"So Doggone Lonesome" is a song written and recorded 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, ...

singer

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

. He and his band ( The Tennessee Two) recorded the song in a studio session at

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

studios at 706 Union Avenue in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The session took place on July 30, 1955, when the trio also recorded "

Luther Played The Boogie "Luther Played the Boogie" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Luther is Luther Perkins, the guitarist in Cash's band. The song was recorded on July 10, 1958. during Cash's final sessions for Sun Records. It would be release ...

" (a homage to the group's lead guitarist,

Luther Perkins Luther Monroe Perkins (January 8, 1928 – August 5, 1968) was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly ...

) and "

Mean Eyed Cat "Mean-Eyed Cat" (or "Mean Eyed Cat") is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. The song was recorded by Cash at Sun Records on July 30, 1955. Sun released it as a single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Sin ...

", the latter of which Cash reprised on his Unchained album for

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

's American Recordings. Cash was a great admirer of

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

, and wrote "So Doggone Lonesome" with him in mind. Many of Cash's self-penned recordings were written with a certain artist in mind, including "

Get Rhythm "Get Rhythm" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter and musician Johnny Cash. It was originally released as the B-side to the single release "I Walk the Line" in 1956 on Sun 241. It was re-released with overdubbed "live" ef ...

", originally written for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Legend has it that Tubb heard "So Doggone Lonesome" on the radio, which inspired him to record his own version of the song. Tubb did indeed record "So Doggone Lonesome" and performed it on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

, but the inspiration for his decision to do so is unclear. Additionally, Cash is reported to have said he only believed he had truly "made it" as an artist when he heard Tubb singing one of his songs.

Chart performance

References

{{Johnny Cash 1955 singles 1955 songs Rock-and-roll songs Rockabilly songs Johnny Cash songs Songs written by Johnny Cash Song recordings produced by Sam Phillips Sun Records singles