Johnny Cash is one of the true legends in the history of American music. His music transcended genres and tastes. That is why he's inducted into the Rock 'N Roll, Country, and Gospel Halls of Fame. From the Sun Records sound of the 1950s, to the emotional end in the early 2000s, that fantastic voice of Johnny Cash shined. There are many hundreds of songs he's recorded, and still plenty I have yet to listen to. But here are 10 of my favorites so far.
1.) Folsom Prison Blues- released in 1955
Johnny Cash's first single was "Cry! Cry! Cry!", b/w "Hey Porter". Not too shabby, I'd say. But, his second release, "Folsom Prison Blues", is an iconic song to this day. Cash kicked off his legendary "At Folsom Prison Album" with this song. And yet, I prefer the original. There's a certain hunger in his voice on the original cut, a desire to be known. Cash knew he had the talent, and was worthy of being famous. The song itself is about a desire to escape prison, and was inspired by a video Cash watched while stationed in West Germany during his Air Force service. Cash certainly spoke to prisoners, as we'll find out with other songs on this list.
2.) Give My Love to Rose- released in 2002
Originally, this song was buried as a B-side to "Home of the Blues" in 1957. "Give My Love to Rose" is the far better song. It combines all three elements common in Cash songs- trains, pain, and prison. A dying prisoner encounters a man while on a train back to meet his wife. He tells this stranger to give his love to his wife, Rose, and give her all his money. The song is heartbreaking, and gets more so as Cash goes along in his career. His performance at Folsom Prison is even better than his original. And then, his 2002 recording is even better than that. His brokenhearted voice perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the song. Cash deservedly won a Grammy for his final performance of this song.
3.) I Still Miss Someone- released in 1958
This was one of the first songs Cash recorded for Columbia Records, and was the B-side to the hit "Don't Take Your Guns to Town". Again, this is the superior song. The song was co-written by Cash and his nephew, Roy Cash Jr. It certainly incorporates the boom chicka boom style that was so prevalent during Cash's Sun Records days. But Cash is singing with more raw emotion than he was during those first records of the mid-50s era. He puts on another great performance of the song during his Folsom Prison album, though it is abbreviated. Therefore, the original 50s cut is the best version.
4.) I Walk The Line- released in 1956
At least at one point, it was pretty inarguably Cash's signature song, and you simply cannot go wrong with it. Did Cash "walk the line", and was he faithful with his first wife Vivian? No, but based on the stories I've heard, pretty much no rockstar was. It's probably why Cash referred to himself as a "C+ Christian", and his biographer called that a generous assessment. But musically, this song is iconic from its opening guitar riff, to Cash's great vocal performance. His humming actually has a purpose besides sounding cool; it is Cash adjusting to the various key changes throughout the song. The song was Cash's first #1 hit on the country charts, and even crossed over to the pop charts. Put simply, it made him a star.
5.) Dark as the Dungeon- released in 1968
No star musician could relate to the pains of the common man quite like Cash could. He covered this coal-mining song that was originally released by Merle Travis in 1946. Travis grew up in Kentucky, where he knew what the poverty of rural America looked like. Well, Cash came from similar circumstances growing up in Arkansas. So, he puts plenty of emotion into this performance from his legendary Folsom Prison album, and even a little bit of humor as well. One of the prisoners was laughing, and Cash said "No laughing during the song, please!". The prisoner replied "Hell", to which Cash said "I know, hell!". Then at the end of the song, he brilliantly adds that this is a live album for Columbia Records, so you "can't say hell or shit" or anything like that. It's a performance that exemplified both his vocal talent and charisma.
6.) Hurt- released in 2002
The second-most played Johnny Cash song on Spotify is "Ring of Fire", which we'll get to later. "Ring of Fire" has 252,000,000 plays. "Hurt" is in first place, with 466,000,000. That's nearly twice as many plays! It shows that "Hurt" has become Cash's most iconic song, at least among my generation. It speaks to a sadness and isolation that we Gen Z folk feel. And yet, ironically enough, this song wasn't sung by some young kid dealing with depression. It was sung by a broken-down Cash that was in the last year of his life. Much like "Give My Love to Rose", a lingering pain is clearly audible in his still-powerful voice. He covered this song by Nine Inch Nails and truly made it his own. And while "I Walk The Line" is the Cash anthem for Boomers, "Hurt" is the defining Cash song for my generation.
7.) A Boy Named Sue- released in 1969
This was my grandfather's favorite song, which is definitely a bit of irony, considering he was quite the mild-mannered man. Still, he was a big Johnny Cash fan, and it is still quite popular among fans today. It's certainly one of my favorites! Its irreverent humor comes from the legendary Shel Silverstein, who wrote another great song that Cash did, "25 Minutes to Go". But this more famous Silverstein composition was a roaring success for Cash from his prison concert at San Quentin. In fact, it was almost a #1 pop hit for Cash, being held out of the top spot by the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women". After the success of his prison concerts in the late 60s, Cash had ascended to superstar status, which would later lead to him having his own TV show.
8.) Ring of Fire- released in 1963
This song was written by Cash's future wife June Carter, and she sings quite a nice backing vocal on this particular song with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. It helped relaunch Cash's career with a big #1 country hit, as he was sputtering a bit with his records at the time. It had the unique idea of combining mariachi with country, as the trumpets are quite prominent on this song. Evidently, the trumpets were Cash's idea, as he heard them in a dream. The song is now regarded as one of Cash's all time classics, and is especially well liked by the critics. It is #87 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 all time songs list, well, the one from 2003 at least.
9.) Cocaine Blues- released in 1968
Nothing gets a crowd of prisoners riled up quite like singing a song about doing a "shot of cocaine", then proceeding to "shoot your woman down". Cash sings this song with a certain snarl and conviction that absolutely captures his target audience. The Tennessee Three provide a simple but rocking instrumental track, one that is quite befitting of this track. But the main thing that makes this song entertaining is the lyrics, and the way Cash performs them. Cash noted that the song had "nearly did his voice in", and you can clearly hear that on this recording. He is leaning right into his skills as an entertainer on this brilliant song... but it's this last song on my list that's his true vocal masterpiece.
10.) Sunday Morning Coming Down- released in 1970
Kris Kristofferson has written two of the all time great songs in the history of music, in my humble opinion. There's "Me and Bobby McGee", and then there's this. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" exemplifies loneliness and isolation in a way that even "Hurt" cannot touch. It's the story of a loser who witnesses the happiness of the world around him, all on one lonely Sunday morning. And Cash sings from that perspective of isolation, knowing he's been in that world of loneliness given his history of drug problems. And what an incredible vocal performance he gives, famously adding extra emphasis to how he wishes he was "stoned". Just like the happy outside world mocks the narrator in this song, the happiness and bright sounds of the orchestra seem to mock Cash."Hurt" is the Cash song that my generation has such a strong emotional attachment to, and it is undoubtedly a fantastic and emotional song. But there's just something about Cash's voice when he was in the prime of his career. He has the heartbreak that the drugs and hard living caused him, while not sounding half-dead like he did in the early 2000s. This is my choice for greatest Cash song of all time, and one of the great songs of all time.
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