Scores On This Historic Day: January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

In 1951, Crane Wilbur, one of the first Hollywood stars, moved into documentary filmmaking with Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. In 1953, that film was screened at a U.S. Air Force base, at which Cash was serving. In late 1955, at the start of his country music career, he wrote, recorded and released the song "Folsom Prison Blues."

The song, about a prisoner regretting the murder he committed and the life sentence it's gotten him, reached Number 4 on the country charts, and Number 5 on the pop charts, in early 1956. Along with "I Walk the Line," it made him a star.

Real prisoners, rather than thinking Cash a poseur trying to make money off of their plight, loved it, and sent him fan mail, asking him to perform at their prisons. He first did so at Huntsville, Texas the following year. "I keep doin' it for a reason," he said. "I want these men to know that someone, somewhere, still thinks of them as human beings."

Despite an increasing dependence on amphetamines, Cash kept churning out hit records, but his behavior at concerts made bookings hard to get. He got clean in 1967 -- although he had at least two relapses down the line -- and thought a live album recorded at a prison would be a good comeback vehicle. Bob Johnston, a producer at Columbia Records, agreed, and began calling prisons. Folsom was the 1st to say yes.

The Cash group arrived in Sacramento on January 10, 1968, where they rehearsed for 2 days. The Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, was giving a speech at a dinner at their hotel, and met with them. (Years later, when Reagan was President, Cash was less of a fan.)

Two shows were scheduled for January 13: For 9:40 AM, and then, in case the recording didn't go well, a 2nd try at 12:40 PM. The performers included Cash; his girlfriend (later wife) June Carter of the country-singing Carter Family; the Tennessee Three, Cash's backing band, with lead guitarist Luther Perkins, bass player Marshall Grant, and drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland; Carl Perkins' author-singer of "Blue Suede Shoes," Cash's stablemate at Sun Records in the 1950s, and Luther's brother; and The Statler Brothers, country and gospel stars in their own right, serving as Cash's backing vocalists (though none of them were named Statler, and only Harold and Don Reid were actually brothers, the others being Joe McDorman, Lew DeWitt and Phil Balsley).

Johnston handled the recording board. Also present with Cash's group were his father, Ray Cash; and the Rev. Floyd Gressett, the pastor at a church near his home in Ventura, California.

Carl Perkins opened the show with "Blue Suede Shoes." The Statlers sang their hit song "Flowers On the Wall" and the country standard "This Old House." Then the Tennessee Three kicked into an intro with Cash's familiar "Boom-chicka-boom" sound, and The Man In Black took the stage. He gave is familiar, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," and told the prisoners, this show is being recorded for a live album, so you can't say, 'Hell' or 'Shit,' or anything like that!" The prisoners cheered.

And then he launched into a new version of "Folsom Prison Blues," more hopped-up than the original version. He sang songs about prison life, including "Dark as a Dungeon,""The Long Black Veil,""Green, Green Grass of Home," and "25 Minutes to Go." To me, the interesting thing about that last one, which had been written by Shel Silverstein, is that, in contrast to "Folsom Prison Blues," where the narrator admits his guilt, and won't be executed," this narrator never says whether he admits it, only that he will be executed, and that he doesn't want to die."

Cash brought Carter onstage to sing the duet "Jackson," and closed the show with a new song, "Greystone Chapel." Ironically, given the intent, the 2nd show wasn't as strong as the 1st, and, although some songs were played at both shows, only 2 songs from the 2nd show went on the album, neither of which were played during the 1st show: "I Got Stripes" (as in, prison stripes, this in the era before "prison clothes" meant "an orange jumpsuit") and "Give My Love to Rose."

The album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison was released on May 6, 1968, and was a hit. But the line, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" doomed the new version of "Folsom Prison Blues": While it still hit Number 1 on the country charts, on the pop charts, it had only reached Number 32 when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, and a lot of radio stations refused to play it after that.

But the album did provide the revival that Cash wanted. On February 24, 1969, lightning struck again, although not in the same place: Johnny Cash at San Quentin was recorded, at the prison of that name north of San Francisco, in Marin County. Among the songs done for this one was another Shel Silverstein composition, one Cash had never even seen before, so he had the lyrics written down: "A Boy Named Sue."

A few weeks after that album's release, ABC began airing The Johnny Cash Show, and for 3 years, it ran as a Summer replacement series. He married June Carter, and became a bigger star than ever.

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January 13, 1968 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The football season came to an end the next day, as the Green Bay Packers beat the Oakland Raiders, 33-14 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, to win Super Bowl II.

There were 3 games played in the NBA that day:

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the San Diego Rockets, 122-116 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 32 points.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons, 115-106 at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Bulls beat the Baltimore Bullets, 110-106 at the Chicago Stadium.

There were 2 games played in the American Basketball Association, in its 1st season. The New Jersey Americans beat the Oakland Clippers, 118-110 at the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, Bergen County, New Jersey. And the Indiana Pacers beat the Pittsburgh Pipers, 113-99 at the Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis.

Both venues still stand. The latter is now named the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. After 1 season in Teaneck, the Americans, the 1st major league sports team with "New Jersey" in its name, moved to Long Island, becoming the New York Nets.

There were 5 games played in the NHL: 

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings played to a tie, 4-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Seals and the Minnesota North Stars played to a tie, 2-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. This was the game in which Bill Masterton of the North Stars sustained the head injury that led to his death 2 days later.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.

Also, Arsenal played Sheffield United to a 1-1 draw at Highbury in North London.