''Ragged Old Flag'' is the 47th

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

, released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

. The album addresses several political as well as ethical issues, like many of Cash's other releases. The title track, and the only single from the album, is a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...

tribute to

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

amid the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

. "Don't Go Near the Water" addresses another hot political issue of the time, the environment. All of the songs on the album were composed by Cash, save "I'm a Worried Man" by himself and

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Johnny Cash – vocals, producer, liner notes, guitar *

Marshall Grant Marshall Garnett Grant (May 5, 1928 – August 7, 2011) was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became kn ...

– bass * W.S. Holland – drums *

Bob Wootton Robert "Bob" Wootton (March 4, 1942 – April 9, 2017) was an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist Luther Perkins died in a house fire. He remained Cash's guitarist for n ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

– guitar * Larry McCoy – piano *

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called " Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fing ...

– banjo on "Ragged Old Flag" *

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

– backing vocals * Charles Cochran – arranger, orchestration on "Ragged Old Flag" ;Technical * Charlie Bragg – producer, engineer * Al Quaglieri – producer, reissue producer * Freeman Ramsey – engineer * Roger Tucker – chief engineer * Howard Fritzson – art director, reissue art director * Billy Barnes – cover design *

Al Clayton Charles Allen Clayton III (June 14, 1934 – April 27, 2014) was an American photographer born in Etowah, Tennessee. His 1967 photography series was instrumental in the redesign and expansion of the Food Stamp Program when Senators Edward Kenne ...

– cover photography * Seth Foster – mastering * Randall Martin – design * John Henry Jackson – project director * Steven Berkowitz – A&R * Patti Matheny – A&R * Darren Salmieri – A&R

Charts

Album – ''Billboard'' (United States) Singles – ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

Ragged Old Flag Ragged Old Flag Ragged Old Flag {{1970s-country-album-stub, Ragged Old Flag