''Boom Chicka Boom'' is the 76th album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, released in 1990 on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. The title refers to the sound that Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, were said to produce. It includes a cover of

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy ...

's "

Cat's in the Cradle "Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album ''Verities & Balderdash''. The single topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin's only number-one song, it became the best known of his work an ...

", and a song written by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

for Cash, "Hidden Shame". "Don't Go Near the Water" is a re-recorded version and its original had been recorded for ''

Ragged Old Flag ''Ragged Old Flag'' is the 47th album by American country music singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1974. The album addresses several political as well as ethical issues, like many of Cash's other releases. The title track, and ...

''. It discusses the issue of pollution of the environment. In 2003, Mercury released ''Boom Chicka Boom'' paired with ''

Johnny Cash is Coming to Town ''Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town'' is the 73rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1987, and his first for Mercury Records. It was re-released in 2003, paired with ''Boom Chicka Boom'' on a single CD. "Sixteen Tons" was pre ...

'' on a single

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, though the bonus track "Veteran's Day" was left off. "

Farmer's Almanac ''Farmers' Almanac'' is an annual American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by Geiger of Lewiston, Maine, the ''Farmers' Almanac'' provides long-range weather forecasting, weather predictions for both the ...

" and "

" were released as singles, but failed to chart; the album itself, however, reached No. 48 on the country charts. The album has backing vocals by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's old backing group

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

(who had also backed Cash on some of his earliest Columbia recordings in the late 1950s), and Cash's mother.

Track listing

Personnel

*Johnny Cash - vocals, guitar *

W.S. Holland W. S. "Fluke" Holland (April 22, 1935 – September 23, 2020) was an American drummer who played with Carl Perkins, and later for Johnny Cash in the bands The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band. Holland ...

- drums *

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented record ...

Roy Huskey, Jr. Roy Milton Huskey (December 17, 1956 – September 6, 1997) was a prominent United States, American upright bass player in country music from Nashville, Tennessee. Huskey performed alongside musicians such as Chet Atkins, Garth Brooks, Johnny ...

- bass guitar *Joe Zinkan - upright bass *

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

, Billy Sanford, Jim Soldi - electric guitar *

Ray Edenton Ray Quarles Edenton (November 3, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was an American guitar player and country music session musician. Early life Ray Edenton was born into a musical family on November 3, 1926, and grew up near Mineral, Virginia. His f ...

- acoustic guitar *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

, Earl Ball - piano *

- background vocals *Mrs. Carrie Cash (Johnny Cash's mother) - additional vocals on "Family Bible"

Additional personnel

*Produced By: Bob Moore *Recorded at Bradley's Barn in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and Stargem Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee *Mixed at Bradley's Barn *Engineers: Bobby Bradley, Dennis Ritchie *Assistant Engineer: Danny Dunkleberger *Mastered by: Benny Quinn at Masterfonics, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee *Original CD Graphics: Barnes & Company *Art Direction & Design: Bill Barnes *Photography: Alan Messer *Reissue CD Credits *Supervised by: Andy McKaie *Digitally Remastered by Suha Gur, universal Mastering - East *Art Direction: Vartan *Design: Mike Fink @ilevel *Photo Research: Ryan Null *Photos by: Slick Lawson and Alan Messer *Production Coordination: Beth Stempel

Charts

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

LP Discography entry on ''Boom Chicka Boom''

Johnny Cash albums 1990 albums Mercury Nashville albums Albums produced by Bob Moore {{1990s-country-album-stub, Boom Chicka Boom