The Best of Johnny Cash TV Show

September 18, 2007, 10:33 AM

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At 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, June 7, 1969, the Tennessee Three struck the opening riff of “Folsom Prison Blues,” and “The Johnny Cash Show,” live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, made its debut as a summer replacement variety series on the ABC television network. The prospect of yet another new tv variety series was still hot news in the late ’60s, and the novelty of it being hosted by The Man In Black – at the undisputed peak of newfound popularity in his career – made it even sweeter.
But the announcement that the ultra-camera-wary, reclusive Bob Dylan was to be Johnny’s guest on the first show (which was actually taped on May 1st) placed the premiere on an entirely different historical platform. The two songs performed live by Dylan were both from Nashville Skyline, his brand new April LP release on Columbia – the single “I Threw It All Away,” and a reprise of his duet with Cash on Bob’s vintage “Girl of the North Country,” which dated back to 1963, when they first met.
Those two performances, preceded by Johnny’s own “Ring Of Fire,” kick off THE BEST OF THE JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW, a long-overdue compilation of archived treasures from the run of 58 shows through May 1971. The collection of 66 live performances, hosted by Kris Kristofferson (whose “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)” follows the Dylan clips), with voice-over by Will Lyman (of Frontline) has been gathered onto two DVDs and will arrive in stores September 18th on CMV/Columbia//Legacy, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAIN*MENT.
In addition to Kristofferson, the video includes new interviews with son John Carter Cash, Tennessee Three bassist Marshall Grant, Hank Williams Jr., musical arranger Bill Walker and hairstylist Penny Lane. Michael B Borofsky, who produced and directed the DVD, chose them because they were all first-hand witnesses to the action of the show, who could attest to Johnny’s determination to present something new and unique in the ubiquitous variety show genre.
For Borofsky (whose many video credits include Stevie Ray Vaughan: Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985, and Johnny Cash At San Quentin), the DVD project was a two-year labor-of-love. Since only a fraction of the 58 hours of shows would be included on the four hour DVD program, performances were chosen purely on the basis of musical quality and historicity. Therefore, some “forgiveness” must be given considering the age of the materials. Once the selections were made, the technical aspects of the restoration were met.
Most of the shows were recorded on two-inch quad videotape, a non-existent format today, which was remarkably well-preserved for 37-plus years. (In some cases, a post-production “show master” was also available, or even a combination of the two.) Each master tape was baked (just as with audio tape), then played back on a machine to digitally process the material without tampering or colorization, with the resulting product used for the final editing phase, and the creation of stereo mixes (where only mono recordings existed) and 5.1 Surround Sound.
Borofsky (who filmed all the original artist interviews for No Direction Home, Martin Scorsese’s documentary on Bob Dylan) had many parameters to ensure the integrity of Johnny’s vision – starting with a demand that all performances be played out in full, uninterrupted by the interview segments. The documentary style gives way (on disc two) to an hour and 40 minute stretch of straight-ahead performances with no interview breaks, to give the best picture of the breadth and scope of the show.
The roster of guests on THE BEST OF THE JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW is a dizzying who’s who of country, pop, rock, and folk artists, many of whom were only coaxed onto tv because of Cash’s imprimatur. In addition to the aforementioned Dylan and Kristofferson numbers, and two dozen individual performances by Johnny (solo and with others), plus regular cast members June Carter Cash, the Tennessee Three, Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers – the DVDs present (solo or in duets) signature career songs by Louis Armstrong, Stevie Wonder, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Linda Ronstadt, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette, Marty Robbins, James Taylor, Pete Seeger, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Derek And The Dominos, Charley Pride, Bill Monroe And His Blue*grass Boys, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers with father Ike Everly, Ray Charles, Conway Twitty, Neil Diamond, Ray Price, Roy Orbison, Chet Atkins, Homer And Jethro, Merle Haggard, Roy Clark, Hank Williams Jr., and more.
There is no over-exaggerating Johnny Cash’s universal popularity as the ’60s came to a close and a new decade began. His comeback began back in ’67, when he was rescued by June Carter after the notorious “lost weekend” that lasted more than a year, when he and Waylon Jennings became Nashville’s wildest roommates. The first evidence of Johnny’s return was “Jackson,” a duet with June recorded in January and released the next month, a #2 Country hit that spring, which went on to win them their first Grammy Award(s).
