Christmas song but this version is probably the best I’ve heard.

It comes from Seven Gates: A Christmas Album by Ben Keith and Friends, which was released in 1994. It was co-produced by Neil Young. You can hear Johnny Cash loud and clear but Neil doesn’t have his usual voice in this one.

Ben Keith and Neil Young’s relationship began when the multi-instrumentalist Keith first worked with him in 1971 on the Harvest album. The two were introduced together by the producer Elliot Mazer, who found him in Nashville and asked him to be a last-minute session musician on the record. After that first meeting, they helped each other until Ben Keith passed away at Neil Young’s ranch in 2010.

Remarkably, this cover is the only time that Johnny Cash and Neil Young have ever collaborated. Neil was a guest on The Johnny Cash Show in the early seventies.

The song was written by Harry Simeone, Katherine Kennicott Davis, and Henry Onorati. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family. The song was originally titled “Carol of the Drum” and was based upon a traditional Czech carol.

Neil also contributed Greensleeves on that album so I thought I would add that below.

Neil Young on the Johnny Cash Show.

Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me, pa rum pa pum pum
Our newborn King to see, pa rum pa pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pa pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pa pum pum,
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum,
So to honor Him, pa rum pa pum pum,
When we come…
Little Baby , pa rum pa pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pa pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pa pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pa pum pum,
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum,
Shall I play for you, pa rum pa pum pum,
On my drum?…

Mary nodded, pa rum pa pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pa pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pa pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pa pum pum
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum
Then He smiled at me, pa rum pa pum pum
Me and my drum…
Me and my drum…
Me and my drum…
Me and my drum…
Me and my drum…

…

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

But I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die… Johnny Cash

It doesn’t get much better than that.

The man in black was The Man. Not many performers can cross genres like Johnny Cash did and still does. He first recorded this song in 1955 at Sun Records as the B side to “S3o Doggone Lonesome” but it was the live 1969 version that hit.

The At Folsom Prison album helped revitalize Cash’s career. Up to this point, his last Country top 40 entry was in 1964. This was recorded live at Folsom Prison in California on January 13, 1968, and that album came to define his outlaw image. The record company told him it wouldn’t work but Johnny recorded at the prison anyway.

Folsom Prison Blues peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts, #1 on the Canadian Country Charts, #32 on the Billboard 100, and #17 on the Canadian Pop Charts. The song and album generated a lot of interest in the rebellious Johnny Cash, who made prison reform his political cause of choice. He started regularly performing in jails, doing about 12 shows a year for free mostly in Folsom and San Quentin.

The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Country Charts, #13 in the Billboard Album Charts, and #27 in Canada.

This iconic picture came from Folsom Prison. According to photographer Jim Marshall…he asked Cash to express what he thought of the prison authorities when he played the show. Marshall told Cash “let’s do a shot for the warden” and the picture was born.

Cash saw Crane Wilbur’s 90-minute film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while stationed in Germany. It left an impression on Cash, who emphasized the tale of the imprisoned men, and inspired him to write a song. Johnny Cash: “It was a violent movie, I just wanted to write a song that would tell what I thought it would be like in prison.”

Cash’s first prison performance occurred in 1957 when he performed for inmates at Huntsville State Prison. The favorable response inspired Cash to perform at more prisons through the years. His next hit, recorded in San Quentin Prison, was the humorous “A Boy Named Sue,” which proved that he could be clever and funny.

Cash came off as a champion for the oppressed. He got his own national TV show in 1969 and became one of the most popular entertainers of his era. His guests included Derek and the Dominos, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Haggard, James Taylor, Tammy Wynette, and Roy Orbison.

Isn’t that list incredible? Cash was considered a Country-Folk artist but look at the range of performers. The late sixties and seventies were like this ….and it’s the reason I like them so much…all the generations intersected at that point in time. I mean you have Eric Clapton and then you have Tammy Wynette on the guest list.

The lyrics to this song were based on a 1953 recording called Crescent City Blues by a bandleader named Gordon Jenkins with Beverly Maher on vocals. After filing a lawsuit, Gordon Jenkins received an out-of-court settlement from Cash in 1969. I have to say it does sound really close.

Johnny Cash: “I don’t see anything good come out of prison. You put them in like animals and tear out the souls and guts of them, and let them out worse than they went in.”

Rosanne Cash: “He was a real man with great faults, and great genius and beauty in him, but he wasn’t this guy who could save you or anyone else.”

