Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues - Alternate Version

[WSHSkins44]

Wow! At first you'd swear this is not Johnny Cash!! But when that train gets a rollin' down to San Anton'.......Hello Johnny.

[FLHKSBonYT]

It's the "Hey porter" intro...!!!



[Spyflugan91]

Those who can't hear that this is Johnny when he goes lower with his voice are strange.. really. How can you NOT hear that this is Johnny? He has the most individual voice I have ever heard in music history

[JohnnyCashFan200]

anywhere is he dead omg

[Freitasgus]

Isso mesmo! Cash is better than Elvis.

[zacharymich13]

Johnny´s voice is great he didn´t need to sing higher. In my opinion Cash > Elvis

[tipetu]

funny when he falls back to his low hz on the end of each verse

[steelerfan52975]

That deff isn't johnny, some is and the rest is recorded over.

[Johi2410]

After reading another Cash biography I am sure this is from the day on which they did their first recordings in the Sun Studio (1955). They tried a lot, but only thing used later was "Wide open Road" and "Hey Porter". When they came to "Folsom Prison Blues" they all knew it was a sensational song - but not yet how to "sell" it, so they tried out this kind of way. A short while later they knew how to do it. The sound was there, just not the "feel" to the song.

[tsukka]

"A short while later they knew how to do it."

Yeah, they did in their way and the rest is history.

[DarthSeptic]

That's Johnny alright. When he sings lower notes you can tell. Amazing!

[tuktukskagal]

this is a very unusual recording;not really like johnny at all;very strange sound....

[anthony1962]

It's the same driving, "locomotive" rhythm sound. Had Cash not sung a note in this song anyone who had heard his music could never mistake THAT SOUND with any other! What's most remarkable about this alternate version is that even early on Luther Perkins had not only created a truly classic solo but created it perfectly to the point where it would never be imporved even if played by far more accomplished guitarist. His solo remains a timeless masterpiece of original music for sure.

[Johi2410]

I agree with you fully. Thumbs up!

[johnrcash67401]

Better then the orig

[ScreamingEagle82nd]

I didn't think this was from the Million Dollar Quartet, it's the first take that he and the Tennessee Two did of the song. You can tell cos the lyrics are slightly different, and the sound is similar to on "Hey, Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!". Luther and Marshall weren't present at the Quartet recording, and it's highly unlikely that any recordings of Johnny from that session exist any more.

[Johi2410]

I guess this was a lot of fun vor Johnny, Luther and Marshall to record :D:D

[cashfan85]

Where and how did you get this?!? Is this really johnny?

[SeanBenz33]

its i hear on his first record, because they dont have the intro in it, yes its johnny

[EliteUBH]

Don't like it. Not the original Johnny Cash "train" sound. Sounds more feminine.

[rrdoran]

thats eerie

[cashnighter]

I don't like this version, It hardly even sounds like Johnny

[sabrooow]

This is fun to listen to. I love Johnny and he is doing this great, like always.

[tyler1501]

He isn't singing any higher. It's in the same key as the original. He just changed this voice to this freaky sound you hear.

And my guess would be that this is a take that was recorded before the arrangement for the original, being that Luther does not even play the intro or outro.

I have always thought that, since Folsom Prison Blues was out of Johnny's normal vocal range to start with, he was just struggling hitting those higher notes in the verses. Just my opinion.