At Folsom Prison - Recording

Recording

On January 10, 1968, Cash and June Carter checked into the El Rancho Motel in Sacramento, California. They were later accompanied by the Tennessee Three, Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers, Johnny's father Ray Cash and producer Johnston. The performers rehearsed for two days, an uncommon occurrence for them, sometimes with two or more songs being rehearsed concurrently by various combinations of the musicians. A fashion show taking place in an adjacent ballroom provided an unneeded distraction, and during the rehearsal sessions on January 12, California governor Ronald Reagan, who was at the hotel for an after-dinner speech, visited the band and offered his encouragement. One of the foci of the sessions was to learn "Greystone Chapel", a song written by inmate Glen Sherley. Sherley recorded a version of the song, which he passed on to Rev. Floyd Gressett, a Ventura, CA pastor who regularly visited inmates at Folsom, via the prison's recreation director. On January 13, the group traveled to Folsom, meeting up with Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn and Columbia photographer Jim Marshall, who were paid to document the album for the liner notes.

Cash decided to hold two performances on January 13, one at 9:40 AM and one at 12:40 PM, in case the first performance was unsatisfactory. After an introduction by MC Hugh Cherry, who encouraged the prisoners to "respond" to Cash's performance, Carl Perkins took the stage. Perkins performed his hit song "Blue Suede Shoes". Following this song, The Statler Brothers sang their hit "Flowers on the Wall" and the country standard "This Old House". Cherry again took the stage and instructed the inmates not to cheer for Cash until he introduced himself; they obliged. Cash opened both shows with a rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues" and the concerts contained many songs about prison, including "The Wall", "Green, Green Grass of Home", and the gallows humor tune "25 Minutes to Go". The singer also included other songs of despair, such as the Merle Travis song "Dark as a Dungeon". Following "Orange Blossom Special", Cash included a few "slow, ballad-type songs", including "Send a Picture of Mother" and "The Long Black Veil", and then followed with three novelty songs from his album Everybody Loves A Nut, "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog", "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart", and "Joe Bean". June Carter joined Cash on stage to perform a pair of duets. After a seven-minute version of a song from his "Blood, Sweat and Tears" album, "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer", Cash took a break and Carter recited a poem. Cash ended both concerts with Sherley's "Greystone Chapel". The second concert was not as fruitful as the first; the musicians were fatigued from the earlier show. Only two songs from the second concert, "Give My Love to Rose" and "I Got Stripes," made it onto the LP release.

Set list for the 9:40 AM concert

• "Folsom Prison Blues"
• "Busted"
• "Dark as a Dungeon"
• "I Still Miss Someone"
• "Cocaine Blues"
• "25 Minutes to Go"
• "I'm Not in Your Town to Stay"
• "Orange Blossom Special"
• "The Long Black Veil"
• "Send a Picture of Mother"
• "The Wall"
• "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog"
• "Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart"
• "Joe Bean"
• "Jackson"
• "I Got a Woman"
• "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer"
• "Green, Green Grass of Home"
• "Greystone Chapel"

Set list for the 12:40 PM concert

• "Folsom Prison Blues"
• "Busted"
• "Dark as a Dungeon"
• "Cocaine Blues"
• "25 Minutes to Go"
• "Orange Blossom Special"
• "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer"
• "Give My Love to Rose"
• "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog"
• "Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart"
• "Joe Bean"
• "Jackson"
• "Long Legged Guitar Picking Man"
• "I Got Stripes"
• "Green, Green Grass of Home
• "Greystone Chapel"
• "Greystone Chapel" (repeat)