Crescent City Blues

[LuminousCrud]

Cash admitted that've didn't know he couldn't just change up a song and make it his own. He didn't know music law then. But he sure learned. Lol

He still did a great job and I give these guys kudos for their work too!

[BOGSTEN]

Cash paid Gordon Jenkins a settlement of approximately $75,000 in th early 1970s, as thank´s for the coffee.

[nightintheruts617]

no one can say either dong is better or worse then one another its just two diff takes on the same song

[koosmal]

This is from the Decca LP, Gordon Jenken's Seven Dreams. I have the lp and think it was released in 1954. Cash did lift most of the lyrics from Crecent City Blues and morf into Folsom Prison Blues. Jenkens let Cash slid for the early release, but when the live verson came out Jenkens sued Cash and won an out of court settlement. Jenken's Seven Dreams album is a real classic, Jenken's considers it his best work. I concur, a play done for early LP, based on the dreams of the narriator.

[samdunaway0496]

@koosmal So sad! I have the same album. Even my mother enjoyed it in her youth. The "haves" can steal anything they want. My fiance' still refuses to see that this song was stolen from the Gordon Jenkins album!!

[jcskehan]

culturally speaking though, copying songs wasn't near as big of a deal back then... a lot of the famous rock and roll songs were covers...

also, johnny cash covered Hurt, and made it his. just like he "copied" this song and made it his.

[StagPreston]

@jcskehan Cash did not claim to be the writer of that song. I think that was that punk rocker, Maybe Trent Reznor. A "cover" is not the same as a stealing another man's work by claiming you wrote. Once a song is released commercially, ANYONE can "cover" it, as long as they are willing to pay royalties.

[Acousticnoiseuk]

for all of you who dont know. crescent city blues was written first. johnny heard this song and changed the lyrics. and johnny's version is amazing.

[samdunaway0496]

This song came from Gordon Jenkins "Seven Dreams" album. I listened to it as a child. I couldn't get my fiancee' to see the parellels between this and Johnny's.

[WilbertGyllenhal]

Well, this is a blues song. Like many blues songs it uses the same three chords and structures... And Folsom Prison Blues is a blues... Cash obviously stole some of the lyrics, but hey, that the way it goes with books, songs, etc. ... Surely, he could have credited the original writer, but that's the way it is, and Folsom Prison Blues is still an awesome song.

[JJohnston4Life]

Song starts at 0:35

[NOTABOOS]

This is WAAAY better than Johnny Cash

[pamelapix]

that's because you've never made the crappy trip to Crescent City LoL (just giving you a hard time)

[mitchman721]

Johnny Cash FTW

[DonRicoKing]

perfect fallout 3 song xd

[SteveCarras]

This is Gordon Jenkins, not Paul Weston.It's from Seven Dreams.

[samdunaway0496]

@SteveCarras I dont know if you'll click back on this song and read this comment, but you are the only person that I've come across who has any idea of where this song came from. Glad to hear from you!

[Retslu]

Has everyone missed the irony here? He goes into Folsum Prison with a song he stole, how ironic.

[johngrantpcs]

Ahhh... now it all makes sense... Folsom prison blues was the only song I ever like from Johnny Cash. Now I know it's because he stole the song!

[bigzach1000]

All music is "borrowed". Country music, due to its "simplicity" (not an insult), requires and allows all kinds of borrowing. Heck, I bet you at least half of country hits from 1950-1980 borrowed chord structures or melodies from old Jimmie Rodgers or Carter Family songs. I am also not so sure about how aware artists and producers at that time were aware of copyright issues. I am not even sure that Sun Records even had a lawyer. You would think that Gordon Jenkins would have sued.

[DubaMusic]

@bigzach1000 thats not borrowing...dude thats plain straight stealing.

[bigzach1000]

@DubaMusic I wasn't defending it. I am just saying that you have to look at it in the proper context. You are right; it is stealing.

[StagPreston]

@bigzach1000 You can't copyright a chord progression. Most country and rock songs are comprised of 3 or 4 chords. Folsom is just 3 chords. Melodies that are similar are not the same. If a song has the same melody, it's considered copyright infringement. For example, YOU'RE THE REASON GOD MADE OKLAHOMA stole the melody line from ROCKY TOP by Boudleaux Bryant, and was judged so in a court. SURFING USA by the Beachboys was found guilty of stealing Chuck Berry's SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN.

[houpts]

Here's the thing. This is a really good song. Beverly Mahr is the singer. She has a very interesting quality to her voice. It's off a Gordon Jenkins album called Seven Dreams which is terrific. It's truly great. Another album she sings on is called Manhattan Tower. Also Gordon Jenkins. Great stuff.

[Glinkaism1]

@houpts This is a good old bluesy song by Paul Weston. Weston was a zillion times more creative and intelligent than Johnny Trash.

So don't go licking up to Johnny Trash.

[TransformerslNC]

Johnny Cash heard this song and was like... "Wow, this sucks. I think I'm gonna make it actually cool" and THAT is how Folsom Prison Blues was born.

