"Crescent City Blues" is a song written by composer

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

and sung by Beverly Mahr, and released on his ''Seven Dreams'' album in 1953. It is a

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...

about a lonely woman hoping to leave the Midwestern town of Crescent City. Its melody borrows heavily from the 1930s instrumental " Crescent City Blues" by

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer. Largely self-taught, Montgomery was an important blues pianist with an original style. He was a ...

. It was adapted by 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 ...

as the "

Folsom Prison Blues "Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...

History

Jenkins was a respected composer and arranger throughout the 1930s and 1940s. As musical director for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, Jenkins released an experimental concept album ''Seven Dreams'' consisting of seven radioplay-style musicals named for their protagonists. The album became a top-ten hit on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

. In ''Seven Dreams'', the characters take a journey by train from New York to New Orleans. The "Second Dream" was called "The Conductor." In the last part of the dream, the title character steps off the train to smoke a cigarette. He hears a lonely woman in a shack sing of her troubles, in a song called "Crescent City Blues." The woman's song is sung by Beverly Mahr, Jenkins's wife. Cash heard the song during a stint with the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and adapted it into "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash said in the 1990s, "At the time, I really had no idea I would be a professional recording artist; I wasn't trying to rip anybody off." Nonetheless, Jenkins was not credited on the original record from

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

. According to Cash's manager Lou Robin, Cash acknowledged the debt to Jenkins's song, but was reassured by Sun founder

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

that he had no reason to fear a plagiarism suit. Fifteen years later, Jenkins sued for royalties. In the early 1970s, after the song became popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of approximately $75,000.

Similarities and differences with "Folsom Prison Blues"

Unlike the fast-paced

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

style of "Folsom Prison Blues," "Crescent City Blues" is a slow, 16-bar blues torch song. The instrumentation is entirely orchestral, while the Cash song is an uptempo number with a heavy guitar riff from

Luther Perkins Luther Monroe Perkins (January 8, 1928 – August 5, 1968) was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly ...

. Many of lyrics are exactly the same, except for the points where Cash changes the perspective of the narrator. For example, both begin "I hear the train a comin'/It's rollin' 'round the bend." The Jenkins song follows that with "And I ain't been kissed lord/Since I don't know when," but Cash follows it with the darker "And I ain't seen the sunshine/Since I don't know when." All of the verses have this dichotomy, with an identical narrative path and stark differences in tone. Where Jenkins' narrator says "But I'm stuck in Crescent City/Just watching life mosey by," Cash has his protagonist sing the far darker "But I shot a man in Reno/Just to watch him die."Silverman, p. 92

References

{{authority control 1953 songs Songs written by Gordon Jenkins Johnny Cash songs