"Home of the Blues" is a song co-written and recorded 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, ...
artist
Johnny Cash. The song was recorded on July 1, 1957 in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and was released as a single in August the same year. It was also included as the eleventh track of his second album, ''
Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous''.
The song was written by Johnny Cash, Lillie McAlpin and
Glenn Douglas Tubb and produced by
Jack Clement
Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer.
Biography Early life
Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...
.
Partial ownership of the song is held by Florida businessman
John Palumbo.
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of the song were recorded by
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...
in 1988, by
Laughing Hyenas
Laughing Hyenas was an American post-hardcore band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to AllMusic, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the t ...
in 1995 and by
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...
in early 2012. The song was also recorded by
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...
for the 2005 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 '' M ...
''.
Content
The song is an
autobiography of Cash's unpleasant childhood.
Chart positions
References
1957 songs
1957 singles
Johnny Cash songs
Rock-and-roll songs
Rockabilly songs
Songs written by Johnny Cash
Sun Records singles
Songs about childhood
Songs written by Glenn Douglas Tubb
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