ON THIS DATE (47 YEARS AGO) January 13, 1968 - Johnny Cash gave a concert (2 shows) for 2,000 inmates at Folsom Prison, near Sacramento, California. The performance was recorded for a forthcoming live album. On January 10, 1968, Cash and June Carter checked into the El Rancho Motel in Sacramento, California. They were later accompanied by the Tennessee Three, Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers, Johnnys father Ray Cash and producer Johnston. The performers rehearsed for two days, an uncommon occurrence for them, sometimes with two or more songs being rehearsed concurrently by various combinations of the musicians. A fashion show taking place in an adjacent ballroom provided an unneeded distraction, and during the rehearsal sessions 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 of the foci 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. Floyd Gressett, a Ventura, CA pastor who regularly visited inmates at Folsom, via the prisons recreation director. On January 13, the group traveled to Folsom, meeting up with Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn and Columbia photographer Jim Marshall, who were paid 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 Cashs performance, Carl Perkins took the stage. Perkins 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 again took the stage and instructed the inmates not to cheer for Cash until he introduced himself; they obliged. Cash opened both shows with a rendition of Folsom Prison Blues and the concerts contained many songs about prison, including The Wall, Green, Green Grass of Home, and the gallows humor tune 25 Minutes to Go. The singer 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, and then followed with 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 on stage 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 Henrys Hammer, Cash took a break and Carter recited a poem. Cash ended both concerts with Sherleys 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. SET LISTS Set list for the 9:40 AM concert Folsom Prison Blues Busted Dark as a Dungeon I Still Miss Someone Cocaine Blues 25 Minutes to Go Im Not in Your Town to Stay Orange Blossom Special The Long Black Veil Send a Picture of Mother The Wall Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart Joe Bean Jackson I Got a Woman The Legend of John Henrys Hammer Green, Green Grass of Home Greystone Chapel Set list for the 12:40 PM concert Folsom Prison Blues Busted Dark as a Dungeon Cocaine Blues 25 Minutes to Go Orange Blossom Special The Legend of John Henrys Hammer Give My Love to Rose Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart Joe Bean Jackson Long Legged Guitar Picking Man I Got Stripes Green, Green Grass of Home Greystone Chapel Greystone Chapel (repeat) Johnny Cash
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 18:30:01 +0000
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