The partnership was solidified with their first full LP together, Carryin’ On With Johnny Cash & June Carter, released August 1967. In January 1968, the tour made a stopover for the live recording of Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. The enormously successful #1 country LP (for four weeks) was also his first major cross*over success (#13), spending 92 weeks on the pop chart and 122 weeks on the country chart.
The LP included Johnny’s remake of the 1955 Grammy Hall Of Famer “Folsom Prison Blues” – the new version hit #1 on the country chart (for four weeks), Top 40 pop, and won the Best Country Male Vocal Grammy. In March ’68, a month after they received the “Jackson” Grammy(s), Johnny and June were wed. They soon embarked on an extended trip to Israel that became the basis for The Holy Land documentary film and concept LP released in December. That same month, “Folsom Prison Blues” was followed by “Daddy Sang Bass” (written by Perkins, with the Statlers and the Carter Family on background vocals), a second #1 country (for six weeks) and Top 40 pop hit.
In February 1969, Bob Dylan returned to Nashville to record the follow-up to John Wesley Harding. The only artist Bob reached out to was Johnny Cash, with whom he shared the talents of producer Bob Johnston.
(Flashback: It was 32-year old Cash who first saw the promise in 23-year old Bob back in 1964, when Cash took a residence in Greenwich Village and aligned himself at the epicenter of urban folk music, a deep, abiding part of his own musical soul. Johnny and June recorded Bob’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” in August 1964, a month after they all appeared at the Newport Folk Festival. The song became a Top 5 Country hit in early ’65. The LP on which it was featured, Orange Blossom Special, also assayed two more Dylan songs, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and “Mama, You Been On My Mind.” In June 1965, Johnny appeared at the first New York Folk Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York.)
Segue to February 1969: After two days of sessions with the Nashville A-Team at Columbia’s Nashville Studio A, Dylan invited over Cash and the Tennessee Three for two more days of sessions. Only one track has ever been officially issued: When the landmark Nashville Skyline LP was released two months later in April 1969, their duet on “Girl of the North Country” had been chosen as the opening track – and Johnny Cash’s liner notes graced the LP jacket’s back cover. (The new video collection also includes Johnny’s version later on, of Bob’s “Wanted Man.”)
Bob Dylan’s appearance on the premiere set a standard of excellence for the series. And it didn’t hurt that during the two-year span of the show, Johnny charted a dozen (!) LPs – including four that went to #1 on Columbia (Johnny Cash at San Quentin which followed Folsom’s success, Hello, I’m Johnny Cash, The Johnny Cash Show live at the Grand Ole Opry, and Man In Black) – coupled with some of the biggest singles he ever made: Shel Silverstein’s two-time Grammy Award-winning “A Boy Named Sue” (#1), Tim Hardin’s Grammy-winning “If I Were a Carpenter” (with June, #2), Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (#1), “Flesh and Blood” (#1, from the movie I Walk The Line, starring Gregory Peck), and “Man In Black” (#3).
In addition to his popular “Ride This Train” travel*ogue segments, and plenty of cameos for regulars June Carter Cash, the Tennessee Three, Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers, Cash’s show was able to boast a hand-picked guest list. In nearly every case, they delivered career-defining renditions of their signature tunes (or latest singles).
THE BEST OF THE JOHNNY CASH TV SHOW brims with one definitive take after another – Stevie Wonder’s “Heaven Help Us All,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising,” Waylon’s “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James,” Neil Young’s “The Needle And The Damage Done,” Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon Of Kentucky,” Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’,” Neil Diamond’s “Cracklin’ Rosie,” Ray Price’s “For The Good Times,” Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” and Hank Williams Jr.’s medley of his father’s hits, “You Win Again,” “Cold Cold Heart,” “I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You,” and “Half As Much” – to name a few.
