Legacy Recordings

On February 24, 1969, two days before he turned 37, the legendary Johnny Cash led his traveling troupe behind the foreboding walls of the California State Penitentiary at San Quentin, long known as one of America’s toughest prisons. It was during this concert that Johnny and the Tennessee Three first set Shel Silverstein’s poem, “A Boy Named Sue” to music. Their rendition of the tune “A Boy Named Sue,” became a rollicking, rowdy smash that in 1969 topped the C&W singles chart for five weeks, while also reaching number two on the Pop side. The album, Johnny Cash At San Quentin, includes first-rate performances from rockabilly king Carl Perkins, the four-part harmonies of the Statler Brothers and the Carter Family, with bluegrass and country pioneer Mother Maybelle Carter and June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash’s wife and the love of his life.

Listen to “A Boy Named Sue” On Rhapsody

or Buy the CD at LegacyRecordings.com.