3/22/2021 0 Comments Folsom State Prison Johnny Cash
Kirkwood states, I think, at the time, there was probably a more romantic concept about prison.This month marks the 45th anniversary of the recording of this album.The album, which contains tracks taken from two different performances, is replete with songs about prison life and despair that resonated with his inmate audience.
The album revitalized his career, and its popularity encouraged him to return to the prison scene to record At San Quentin, which would be his first album to hit Number One on the pop charts. He recalls, My father has always had a complete lack of interest in current pop country or any current radio since I was young. I think he just preferred the warmth and familiarity of the music he grew up with: Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Flatt Scruggs, etc. He says some of his favorite moments on the album are found between songs, Cash is a bit irreverent towards authority figures and connects so damn well with the crowd. Theres the moment after Cocaine Blues where some official makes an announcement and Cash says offhandedly Yeah, I doubt that. I think it has been since the first time I heard it as a kid. Though its a Kris Kristofferson tune, Johnnys version is so damn heartbreaking. The strings and flute elevate the chorus in such a perfectly beautiful and emotional way. To me, it just seems like a very old-fashioned and classy move by a guy who always seemed to be so. Cash was also a supporter of someone who many people in the traditional country and folk worlds were starting to have a really tough time with. According to him, thats when he fell under the cosmic tutelage of Doc Watson, Chet Atkins and the late, great Cash. According to Martin, he burned me an epic three-disk set of Cashs material spanning the early 50s to the late 70s, and we would sit around learning those tunes on guitar during our many seven-hour garage sessions. It struck a chord in my heartthat reflected the impact an artist can have, not only in drawing attention to the plight of prisoners, but the joy and compassion of performing to a rather peculiar, if not enthused, audience. It was a bold move that only added to the legend of The Man in Black. One is Flesh and Blood, where Cash proves himself to be a masterful lyricist: He paints in colorful strokes. Martin says, I still have a recording on cassette tape of us doing The Ballad of Ira Hayes, where my friend imitated Jimmy Stewart singing it and afterwards decried the abuse of Native American rights. Kirkwood says, My moms husband sat me down and asked me, who do you think is more of a man, Cash or the Beatles And I said well, the Beatles are four guys. It would be like seeing a character on Sesame Street to a kid. He continues by saying, Johnny Cash always seemed more than human, and I also always found him kind of scary back then because he was always in black and his voice was kind of strange. And no matter what he was doing, he always seemed kind of somber. ![]() He believes recording live at the prison was an amazing and really cool idea.
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