Many know Johnny Cash as one of the most celebrated singer/songwriters in the history of country music. However, many may not know that he was also a veteran. Cash served in the United States Air Force from 1950 to 1954 as a member of the 12th Radio Squadron. He received an honorable discharge one year before the United States officially became involved in the Vietnam War. However, he never stopped supporting the troops.
Cash, June Carter Cash, and the Tennessee Three joined a lineup of other musicians and comedians a the Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1968 to record the final episode of Operation: Entertainment. The variety show, aimed at veterans and active duty service members, was recorded on various military bases across the country. Throughout the show’s two-season run, it put many of the best entertainers the country had to offer in front of groups of troops across the nation. Watch Cash perform “Folsom Prison Blues” for the troops at Fort Sheppard below.
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Why Johnny Cash Recorded Live Albums in Prisons
Johnny Cash didn’t just support the troops, he also had empathy for the underdogs and the downtrodden. This empathy extended to marginalized groups, including those spending time in prison. He famously recorded a pair of live albums behind the walls of two of California’s most infamous penitentiaries, Folsom and San Quentin. In an interview, Cash explained what inspired him to record those albums.
“You’d have to hear the reaction, or response, or enthusiasm from a prison audience to really believe it,” he said. “Maybe it was captured on the album, maybe it wasn’t. The first time I played a prison, I said, ‘This is the only place to record an album live.’ I had never heard reactions to the songs like prisoners gave,” he added. “They weren’t ashamed to show their appreciation or enthusiasm for anything that we did.”
“I just kept going back to prisons, playing shows for the men. Every time I played one, I decided more and more that I had to go to a prison and make a record.”
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