At Folsom Prison

''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison'' is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records on May 6, 1968. It comprises recordings of performances by Cash and his band at Folsom State Prison, California, on January 13, 1968.

After his 1955 song " Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in recording a performance at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of producing Cash's material. Cash had controlled his drug abuse problems, and was looking to turn his career around after several years of limited success. Backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins, and the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison.

Despite little initial promotion by Columbia, ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison'' reached number one on the US Top Country Charts and the top 15 of the national album chart. The lead single, a performance of "Folsom Prison Blues", was Cash's first top-40 hit since 1964's " Understand Your Man". ''At Folsom Prison'' received positive reviews and revitalized Cash's career. At the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969, it won for Best Album Notes, and "Folsom Prison Blues" won for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

Cash recorded three more live albums in prisons: ''At San Quentin'' (1969), '' På Österåker'' (1973) and '' A Concert Behind Prison Walls'' (1976). ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison'' was rereleased with additional tracks in 1999, and again in 2018 for Record Store Day. It was certified triple platinum in 2003 for US sales exceeding 3.4 million. It has been cited by numerous critics as one of the greatest albums, and was included in ''Rolling Stone'' list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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. 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. Cash's first prison performance was at Huntsville State Prison in 1957. Satisfied by the favorable reception, he performed at several other prisons in the years leading up to the Folsom performance in 1968.

A few years after attaining commercial success from songs such as "I Walk the Line", " Understand Your Man", and "Ring of Fire", Cash's popularity waned, in part due to his increasing dependence on drugs. In 1967, Cash sought help for his escalating drug problems, and by the end of the year, began to get clean and try to turn his career around. Concurrently, the country portion of Columbia Records underwent major personnel changes, where Frank Jones and Don Law, who had produced several of Cash's albums, were ousted in favor of Bob Johnston, who was known for his erratic behavior and willingness to disagree with studio executives. Cash saw this as an opportunity to pitch his idea of recording a live album at a prison, which Johnston enthusiastically supported. Johnston called San Quentin State Prison and Folsom, with Folsom being the first to respond.

Recording

On January 10, 1968, Cash and the singer June Carter checked into the El Rancho Motel in Sacramento, California. They were later accompanied by the Tennessee Three, Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, Johnny's father Ray Cash, Reverend Floyd Gressett, pastor of Avenue Community Church in Ventura, California (where Cash often attended services), who counseled inmates at Folsom and helped facilitate the concert, and producer Johnston. The performers rehearsed for two days, an uncommon occurrence for them, sometimes with two or more songs rehearsed concurrently by various combinations of musicians.

During the rehearsals on January 12, California governor Ronald Reagan, who was at the hotel for an after-dinner speech, visited the band and offered his encouragement. One focus of the sessions was to learn "Greystone Chapel", a song written by inmate Glen Sherley. Sherley recorded a version of the song, which he passed on to Rev. Gressett via the prison's recreation director. On January 13, the group traveled to Folsom, meeting ''Los Angeles Times'' writer Robert Hilburn and Columbia photographer Jim Marshall, who were hired to document the album for the liner notes.

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. After an introduction by MC Hugh Cherry, who encouraged the prisoners to "respond" to Cash's performance, Carl Perkins took the stage and performed his hit song "Blue Suede Shoes". Following this song, the Statler Brothers sang their hit "Flowers on the Wall" and the country standard "This Old House". Cherry returned to the stage and instructed the inmates not to cheer for Cash until he introduced himself; they obliged. Waiting for the introduction would be the start of the Cash biopic ''Walk The Line'' which was released in 2005.

Cash opened both shows with a rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues", followed by many songs about prison, including "The Wall", " Green, Green Grass of Home", and the gallows humor song " 25 Minutes to Go". Cash also included other songs of despair, such as the Merle Travis song " Dark as a Dungeon". Following " Orange Blossom Special", Cash included a few "slow, ballad-type songs", including "Send a Picture of Mother" and "The Long Black Veil", followed by three novelty songs from his album '' Everybody Loves a Nut'': " Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog", "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart", and "Joe Bean". June Carter joined Cash to perform a pair of duets. After a seven-minute version of a song from his '' Blood, Sweat and Tears'' album, " The Legend of John Henry's Hammer", Cash took a break and Carter recited a poem.Streissguth 2004, p. 108 Cash ended both concerts with Sherley's "Greystone Chapel". The second concert was not as fruitful as the first; the musicians were fatigued from the earlier show. Only two songs from the second concert, " Give My Love to Rose" and " I Got Stripes", made it onto the LP release.

