"Tennessee Flat Top Box" is a song 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, ...

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 ...

. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in late 1961, reaching 11 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country singles charts and 84 on the pop charts. The song's name refers to a steel-stringed

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Content

The song is a story of a little boy aspiring to be a country singer, who starts his career at a local

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

in a South Texas border town. He has no physical abilities, only his ability to play the guitar, which he loves so much that making money is secondary to him. He becomes so popular that girls "from there to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

" would secretly leave home and

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

jewelry for money to make the trip to hear him play, and "all the girls from nine to ninety, were snapping fingers, tapping toes, and begging him: 'Don't stop.'" Ultimately he disappears from the local scene, only to re-emerge on television, having fulfilled his dream.

Charts

Rosanne Cash version

Cash's daughter

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

recorded a

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 ...

of "Tennessee Flat Top Box" in 1987 on her album ''

King's Record Shop ''King's Record Shop'' is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Rosanne Cash. It was released on June 26, 1987, her fifth album for the label. The album produced four singles on the Billboard country singles chart. They were "Th ...

''. Released in November 1987 as the album's third single, it was also the third of four consecutive number-one country hits from that album, peaking in February 1988.

Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...

played the

solos on it. Rosanne Cash recorded the song at the suggestion of her then-husband, fellow country singer

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

. When she recorded the song, she was unaware that her father wrote it, and assumed that it was in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. Johnny later told Rosanne that her success with the song was "one of isgreatest fulfillments." ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' cited Rosanne's cover as a "healing of her strained relationship with her dad." Following her father's death in 2003, Rosanne Cash performed the song during ''The Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute'' concert TV special.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Use in video game

A version was made available to download on January 4, 2011, for use in the ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' music gaming platform in both basic rhythm, and PRO mode which allows use of a real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.

References

{{Authority control 1961 singles 1987 singles Johnny Cash songs Rosanne Cash songs Songs written by Johnny Cash Song recordings produced by Rodney Crowell Columbia Records singles 1961 songs Songs about country music Songs about musicians Songs about guitars Song recordings produced by Don Law