Folsom Prison Blues

(Hello, I’m Johnny Cash)

I hear the train a-comin’
It’s rollin’ ’round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine
Since I don’t know when
I’m stuck in Folsom Prison
And time keeps draggin’ on
But that train keeps a-rollin’
On down to San Antone

When I was just a baby
My Mama told me, “son
Always be a good boy
Don’t ever play with guns”
But I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin’
I hang my head and cry (play it to the verse, yeah)
(Sue it)

I bet there’s rich folks eatin’
From a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee
And smokin’ big cigars
Well, I know I had it comin’
I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a-movin’
And that’s what tortures me (hit it)

(Howdy-ho)

Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I’d move it on, a little
Farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison
That’s where I want to stay
And I’d let that lonesome whistle
Blow my blues away

(yeah)

The Music of 1968

Dave from A Sound Day (check out the other posts on Dave’s “Turntable Talk”) posted this on November 5, 2022. He wanted a group of us to write about what we thought was the best year in music…I ended up picking the turbulent year of 1968.

When I think of the best year of music …for me it’s between 7 years. I would pick 1965 through 1971. I cannot pick all so here it goes…I pick 1968. It had some of the greatest albums and singles ever.

It was a turbulent year, to say the least. We lost two proponents of peace—Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Other events include the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive, riots in Washington, DC, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and heightened social unrest over the Vietnam War, values, and race.

The music was also toughened up by moving away from psychedelic music. The social climate and The Band’s album Music from Big Pink had a lot of influence on this. You still had psychedelic music released but overall, music was more stripped down to the basics.

My favorite album of all time was released by The Beatles. My favorite album by The Rolling Stones was released that year as well. Let’s look at the albums released in 1968…it’s outstanding.

The Beatles – The Beatles (The White Album)

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

The Kinks – Are the Village Green Preservation Society

The Band – Music From Big Pink

Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland

Cream – Wheel Of Fire

The Byrds – Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Big Brother and Holding Company – Cheap Thrills

Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison

The Zombies – Odyssey and Oracle

The Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul

Simon and Garfunkel – Bookends

Traffic – Traffic

That list could be on my desert island list… those albums are still being played today. I’ve only scratched the surface of the albums that year.

The Holy Trinity of Rock all released music that year… which would be The Beatles, The Who, and The Stones. I can’t imagine living in the era when these bands were in their prime and roamed the earth. The Who didn’t release an album, but they did release some singles and were gearing up for the following year. Let’s look at some of the singles of that year.

The Beatles – Hey Jude/Revolution

The Beatles – Lady Madonna

The Who – Magic Bus

The Rolling Stones – Jumping Jack Flash

Steppenwolf – Born To Be Wild

The Doors – Hello, I Love You

The Rascals – People Got To Be Free

Cream – Sunshine Of Your Love

Otis Redding – The Dock of the Bay

The Supremes – Love Child

The Chamber Brothers – Time Has Come Today

Janis Joplin – Piece of My Heart

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Suzie Q

Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends

The year featured the debut album of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Brian Jones made his final album with the Rolling Stones and it was the start of their great 5 album stretch. The Who started to record the album that would break them worldwide with Tommy. Dock of the Bay would be released posthumously after Otis Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967. The Grateful Dead would release their second album Anthem of the Sun and continue to build one of the largest fan bases ever. Jimi Hendrix was breaking barriers with his experimentation in the studio as well as live.

The Band would change the game by releasing Music From Big Pink. It influenced nearly everyone at the time to go back to a rootsy kind of music. Fleetwood Mac would release their debut album this year. Jeff Beck would release his legendary album Truth.

FM radio was getting huge at this time and showed that audiences didn’t have to have top 40 hits to buy albums. Take Van Morrison for instance. Astral Weeks didn’t have a “hit” on the album but continued to be played and sell. The Beatles The White Album is as diverse as you can get… Pop, Rock, Country, Folk, Reggae, Avant-Gard, Blues, Hard Rock, and some 20’s British Music Hall thrown in for good measure. No singles were released from this album or Sgt Pepper the previous year. They treated singles and albums as two different things. Hey Jude and the hit version of Revolution was recorded during the White Album but yet they left those two off. The Stones would do the same and leave off Jumpin’ Jack Flash from Beggars Banquet.

1968 set the stage for the coming decade’s rock music. Bands like The Who, Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin didn’t need hit singles. You bought the album now and listened to the music in the context of that format. There were still pop/rock singles but the albums were gaining traction.

To wrap it up…I think any of the years between 1965-1971 could have a strong argument for my tastes. If you are into disco or synth music…not as much.

Favorite Rock Lyrics

Here are some cool lyrics to some songs. My all-time favorite is the first one…I’ve used this one over and over whenever at work and in our world. I could have filled this up with Dylan lyrics but I wanted to spread the wealth.

