The Story Behind the One Song That Johnny Cash Performed Live More Than Any Other

Johnny Cash is known for many legendary country and rockabilly songs. “I Walk The Line” from 1956, “Ring Of Fire” from 1963, and “Get Rhythm” from 1969 are just a few of his most well-known songs, all of which made it to most of his live setlists throughout his career.

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It’ll surprise few to learn that “Folsom City Blues” from 1955 was Johnny Cash’s most-performed song of his career, though, per last.fm. Cash performed the song 580 times during his career, the last of which took place at Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, on July 5, 2003. Cash would pass away at 71 years old, just a few months later.

Let’s take a walk back in time and look at the story behind Johnny Cash’s most well-known and well-played hit.

The Story Behind “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash

“Folsom Prison Blues” was first recorded by Johnny Cash in 1955 at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It appeared on his debut album, Johnny Cash And His Hot And Blue Guitar!, from 1957. The original version was a hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Hot Country Songs chart. 

However, it wasn’t until 1968 that the song really earned some serious infamy. That year, he performed the song, along with a medley of other tunes, for an audience of excited inmates at Folsom State Prison in California. The subsequent live recording became At Folsom Prison, released that same year, and it took Cash to superstar status. The 1968 version of “Folsom Prison Blues” topped the country charts. It also made it to No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song would win the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, at the following year’s ceremony.

Johnny Cash wrote “Folsom Prison Blues” after watching the film Inside The Walls Of Folsom Prison in 1951. At the time, he was serving in the United States Air Force in West Germany. While Cash was never in prison himself, he clearly related to the life of a man behind bars. The iconic line “But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die” was inspired by a specific thought Cash had: “I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that’s what came to mind.” 

Fun fact: The narrator of “Folsom Prison Blues” is serving time in a California prison, despite the fact that he committed murder in Reno, Nevada. When asked about this, Johnny Cash hilariously quipped, “That’s called poetic license.”

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)