''Out Among the Stars'' is a posthumously released studio album 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 ...

. It was released on March 25, 2014, by Legacy Recordings. The recordings come from lost 1980s sessions with famed

countrypolitan The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...

producer

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gle ...

, which were shelved by Cash's record company,

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 ...

, and discovered by Cash's son

John Carter Cash John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter. Biography For several years after his birth, his fathe ...

in 2012.

Background

The album is composed of recordings made by Cash in 1981 and 1984 with producer

for

. The album was shelved by the label and was never released. In 2012, Cash's son, John Carter Cash, discovered the recordings in the archive and commissioned additional production to complete the album. Cash also recorded the 1981 album '' The Baron'' with Sherrilll, in an attempt to turn around his dismal album sales, but the strategy did not work, leaving his record executives eager to end his affiliation with the label. The album is also a posthumous release for

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

, Johnny Cash's wife, who is featured on two tracks, and for

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television ...

and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

, who provide vocals on two other songs, "If I Told You Who It Was" and "I'm Movin' On", respectively. Two of the tracks would later be rerecorded by Cash at American Recordings and would be released posthumously prior to earlier versions being included here; "I Came to Believe" appears on '' American V: A Hundred Highways'', and a non-duet version of "I'm Movin' On" appears in the box set '' Unearthed''. In a March 2014 interview promoting the release of ''Out Among the Stars'', John Carter Cash indicated that there may be as many as "four or five" albums worth of previously unreleased material from Cash's 1990s–2000s American label recording sessions, with Cash's last producer,

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

indicating at least one more such release is planned for the future.

Release and promotion

Lead single "She Used to Love Me a Lot" was released on January 14, 2014, on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' website. "I'm Movin' On", featuring

, was released as the second single and was premiered by CMT on February 6, 2014. The third single, "Baby, Ride Easy", a duet with

(which the two had performed on TV on Johnny Cash's 1985 Christmas Special) was premiered exclusively by ''One Country'' on February 27, 2014. The album's title track, "Out Among the Stars", was released as the fourth and final single, with its lyric video premiering on May 7, 2014.

Critical reception

Prior to its release,

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

named it one of the most anticipated albums of 2014.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that

"winds up simply sweetening Johnny without changing his core sound". He added that the album "is generally chipper and bright" and "one of Cash's stronger '80s albums". Rob Tannembaum's review in ''

'' mentions Cash's fading star power in the early 1980s amidst the "Urban Cowboy fad". Tannembaum continued: "You might expect ''Out Among the Stars'' – a set of unreleased songs he cut with Sherrill in 1981 and 1984 – to be a contract-fulfilling sleepwalk. (Cash put out several mostly mediocre LPs in those years, but left this material unfinished; it was discovered after his death.) Instead, it proves that even at his most uninterested, Cash couldn't help but make a record with weight, moral complexity, and grim humor."

Commercial performance

Released on March 25, 2014, ''Out Among the Stars'' debuted at #3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #1 on the Billboard

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

charts, selling 54,000 copies its first week. As of June 29, 2014, the album has sold 149,000 copies in the United States. In the UK, the album debuted at #4 in the album chart. The album has sold 63,700 copies in the UK as of July 2014.

Track listing

#"Out Among the Stars" ( Adam Mitchell) – 3:02 #"Baby Ride Easy" (

Richard Dobson Richard James Joseph Dobson II (March 19, 1942 – December 16, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and author. Dobson was part of the outlaw country movement and spent time in the 1970s with Townes Van Zandt, Mickey White, Rex "Wrecks" B ...

) – 2:43 #" She Used to Love Me a Lot" (Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen) – 3:11 #"After All" (Charles Cochran,

Sandy Mason Sandra Mason Theoret (December 18, 1939 – April 1, 2015) was an American country music singer-songwriter and musician. Apart from her numerous songwriting credits, she was also a pianist and guitarist, and provided backing vocals for other arti ...

) – 2:47 #" I'm Movin' On" (

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...

) – 3:09 #"If I Told You Who It Was" (

Bobby Braddock Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during mor ...

Curly Putman Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to: First name, nickname or stage name * Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly" * Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow In ...

) – 3:05 #"Call Your Mother" (Cash) – 3:17 #"I Drove Her Out of My Mind" (Gary Gentry, Hillman Hall) – 3:01 #"Tennessee" (Rick Scott) – 3:27 #"Rock and Roll Shoes" (

Paul Kennerley Paul Kennerley (born 1948) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry. Biography Paul Kennerley was born in Hoylake, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England in 1948. In 1 ...

Graham Lyle Graham Hamilton Lyle (born 11 March 1944, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Between 1970 and 1997, he co-wrote 18 British Top 40 hits, 9 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, 4 US Country No ...

) – 2:41 #"Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" ( Tommy Collins) – 2:17 #"I Came to Believe" (Cash) – 3:29 #" She Used to Love Me a Lot" (JC/ EC Version) (Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen) – 3:23 *''Tracks 1–8, 10, 12, recorded in 1984'' *''Tracks 9, 11, recorded in 1981'' *''Track 13 originally recorded in 1984, remixed in 2013''

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes. Original session musicians * Johnny Cash – vocals, guitar * Pete Bordonali – guitar * Jerry Carrigan – guitar *

–

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

on "Baby Ride Easy" and "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" *

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...

– guitar *

– duet on "I'm Movin' On" *

Kenny Malone Kenny Malone (August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021) was an American drummer and percussionist. Life and career Malone was born in Denver, Colorado. From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic ...

– drums *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

– harmonica *

Weldon Myrick Weldon Myrick (born Weldon Merle Myrick; April 10, 1938 – June 2, 2014) was an American steel guitar player.Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television ...

– vocals on "If I Told You Who It Was" *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lore ...

– piano * Billy Sanford – guitar * Dale Sellers – guitar *

Henry Strzelecki Henry Pershing Strzelecki (August 8, 1939 – December 30, 2014) was a Nashville studio musician who performed with Roy Orbison, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Eddy Arnold, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Ronnie Milsap, Merle Haggard, and ...

– bass guitar *

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

– guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* John C. Williams – bass guitar * Bobby Wood – piano * Robert Wray – guitar Additional musicians on 2013 sessions *

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

– percussion *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

–

on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" *

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

–

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

on "Baby, Ride Easy" *

Laura Cash Laura Weber White, also known as Laura White, Laura Weber, Laura Cash, and Laura Weber Cash is an American country fiddler, singer, songwriter, and guitar player. White has worked as a session musician on many albums and toured with several art ...

–

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

–

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

* Mark Fain –

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" * Tony Harrell – keyboards * Rick Lonow – percussion *

Buddy Miller Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. ...

– guitar * Pat McLaughlin – guitar * Marty Stuart – guitar, mandolin *

Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs. Biography Early career Sutton's grandfather and ...

– acoustic guitar and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" * T. Blade – percussion Additional backing vocals by the "Cash Cabin Vocal Group" and the full student body of Sumner Academy of

Gallatin, Tennessee Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 30,278 at the 2010 census and 44,431 at the 2020 census. Named for United States Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, the city was established on ...

. Technical personnel * Steve Berkowitz – production (additional recording) * Niko Bolas – mixing *

– production (additional recording) * Lou Robin – executive production * Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering *

– production (original sessions) * Chuck Turner –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Nathan Yarborough – additional mixing

Chart positions

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Trailer for the album
from

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

Stream of "She Used to Love Me a Lot"
from ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Out Among The Stars 2014 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Johnny Cash albums Legacy Recordings albums Albums published posthumously Columbia Records albums Albums produced by John Carter Cash