''Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West'' is a

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

and the 22nd overall album released by

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

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 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1965 (see

1965 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1965. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1965 in British music * 1965 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1965 in country music * 1965 in jazz Events *January 4 – Fender Musical Instrum ...

). Covering twenty individual songs, the album, as its title suggests, contains various

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and other songs on topics related to the history of the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. This includes

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

' "

The Ballad of Boot Hill "The Ballad of Boot Hill" is a 1959 song written by Carl Perkins which was recorded by Johnny Cash on Columbia Records. Background The song was originally released in 1959 in the U.S. on a Columbia EP by Johnny Cash entitled ''Johnny Cash Sings ...

", " Streets of Laredo", and the sole single from the album, " Mr. Garfield", describing the shock of the population after the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

James Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

. One of the songs, "

25 Minutes to Go "25 Minutes to Go" is a song by Shel Silverstein, from his 1962 album ''Inside Folk Songs''. Lyrics The song is literally "gallows humor", as it is sung by a man awaiting his own execution by hanging. Each verse consists of two lines, of which th ...

", would later be performed at

Folsom Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabil ...

and appear on Cash's famous ''

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 ...

'' recording in 1968, while the melody of "Streets of Laredo" would be recycled for the song "The Walls of a Prison" featured on Cash's album ''

From Sea to Shining Sea ''From Sea to Shining Sea'' is a concept album and 26th album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1968 (see 1968 in music). Each track on the album was written by Cash; none of them were released as singles. The albu ...

''. ''Sings the Ballads of the True West'' was re-issued in 2002 (see

2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002. Specific locations * 2002 in British music * 2002 in Norwegian music * 2002 in South Korean music Specific genres * 2002 in classical music * 2002 in country musi ...

) through

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

, with two bonus tracks, one of which is an instrumental version of a track available on the album. The original album was included on the

Bear Family 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 ...

box set ''

Come Along and Ride This Train ''Come Along And Ride This Train'' is a Bear Family Records 4-CD box set of Johnny Cash's music. This set brings together all of his uniquely American albums: '' Ride This Train'', ''Blood, Sweat and Tears'', ''Sings the Ballads of the True West ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Johnny Cash - vocals, guitar *

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 ...

- guitar * Norman Blake,

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, ...

- acoustic guitar * Bob Johnson - 12-string guitar, flute, banjo, mandocello *

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 *

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 * Michael N. Kazak - drums *

Bill Pursell William Whitney Pursell (June 9, 1926 – September 3, 2020) was an American composer and onetime session pianist. He had a brief but successful career as a pop musician before continuing on as a session player. Pursell is best known for the to ...

- piano, harpsichord *

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

- harmonica *

Mother Maybelle Carter "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It ...

- autoharp *

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening act and backup singers fo ...

- background vocals

Modern Interpretations & associations

Baltimore based creative folklore/music ensemble Television Hill have recorded a 6-song concept EP called My Name's Hardin, the title of which pokes fun at

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's misspelling of outlaw

Wes Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American American frontier, Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk hero, folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man ...

's name on his 1967 release ''

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk ...

'' and paying homage to Dylan's record and

's double concept LP ''Sings the Ballads of the True West''. The EP is a biographical work exploring Wes Hardin's life and draws from Hardin's autobiography, ''Letters from Prison'' and an assortment of other biographical and relevant source material.

Mean as Hell!

In March, 1966 (see

1966 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1966. Specific locations * 1966 in British music *1966 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1966 in country music *1966 in jazz Events * January 8 – ''Shindig!'' is broadcast for ...

), Columbia released ''Mean as Hell! : Ballads From The True West'', a single LP distillation of ''Sings the Ballads of the True West.'' It peaked at #4 on the top country albums chart. It has not been released on CD.

Track listing

Charts

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States) Singles - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

Luma Electronic album information for ''Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West''

Johnny Cash albums 1965 albums Columbia Records albums Concept albums {{1960s-country-album-stub, Sings the Ballads of the True West