On This Day in 1969, Johnny Cash Was at No. 1 With the First Album He Recorded After Luther Perkins Died

On this day (October 14) in 1969, Johnny Cash was on a 20-week run at the top of the country chart with At San Quentin. It won multiple awards and introduced “A Boy Named Sue.” The album also marked the beginning of a new era for Cash. It was his first recording since Luther Perkins, his longtime friend and lead guitarist, died in 1968.

As a founding member of the Tennessee Two, Perkins was as instrumental in creating Cash’s iconic sound as the Man in Black himself. His percussive rhythm technique and twangy leads were the backbone of the style that sonically set Cash apart from other artists. His absence weighed heavily on his former bandmates when they took the stage behind the walls of one of the country’s most notorious prisons in February 1969.

Fortunately, Cash had already hired Bob Wooten as his new lead guitarist. Wooten landed the gig because he taught himself to play like Perkins and could nail most of Cash’s catalog note-for-note. At San Quentin was not just his first album with Cash, but his first recording overall. He shared guitar duties with Carl Perkins (no relation) during the concert.

Johnny Cash Was Under Pressure

The loss of Luther Perkins wasn’t the only thing that made the concert at San Quentin more difficult than usual. A crew from Granada Television was on hand to record a concert film for broadcast in the United Kingdom. As a result, Johnny Cash had less control over his show than he was accustomed to. The crew was giving him directions on where to stand and offering suggestions for his setlist.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1969, Johnny Cash Went to No. 1 With a Song Written by a Children’s Author and Recorded in a Notorious Prison]

That was only part of the hassle, though. The camera operators also got between him and the audience. He wanted to share a connection with the men who gathered to see him. At the same time, he felt that the Granada crew was interfering with that connection. He addressed the frustration he felt in the liner notes of the 2000 reissue of At San Quentin. He revealed that the iconic photo of him giving the finger was taken when he asked a camera operator to move, and they ignored him.

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