“And I just wanted to write a song that would tell what I thought it would be like in prison.” “It was a violent movie,” remembers Cash. The 90-minute long film left an impression on Cash, who emphathized with the tale of the imprisoned men, and inspired him to write a song: In 1953, Cash saw Crane Wilbur’s film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while stationed in Germany. Cash worked on his singing and even listened to the Grand Ole Opry live from Tennessee on the military radio equipment. While enlisted in Germany, Cash used his first steady paycheck to buy his first guitar (it cost him $5 US dollars), and later, a tape recorder. His mother once scraped together enough money for singing lessons, but his teacher was so impressed with young Cash’s natural talent that she sent him home with a warning never to change his voice. Johnny Cash had been playing the guitar and writing songs since he was 12 years old.

“The Air Force taught me the things every military service imparts to its enlisted men … plus one skill that’s pretty unusual: if you ever need to know what one Russian is signaling to another in Morse code, I’m your man.”Ĭash: The Autobiography, by Johnny Cash and Patrick Carrĭuring his time as a morse interceptor, despite his military success (Cash was the first to intercept news of Stalin’s death), music remained on Cash’s mind. Cash Wrote Folsom Prison Blues in the Air Forceīefore he became a country music legend, Cash enlisted as a member of the United States Air Force in 1950.Īfter completing basic training, Cash was assigned as a morse intercept officer and stationed in Landsberg, Germany in 1951. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cash’s iconic album and single, we’re taking you behind the scenes and uncovering the facts that even the most hard-core Johnny Cash fans may not know about this legendary song, the album, and the Man in Black himself. The REAL Story behind Folsom Prison Blues And Folsom Prison would forever be associated with Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. The anthem would become one of Cash’s most beloved and well-known songs, one that continues to inspire musicians today. Having a single on a Billboard chart was nothing new for Johnny Cash, but this particular song represented a turning point in the legendary musician’s career and made an indelible mark on the history of Folsom. Four months later, Folsom Prison Blues hit the Billboard Top 100 chart. On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash performed live in front of an audience of guards and inmates at Folsom Prison.

Prisoner of Love by Beverly Jenkins