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Glen Milborn Sherley (March 9, 1936 − May 11, 1978) was an American who became a
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
singer-songwriter after his song " Greystone Chapel" was made famous by
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 ...
in 1968. Sherley wrote the song while in prison and it was later performed by Cash at his Folsom Prison performance, which was eventually released as the album ''
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 ...
''. Sherley was in the front row, unaware that his song was going to be performed. Sherley subsequently wrote and performed a number of other songs. He died by suicide at the age of 42.


Biography


Early life

Sherley was born in 1936 as the son of farm workers in
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. They migrated to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the 1940s to work in cotton fields, potato farms and more. Sherley was a youth offender, and through the 1950s and 1960s was frequently in and out of prison for various crimes including one jailbreak. By the time he was discovered by
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 ...
in 1968 while serving time for
armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
, Sherley had been an inmate of several state penitentiaries, including Chino, Soledad,
San Quentin 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 o ...
, and
Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...
.


"Greystone Chapel"

During the late 1960s, Sherley wrote and recorded "Greystone Chapel," in reference to the chapel within Folsom Prison, where he was an inmate at the time. On January 12, 1968 a copy of this recording made its way into the hands of
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 ...
by way of Floyd Gressett, a Folsom minister who was a friend of Cash's, the night before he was due to appear in concert at Folsom. In an interview with ''
Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
'' in 1994 titled "Country Rocks The Country", Johnny Cash said: "Greystone Chapel" was recorded, along with the rest of Cash's Folsom performance, on January 13, 1968.


Success

After being transferred from Folsom Prison to
Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it th ...
, he worked in the prison hospital unit where he met
Spade Cooley Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American convicted murderer and former Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. In 1961 he was arrested and convicted for the Ap ...
, who was serving a life sentence for murder, until his death in 1969 while on a 72-hour leave from prison. Cooley was known to be a positive influence on Sherley. Sherley was able to refine his music abilities as well as his abilities to deal with audiences. After the release of ''Greystone Chapel'', Sherley's next major success came in 1971, when country singer
Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...
recorded another song written by Sherley, "Portrait Of My Woman." The song became the title track of Arnold's next release. Following the fame gained through the Arnold release, Sherley was offered the chance to record a live album, ''Glen Sherley'', while still in prison. The album was a success when it was recorded, with the permission of prison officials, and released by
Mega Records Mega Records was a Nashville, Tennessee-based music label founded in 1970 by former RCA Records executive Brad McCuen along with Harry E. Pratt. Its most successful recording artist was Sammi Smith who also recorded the label's very first single. ...
. Production supervision was provided by Cash's publishing organization, House of Cash, with musicians from the Nashville area, leading to an offer from
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 ...
for Sherley to join House of Cash. When Sherley was released from Prison in 1971, he was met at the gates by Cash. His album was re-released by
Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...
as ''Glen Sherley - Live at Vacaville, California.'' A remastered version of his album was produced and released by his estate in 2017. The Album "Glen Sherley: Released Again" includes 3 bonus tracks, one of which is an original demo he recorded in his cell. When the documentary ''Flower Out of Place'' was filmed, showcasing Cash,
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
and
Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...
performing at
Tennessee State Prison Tennessee State Prison is a former correctional facility located six miles west of downtown Nashville, Tennessee on Cockrill Bend. It opened in 1898 and has been closed since 1992 because of overcrowding concerns. The mothballed facility was seve ...
, Sherley hosted the performance. Recent CD and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
releases of this documentary exclude Sherley's performance, possibly due to time constraints. According to
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 ...
, bass player and road manager for Cash, Sherley exhibited behavior that indicated he was a pathological criminal. He casually made comments about killing members of the cast of Cash's show, and made threats. Cash himself became concerned about Sherley's potential for violence, and eventually dismissed him.


Final years

After his departure from Cash's show, Sherley struggled to cope with stardom. Sherley went on to lose his footing in Nashville and became estranged from his wife and kids. He quickly faded out of the limelight, into obscurity. Sherley ended up working for a large cattle company, feeding 10,000 cattle a day. He lived in the cab of a semi truck, and tried to stay out of the public eye. His drinking got heavier and his drug use went out of control. In May 1978, while high on drugs, Sherley shot a man. Sometime after that he called his daughter to say he was not going back to jail. Two days later, on May 11, while hiding out at his brother’s house in
Gonzales, California Gonzales is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. Gonzales is located southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of . The population was 8,647 at the 2020 census, up from 8,187 at the 2010 census. Gonzales is a member of the Assoc ...
, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Cash agreed to pay for the funeral, and the 42-year-old Glen Sherley was laid to rest in
Shafter, California Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located west-northwest of Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census. The city is located along State Route 43. Suburbs of Sh ...
.


In Popular Culture

In the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic film ''
Walk The Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' Man ...
'', Cash reads a letter presumably written by Sherley. Sherley's name briefly appears in a shot of the letter, but it is misspelled as "Glen Shirley."https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358273/goofs>


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherley, Glen 1936 births 1978 deaths American male composers 20th-century American composers American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Suicides by firearm in California Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Oklahoma Country musicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American male singers 1978 suicides