An Excerpt From The Documentary “Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison”

Jun 24, 2020 by apost team

Johnny Cash, his wife June Carter, and an entourage of reporters arrived at Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968. Cash was about to make his comeback amid a crowd of cheering prisoners. The concert at Folsom State Prison was a defining moment in Cash's career. An in-depth look at the performance and the performer is captured in the documentary "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison."

The clip shows the walk from the bus to the prison walls had been "somber." The walls were 18-feet high and made of granite. When the second set of gates closed behind them, Cash told one member of the entourage that the sound of those gates had a feeling of permanence about them. In the documentary, one reporter recalls being very nervous, while other musicians in the band said they were concerned for the safety of Johnny Cash and June Carter.

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Throughout the documentary, Merle Haggard and other Cash contemporaries offer up their take on the now-famous concert. They get into Cash's mind and admit that Cash wasn't entirely reformed by the time he had spent as a prisoner. As Haggard said, Cash may have looked out at his prison audience and thought "there but for the grace of God go I."

According to Haggard, once released from prison, Cash had acquired all of the privileges of a country music star. He was able to get away with crimes and misdemeanors. The men who made up the prison audience hadn't been so lucky. Cash was aware that the difference between himself and the men he serenaded was slight.

The Concert at Folsom Prison reignited Cash's career. The prison was a "great theater" and allowed Cash the chance to come back in a way that wasn't obvious or typical. Cash returned to his past without pretense. The result was an enduring album that captured the raw intensity of Cash's music set against the reality of those in dire circumstances.

Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Concert set the tone for his iconic image as a rough man achieving redemption. In your opinion, what other comebacks are noteworthy? Tell us where the Cash comeback ranks in comparison to the comebacks of other performers and be sure to pass this article along to others!