"THERE YOU GO" - SUN #258 (1956)

Early Johnny Cash

I was 7 years old, in 1954, when I first heard about "Rock & Roll". But I only found out about Johnny Cash in the late 'Sixties, when Bob Dylan released "Nashville Skyline", where he had a duet with Johnny on "Girl of the North County". I then bough, almost by case, the live album he recorded "At San Quentin".

I must admit I wasn't much interested, although I found him good, his stuff was just too different from the black or white Blues and Psychedelic Rock I was into at the time.

IIt was only in the Mid-Eighties that I rediscovered and begun loving his music.

And, by the way folks, we're talking about over fifty years ago!

From "The Tex Ritter Ranch Party" show (1956)

"I Walk the Line", published in May 1956, was Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two's third record, and a top hit in both the Country & Western and Pop charts, earning Cash an award as most promising Country artist.

This was some more footage from "The Tex Ritter Show" and the songs were respectively "Get Rhythm", "Home Of the Blues" and "So Doggone Lonesome".

The Sun Records Show (1956)

Johnny Cash, Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, performing live at one of the SUN Records promotional shows. If you take a look at the poster miniature, you'll notice that Johnny's name comes before Elvis'.

The songs are: another version of "I Walk the Line", "There You Go", "Next In Line" and "Train of Love".

The Millon Dollar Quartet

That same year Sam Phillips, SUN Records' boss sold Elvis Presley's contract to RCA. Before leaving Memphis, Tennessee, on Tuesday December 4, 1956, Elvis dropped by SUN Studio during a Carl Perkins recording session featuring Jerry Lee Lewis on piano and Cash on guitar as backups. He sat himself on piano and the four started jamming. Phillips recorded the whole session, wich was released on disc only several decades later because of copyright regulations as what is now known as "The Million Dollar Quartet".

About one year later, Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two performed on "Country Style USA," a series of TV shorts syndicated by the U.S. Army Recruiting Service. Here's "Give My Love To Rose".

Country Style USA (1957)

In 1958, Cash and his band left themselves SUN Records for Columbia. The only remarkable difference being the addition of "Fluke" Holland, former Perkins' drummer to the band that so became The Tennessee Three, while the sound remained unchanged.

Here's a series of songs recorded in Los Angeles, California. The date on You Tube is certain only for the first set, November 15, 1958. The other two sets certainly are on the same location, but appear to relate to two different dates in 1959.

Oscar Maple's Ford Town Hall Party (1958)

All Over Again

Give My Love To Rose

It Was Jesus

Vel's Ford Town Hall Party (1959)

"Folsom Prison Blues"

"Pickin' Time", "Big River", "I Was There"

"Cash Does Elvis"

Hadley's Town Hall Party (1959)

"Frankie's Man Johnny"

"I Got Stripes"

"I Was There When It Happened"

I'd like to close this first post about Johnny Cash with two more videos form his early years, one I just found out he did recorded, and one that most everyone knows, if not by him, certainly from one of the covers that so many artists have performed.

"Busted"

Ring of Fire (1963)

"Ring of Fire" was written by Johnny's to be wife, June Carter and by Merle Kilgore, and refers to the fact they were in love whit eachother while they both were already married.

...So, bye for now!

Wanna find out more?