At Folsom Prison Tracklist
In 1953, during his time in the Army, Johnny Cash watched the Crane Wilbur film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison and was inspired to write a song from the perspective of the incarcerated. The result was “Folsom Prison Blues”, one of his most popular songs.
The song was a hit among inmates, with Cash receiving numerous letters begging him to come perform at various prisons. Cash liked the idea, and performed several prison concerts in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
By 1967, his career was in a downslide due to his drug problems were worsening. With a shakeup of producers at Columbia Records, Cash tried his luck and took the chance to propose recording a live album at a prison to give his career a bump.
On January 13, 1968, after two days of rehearsals in a Sacramento motel, Cash and June Carter, along with the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, entered Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California, to perform one of the greatest live recordings in the popular music canon: the album was released in May of that year, becoming a hit in the United States, reaching number one on the country charts and the top 15 of the national album chart.
