A Look Back at Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison

On January 13th, 1968 Johnny Cash gave a legendary concert at Folsom Prison in Folsom, California. Today is the 39th anniversary that concert, which gave rise to arguably Cash’s greatest album, At Folsom Prison. Normally a 39th anniversary isn’t worth talking about, but I take any opportunity to talk about Johnny Cash in general, and At Folsom Prison specifically.

The Song
Johnny Cash wrote “Folsom Prison Blues” in the early 1950s while stationed in Germany with the Air Force. He saw the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison and it inspired him to write the tale of a prisoner who is tormented by the sound of the train he can hear from his cell, and the freedom it represents. He captured the sentiment so well that many people assumed he had served time in prison, making him a folk hero to prisoners everywhere. The most famous line of the song describes the crime the narrator committed to land him prison: “I shot a man in Reno/Just to watch him die”. When asked how he came up with it Cash said, “I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that’s what came to mind.”
Folsom Prison Blues

The Concert
“Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”. Johnny’s humble greeting opened the concert and let the prisoners know the he was there as a friend. And he was their friend. Cash had the idea to perform at prisons, and record the shows for albums, partly to raise awareness for prisoners’ rights. So opening with his simple introduction, then going straight into the definitive version of “Folsom Prison Blues” he established his connection to the audience, and rode that connection and energy through the whole show. He also established a theme, eschewing many of his hits in favor of prison songs like “Joe Bean”, “Cocaine Blues”, and “I Got Stripes”. The final song he played was “Greystone Chapel”, and it held a special place in the hearts of Folsom’s prisoners because it was written by one of their own.

Glen Sherley had been an inmate of several prisons, but he wrote “Greystone Chapel” about about the chapel at Folsom. The night before the concert the chapel’s reverend gave Cash a recording of it. Cash related:

“The night before I was going to record at Folsom prison, I got to the motel and a preacher friend of mine brought me a tape of a song called “Greystone Chapel.” He said a convict had written it about the chapel at Folsom. I listened to it one time and I said, “I’ve got to do this in the show tomorrow.” So I stayed up and learned it, and the next day the preacher had him in the front row.

Sherley went on to write songs for other musicians, and to record a live album of his own from within prison.

The Album
Columbia Records released the concert as “At Folsom Prison” later in 1968, and it climbed the Country charts, eventually reaching #1. It even made it to #13 on the Pop chart, an amazing feat for a country album at that time.

The album bristles with energy throughout, including cheers from the prisoners after the “I shot a man in Reno” line (which were actually added in the mixing process, but are effective nonetheless). At one point, during “Dark as a Dungeon”, a prisoner yells something from the crowd and Johnny gets distracted. After he finished the song, Cash jokingly reminded the crowd that “This show is being recorded for an album release on Columbia Records and you can’t say ‘hell’ or ’shit’ or anything like that.” Between songs a prison official makes announcements, further adding to the atmosphere of the album. In all, the energy of the performers (mainly Johnny and June Carter), the setlist composed of songs about prison, the prisoners’ yells, and the administrator’s announcements mix together to give the album a tension and excitement unlike any other live album.

At Folsom Prison was the first of two live albums recorded at prisons that Cash released in the late 60s. In 1969 Cash recorded a show at San Quentin, and released At San Quentin. It contained more of his hits than At Folsom Prison, and features Bob Wooten on guitar instead of Luther Perkins (who had died in a house fire several months earlier). At San Quentin contains a very strong performance, and many great songs, but lacks the dynamic between performer and audience that makes At Folsom Prison so great.

The Movie
The concert provided bookends to the 2005 biopic Walk the Line. The film begins with Johnny waiting to go on stage, reminiscing about his past. It works it way back up to the concert, culminating in Joaquin Pheonix belting out a very good rendition of “Cocaine Blues”. While it’s not 100% faithful to the album, the movie does a good job capturing the spirit of the performance and the interplay between Cash and the prisoners.

The Book
In 2005 author Michael Streissguth released Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, an in-depth look at the concert, the album, and the participants. The book is extremely thoroughly researched, and it’s worth buying for the pictures alone. It’s a must read for any Johnny Cash fan, or fan of music in general.

If you can’t tell, At Folsom Prison is one of my all-time favorite albums, and “Folsom Prison Blues” is one of my favorite songs. If you haven’t heard them check them out, even if they’re not the type of music you usually like. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.