"Give My Love to Rose" is a

country song Country song may refer to: *National anthem, known as a "country song" in some languages * "Country Song" (Jake Bugg song), a 2011 song by British singer songwriter Jake Bugg * "Country Song" (Pink Floyd song), an untitled song by Pink Floyd from th ...

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 ...

, which he recorded together with the Tennessee Two at

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 ...

under the production of

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, ...

in 1957. The song was released in August of the same year as the B-side of the single "

Home of the Blues "Home of the Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song was recorded on July 1, 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee, and was released as a single in August the same year. It was also included as the elev ...

" (Sun 279), which reached No. 3 in the Country Jockey charts and No. 5 in the Country & Western Chart. "Give My Love To Rose" reached No. 13 in the Country & Western Chart. Cash recorded the song several times. For his 2002 version, he received his fourth and final

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Male Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance was awarded between 1965 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male *In 1968 it was a ...

Background

Cash said a prisoner from

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

asked him to take a message to his wife if he ever went through his hometown. This conversation, according to Cash, was the inspiration for the lyric, which is about a dying convict who is released after ten years of imprisonment. The man is on his way to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to see his wife and his child one last time before he dies. He collapses along the rails of the railway, where he is found by the narrator. The dying man asks the narrator to take his wife his love and a little money. The man agrees. Cash recorded the song at

in his usual manner, playing the rhythm guitar himself, with

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 ...

and

Marshall Grant Marshall Garnett Grant (May 5, 1928 – August 7, 2011) was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became kno ...

on the lead guitar and bass respectively. The song was the last one which

supervised as a producer. Producing duties then passed to "Cowboy" Jack Clement. An alternative take, with choruses in the background, was rejected by the label.

Releases

Cash recorded the song several times over the course of his career. It appears on the 1960 album ''

Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams ''Sings Hank Williams'' is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on September 5, 1960, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. Despite the title, the album does not ...

'', even though the song is not one of Williams'. It also appears on the album ''

All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash ''All Aboard the Blue Train'' is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on December 3, 1962, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. The album is made up of songs Cash ...

'', released in 1962. He also included the song on the following albums: *''

I Walk the Line "I Walk the Line" is a song written and recorded in 1956 by Johnny Cash. After three attempts with moderate chart ratings, it became Cash's first #1 hit on the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts, eventually reaching #17 on the US pop charts. ...

'' (1964) *''

At Folsom Prison ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison'' is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records on May 6, 1968. After his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in recording a performance at a p ...

'' (1968) *'' American IV: The Man Comes Around'' (2002) In April 1999

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

played a solo acoustic version of the song, for the television show ''An All Star Tribute to Johnny Cash''. Springsteen rated the song as one of his favorite Cash songs.

References

External links

* * 1957 singles 1957 songs Johnny Cash songs Songs written by Johnny Cash Sun Records singles Song recordings produced by Sam Phillips {{1950s-country-song-stub