Johnny’s duets with many of these artists and others are also showstoppers – with Louis Armstrong on (Jimmie Rodgers’) “Blue Yodel #9,” with Linda Ronstadt on “I Will Never Marry,” with George Jones on “White Lightning,” with Pete Seeger on “Worried Man Blues,” with Joni Mitchell on “Long Black Veil,” with Derek And The Dominos and Carl Perkins on his “Matchbox,” with the Everly Brothers and Ike Everly on “That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine,” with Roy Orbison on “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and with Merle Haggard on “Sing Me Back Home” – to name a few.
Of course Johnny’s solo performances were the backbone of the series, and every one of them bears witness to his powerful stage presence – “Ring Of Fire,” “Hey Porter,” “Ride This Train,” “As Long As The Grass Shall Grow,” “Man In Black,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Old Time Religion,” “A Wonderful Time Up There,” “Tennessee Flat Top Box,” “Big River,” “I Walk The Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Wanted Man,” “Working Man Blues,” “I Love You Because,” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” These were the songs and the times that set off another three and a half decades of iconic worldwide superstardom for Johnny Cash.



1. Johnny Cash – Ring Of Fire
2. Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away
3. Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash – Girl From The North Country
4. Kris Kristofferson – Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)
5. Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash – Blue Yodel #9
6. Stevie Wonder – Heaven Help Us All
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
8. Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Cash – I Will Never Marry
9. George Jones – Medley (White Lightning with Johnny Cash, She Thinks I Still Care, Love Bug, The Race Is On)
10. Johnny Cash – Hey Porter
11. Waylon Jennings – Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line
12. Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash – The Singing Star’s Queen
13. Waylon Jennings – Brown Eyed Handsome Man
14. Tammy Wynette – Stand By Your Man
15. Marty Robbins – Medley (Big Iron, Running Gun, El Paso)
16. Johnny Cash – Ride This Train
17. Johnny Cash – As Long As The Grass Shall Grow
18. Johnny Cash – Man In Black
19. James Taylor – Sweet Baby James
20. Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash – Cripple Creek
21. Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash - Worried Man Blues
22. Johnny Cash – Sunday Morning Coming Down
23. Johnny Cash – Old Time Religion
24. Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and The Tennessee Three – Daddy Sang Bass
25. Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters – Wildwood Flower
26. Neil Young – The Needle And The Damage Done
27. Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three – Tennessee Flat Top Box
28. Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash – Long Black Veil
29. Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three with Carl Perkins – Big River
30. Johnny Cash – I Walk The Line
31. June Carter Cash – A Good Man
32. Derek And The Dominos – It’s Too Late
33. Derek And The Dominos with Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins – Matchbox
34. Charley Pride – Able Bodied Man
35. Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys – Blue Moon Of Kentucky
36. Loretta Lynn – I Know How
37. Jerry Lee Lewis – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
38. Johnny Cash – Ride This Train (America The Beautiful, This Land Is Your Land)
39. The Everly Brothers with Ike Everly and Johnny and Tommy Cash – That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine
40. Ray Charles – Ring Of Fire
41. Johnny Cash – A Boy Named Sue
42. Conway Twitty – Hello Darlin’
43. Mother Maybelle Carter – Black Mountain Rag
44. Tony Joe White and Johnny Cash – Polk Salad Annie
45. Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman
46. Neil Diamond – Cracklin’ Rosie
47. Ray Price – For The Good Times
48. Roy Orbison – Crying
49. Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash – Oh, Pretty Woman
50. Johnny Cash – Wanted Man
51. Chet Atkins and Johnny Cash – Recuerdo De La Alhambra
52. Chet Atkins – Medley (Country Gentleman, Mister Sandman, Wildwood Flower, Freight Train)
53. June Carter Cash with Homer And Jethro – Baby It’s Cold Outside
54. Merle Haggard – No Hard Time Blues
55. Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash – Sing Me Back Home
56. Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes
57. Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, The Carter Family and The Statler Brothers – The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago
58. Roy Clark – Medley (In The Summertime, 12th Street Rag)
59. The Statler Brothers – Flowers On The Wall
60. Johnny Cash – Working Man Blues
61. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – Jackson
62. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – Turn Around
63. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – I Love You Because
64. Hank Williams Jr. – Medley (You Win Again, Cold Cold Heart, I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You, Half As Much)
65. Johnny Cash – A Wonderful Time Up There
66. Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

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