Meet the new boss/same as the old boss…The Who (No truer words have been spoken)

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make…The Beatles

I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walking toward a coffee-colored Cadillac… Chuck Berry

And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time…Jimmy Webb

You can blow out a candle but you can’t blow out a fire…Peter Gabriel.

Shake the hand that shook the hand of P.T. Barnum and Charlie Chan… Grateful Dead

I wasn’t looking too good but I was feeling real well… Rolling Stones

But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die… Johnny Cash

We learned more from a three-minute record, than we ever learned in school…Bruce Springsteen

The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky… Hank Williams Sr.

I just spent 60 days in the jailhouse/for the crime of having no dough…The Band

I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around… Lynyrd Skynyrd

I blew out my flip-flop stepped on a pop-top/cut my heel had to cruise on back home… Jimmy Buffet

She knows there’s no success like failure and that failure’s no success at all… Bob Dylan

Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then… Bob Seger

In Jersey, anything’s legal, as long as you don’t get caught… The Traveling Wilburys

You see, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself…Ricky Nelson

Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain and celluloid heroes never really die… Kinks

Johnny Cash – Hurt

My friend Dave was nice enough to publish this post on his site A Sound Day a couple of months ago for Turntable Talk.

Trent Reznor: “That song isn’t mine anymore”

A good cover song needs to be somewhat faithful, so you know what it is… to the original but not an exact replica as in Todd Rundgren’s Good Vibrations. Very few times do I see covers that are as good as the original, but it does happen. Jimi Hendrix did the trick with Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watch Tower and Dylan does it in Jimi’s style even today. Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt adds a different layer to the song…and it works.

Hurt written by Trent Reznor seemed unlikely to be covered by Johnny Cash. The producer Rick Rubin convinced Cash to give it a shot and it worked. Johnny was a different kind of artist. There are only a few that can cross genres so easily. I think Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash belong in that category.

The song was born in a house that at one moment in time… was a real house of horrors. Trent Reznor, the singer of Nine Inch Nails, moved into a rented house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. Nine Inch Nails recorded the EP Broken and The Downward Spiral album in that house. Hurt was on the later album.

The house was no other than Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate’s old home where Manson’s followers murdered Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steve Parent in 1969. After Reznor met Sharon Tate’s sister…he realized he didn’t want to be looked at like he was endorsing serial killers so he moved out. “When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, ‘What if it was my sister?’ I thought, ‘F— Charlie Manson.’ I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who supports serial-killer bull—-.” Reznor moved out soon later but he did take the front door. It was demolished soon after.

The song deals with addiction struggles and isolation but in the hands of Cash it changes but remains true. This is the one song where I say…watch the video also. I don’t say that often but it adds to Cash’s story. The video was shot in February of 2003. June Cash would die in May and Johnny would die in September.

Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers play on the track.

Trent Reznor: “I pop the video in, and wow… Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Somehow that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure.”

Trent Reznor: “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, what I had written in my diary was now superimposed on the life of this icon and sung so beautifully and emotionally. It was a reminder of what an important medium music is. Goosebumps up the spine. It really made sense. I thought: ‘What a powerful piece of art.’ I never got to meet Johnny, but I’m happy I contributed in the way I did. It wasn’t my song anymore.”

Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real

The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar’s chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I’m still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Bob Dylan – Eat The Document

This is a film I so wish they would clean up and release. I watched a bootleg version of it in the 80s VHS.

This was a film that covered Bob Dylan on his 1966 European tour backed up by the Hawks that eventually became The Band minus, Levon Helm. The film was to be shown on ABC television but ABC rejected and saying it was “incomprehensible” because Dylan himself was one of the editors and wanted the film to have more of an artistic feel.

It was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker who filmed Dylan’s 65 European tour when he played acoustically called Don’t Look Back. Don’t Look Back is terrific. This film is very disjointed. That is not saying I don’t like it. This is the Dylan period that probably is my favorite. The Hawks are raw and powerful and Dylan was

There are some highlights to this odd film. A spontaneous piano duet with Dylan and Johnny Cash, John Lennon and Bob Dylan very high riding around in a cab, and the famous concert where an audience member yells out “Judas” because of Dylan’s conversion to electric music. After the Judas remark, he proceeds to tell Robbie Robertson to play it loud and they kick off in a vicious “Like a Rolling Stone.” My favorite live version of that song. Those folk music fans were harsh.

The film is disjointed and frustrating to watch because some of the songs you want to see and hear are there…but only partly. You will be seeing Dylan performing something and then flash away to something else. Some of the concert footage and film from this ended up in the Martin Scorsese movie No Direction Home…I would recommend No Direction Home to everyone.