Reception

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 Top 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. Nevertheless, the single charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on May 25, 1968, and entered the Top Country Charts a week later.

After Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, radio stations ceased playing the single due to the line: "I shot a man in Reno / Just to watch him die". Columbia demanded Johnston remix the single with the line removed. Despite protests from Cash, the single was edited and re-released. The new version reached number one on the Top Country Chart and the top forty on the national charts. 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. 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.

''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". For ''The Village Voice'', Ann Fisher wrote that "every cut is special in its own way" and Richard Goldstein said the album was "filled with the kind of emotionalism you seldom find in rock". Fredrick E. Danker of ''Sing Out!'' praised it as "an album structured an aural experience for us". At the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969, ''Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison'' won the award for Best Album Notes and " Folsom Prison Blues" won for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

Legacy

The success revitalized Cash's career; according to Cash, "That's where things really got started for me again." Sun Records re-dubbed Cash's previous B-side " Get Rhythm" with applause similar to Folsom's, and it became successful enough to enter the Hot 100. Cash returned to the prison scene in 1969 when he recorded ''At San Quentin'' at San Quentin State Prison. ''At San Quentin'' became Cash's first album to reach number one on the pop chart and produced the number-two hit " A Boy Named Sue". The ensuing popularity from the Folsom concert also prompted ABC to give Cash his own television show.

The album was re-released on October 19, 1999, with three extra tracks excluded from the original LP: " Busted", "Joe Bean", and "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised the new version, calling it "the ideal blend of mythmaking and gritty reality." On May 27, 2003, ''At Folsom Prison'' was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for shipping over three million units.

''At Folsom Prison'' has been cited as one of the greatest albums by several sources. In 2003, it was ranked number 88 on ''Rolling Stone'' list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, ranking at number 164 in a 2020 revised list. Also in 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. Country Music Television named it the third greatest album in country music in 2006. ''Blender'' listed the album as the 63rd greatest American album of all time and as one of the "500 CDs You Must Own". In 2006, ''Time'' listed it among the 100 greatest albums. Both '' Far Out'' and ''Guitar World'' ranked it as the best live album of all time. The album was also included in the book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

In 2008, Columbia and Legacy Records reissued ''At Folsom Prison'' in an expanded edition with both concerts uncut and remastered. It includes a DVD produced by Bestor Cram and Michael Streissguth of Northern Light Productions, with pictures and interviews. ''Pitchfork Media'' praised the reissue, saying it had "the force of empathic endeavors, as if ashwere doing penance for his notorious bad habits". Christian Hoard wrote for ''Rolling Stone'' that the reissue "makes for an excellent historical document, highlighting Cash's rapport with prison folk". In 2018, ''Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison'' on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Track listing

Personnel

*Johnny Cash – vocals, guitar, harmonica
* June Carter – vocal
* Marshall Grant – bass guitar
* W.S. Holland – drums
*Carl Perkins – electric guitar, vocals on track 2.
* Luther Perkins – electric guitar
*The Statler Brothers ( Lew DeWitt, Don Reid, Harold Reid, Phil Balsley) – vocals
*Bob Johnston – producer
*Bob Breault – engineer
*Bill Britain – engineer
* Jim Marshall – photography

Charts

Certifications

Citations

References

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Further reading

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*Geary, Daniel
The Way I Would Feel About San Quentin': Johnny Cash and the Politics of Country Music"
''Daedalus''. 142 (Fall 2013). 64–72.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:At Folsom Prison
1968 live albums
2008 video albums
Albums produced by Bob Johnston
Columbia Records live albums
Columbia Records video albums
Johnny Cash live albums
Live video albums
Prison music
United States National Recording Registry recordings
United States National Recording Registry albums
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Folsom State Prison