Bob was pale and nervous and there is no secret he was doing drugs heavily throughout this movie. After the tour, Dylan had a motorcycle wreck heard around the world and after he recovered he didn’t tour for years.

The cab ride with John Lennon is historical now. Both of them in sunglasses and Lennon trying to inject humor into the situation and Dylan is ok at first and then starts getting sick as the filming stops.

If you are a Dylan fan it’s worth a watch. I’m glad we have “No Direction Home” to see some clear film segments on that tour. Eat The Document has not been officially released but you can get a bootleg of it or watch most of it on youtube.

Johnny Cash – Get Rhythm

Remember those old E.F. Hutton commercials? If you don’t youtube one but anyway…when Johnny Cash talked or sang…everyone listened. This song is a fantastic B side that was raised up from that years later.

In 1956, Johnny Cash released his No. 1 song “I Walk the Line.” The B-side of his song is his rockabilly song “Get Rhythm.” Not much attention was given to this song.

After fourteen years, Cash released his song “Get Rhythm” again in 1969. This time he released it as a single. It peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart…and #60 in the Billboard 100. Not bad for a forgotten B side.

Get Rhythm

Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock ‘n’ roll feelin’ in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

A Little shoeshine boy never gets low down
But he’s got the dirtiest job in town
Bendin’ low at the peoples’ feet
On the windy corner of the dirty street
Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes
How’d he keep from gettin’ the blues
He grinned as he raised his little head
Popped a shoeshine rag and then he said

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
A jumpy rhythm makes you feel so fine
It’ll shake all the trouble from your worried mind
Get rhythm when you get the blues

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on , get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock ‘n’ roll feelin’ in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

Well, I sat down to listen to the shoeshine boy
And I thought I was gonna jump for joy
Slapped on the shoe polish left and right
He took a shoeshine rag and he held it tight
He stopped once to wipe the sweat away
I said you’re a mighty little boy to be-a workin’ that way
He said I like it with a big wide grin
Kept on a poppin’ and he said again

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
It only costs a dime, just a nickel a shoe
Does a million dollars worth of good for you
Get rhythm when you get the blues

George Thorogood – Wanted Man

Wanted Man was written by Bob Dylan and it is a favorite of mine. I first heard it by George Thorogood. The first time I heard it was not the studio version that George did…it was when he played it on the 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concert held in 1993. George’s version of Wanted Man was left off of the CD for some reason…but I knew I had to find that Dylan song as soon as I heard it.

This was pre-internet and I finally found out that Dylan never recorded it for an album. To this day I’ve never heard a version of only Bob singing it… not even a demo of just him.

From what I’ve read about the song Bob Dylan wrote Wanted Man for Nashville Skyline but no complete version of the song was recorded at those sessions. Johnny Cash covered the song and he announced it as a song that him and Dylan wrote together but the records show that Dylan copyrighted it according to a couple of websites.

Cash debuted “Wanted Man” on his 1969 live album, At San Quentin, and would later release a studio version.

George Thorogood released his version on his 1982 Bad To The Bone album released in 1982. The word play in this song is great.

Below I have George’s version of course but I also have Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan demo of the song.

Wanted Man

Wanted man in California
Wanted man in Ohio
Wanted man in Kansas City
Wanted man in Buffalo

Wanted man in Oklahoma
Wantd man in old Cheyenne
Wherever you might look tonight
You might see this wanted man

Well, I might be in Colorado
Or Georgia by the sea
Workin’ for some man who may not know who I might be
Yeah, and if you see me comin’
And you know who I am
Don’t you breathe it to nobody
Cause you know I’m on the lam

Wanted man by Lucy Watson
Wanted man by Jeannie Brown
Wanted man by Nelly Johnson
Wanted man in this Tex town

And I’ve had all that I’ve wanted
Of a lot of things I’ve had
And a lot more than I’ve needed
Of some things that turned out bad

Well, I got sidetracked in El Paso
Stopped to get myself a map
I went the wrong way into Juarez
With Juanita on my lap
And I went to sleep in Shreveport
Woke up in Abilene
Wonderin’ why the hell I’m wanted
At some town halfway between

Wanted man in Albuquerque
Wanted man in Baton Rouge
Wanted man in Tallahassee
Wanted man in Syracuse

And there’s somebody sent to grab me
Anywhere that I might be
Wherever you might look tonight
You might get a glimpse of me

Wanted man in California
Wanted man in Ohio
Wanted man in Kansas City
Wanted man in Buffalo
Wanted man in Oklahoma
Wanted man in old Cheyenne
Wherever you might look tonight
You might see this wanted man

…