[bashbrannigan]

I see the rich folks eatin' in that fancy dining car

They're probably having pheasant breast and eastern caviar

Now I ain't crying envy and I ain't crying me

It's just that they get to see things that I've never seen

f I owned that lonesome whistle, if that railroad train was mine

I bet I'd find a man a little farther down the line

Far from Crescent City is where I'd like to stay

And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

[bashbrannigan]

Crescent City Blues

Gordon Jenkins, 1954

I hear the train a-comin, it's rolling 'round the bend

And I ain't been kissed lord since I don't know when

The boys in Crescent City don't seem to know I'm here

That lonesome whistle seems to tell me, Sue, disappear

hen I was just a baby my mama told me, Sue,

When you're grown up I want that you should go and see and do

But I'm stuck in Crescent City just watching life mosey by

When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry

[GlennCraven]

And, wow, I just heard this song in its entirety on the new Johnny Cash Radio dot-com. (All Cash or Cash-related material, 24/7.) And the DJ was speaking German (most do not), so even though I had German in college 20 years ago, I'm not exactly sure what he said to introduce this song. Wish I knew!

[ecavuto]

I recently read that the author of this tune sued Cash in 1968 for plagiarism. Don't let your liking Cash try to excuse what he did--ALTHOUGH it wasn't intentional, folks. Let's not forget that ol' John was just an unsophisticated rural kid who didn't know that you can't take from people's songs because of publishing rights.

[Holadude96]

@ecavuto ..... perhaps you mean it wasn't "malicious", but it sure as hell was intentional. He didn't 'accidentally' take the tune and many of the lyrics, that's for damn sure!

[DarthSeptic]

Cash may have reused the tune, and borrowed ONE exact line, but who cares? Cash did WRITE Folsom Prison Blues. He stole the tune, but made his own lyrics, and as history plainly tells it, Cash made it HIT WORTHY. I think Jenky must have been jealous of Cash's talent... because this version doesn't hold a candle to Cash's writing. No offense, but you Cash haters should find something else to work with, if you can find anything.

[GoldenGaleStables]

@DarthSeptic I love Johnny Cash. But the "borrowing" was more than one line. Every verse of "Folsom Prison Blues" begins and/or ends with nearly the same (or very similar) wording as "Crescent City Blues." ... I'd rather listen to Johnny's song than this one. But this one is clearly the predecessor and a heavy contributor to Johnny's, without being properly credited or (until a lawsuit was filed) compensated.

[bashbrannigan]

@DarthSeptic He didn't steal one line, he stole the entire song. I've posted the lyrics here.

[algabal]

Er, me. This is infinitely better than Cash's plagiarized version. The whole album is interesting and clever.

[bashbrannigan]

Cash's version is probably better, but it's pretty much the same. Did Cash really never credit this as the original???

[shanna9650]

What a great song. Johnny Cash has great taste in music! I love this. It's so New Orleans. Love it. I'm going campaign to Leah Chase that she sing this.

[mazak6811]

and they bitch about George Harrison ripping off "He's so fine"!!!!!!!!!!

[kurunta]

Cash told Sam Philipps, that the lyrics are from Jenkins. Philips disregarded this fact and gave no credits to Jenkins. 1968, after his live-recording At Folsom Prison, Cash paid $ 75.000 to Jenkins, because he was sued by Jenkins.

[namwolfhound]

Sure Blows the beginning of the movie that just came out with him playing it to Sam Phillips like it was his own material. I guess he did pay something later, but he should have manned up to begin with. Elvis Presley started out with some great old Blues songs he got from the Black Pool of music and paid tribute. It sure didn't hurt his career.

That said, I still listen to the Man in Black. A great singer songwriter that lived long enough to give us a lot of great music.

[shelton78]

This sucks im glad johnny cash stole it and made it way better

rip johhny cash

the greatest of all time

[Grungadin]

Oh please, he took an old song's tune and a few lyrics, he probably heard it when he was younger and didn't think it was that close, or didn't realize what he was doing.

Not to mention this is a crappy song, I would never listen to this again, and let's see here... Give me a minute to check itunes... I downloaded Johnny's three months ago(although had obviously heard it many times before, my CD version was censored) and I've played it 28 times since.

[coolhandjones]

Johnny's is good, and so is this. It doesn't have to be one or the other. They're both good in their own respect.

And this isn't crappy. This chick smokes Johnny in singing.

[Grungadin]

Perhaps this song was good for the time, but Johnny's is a classic, and deserving of the word timeless.

I agree Johnny isn't on top of his singing in all of his songs, but listen to The Wanderer or I Still Miss Someone.

Not to mention this woman probably didn't write the lyrics, and definitely didn't write the music since she was in a band it seems.

I don't find this horrible, but it sure as hell isn't anywhere near Johnny Cash's level.

Crappy is an overstatement, but I dislike it.

[MeredithBixby]

@Grungadin Sure it's a Classic... Theft.

Of course she didn't write the lyrics or music - and expert like you can tell without any need for facts. WTF are you talking about? Cash and his band ripped-off the authors of the lyrics and music. Whether the singer wrote it is irrelevant.

Being ORIGINAL, this is indeed Nowhere Near Cash's Level, OF THEFT.

You disliking this great tune I take as a compliment to it.

[Grungadin]

@MeredithBixby

No I'm not an expert, but the amount of creativity among artists in that decade was pitiful. I can guarantee she didn't write a word of that song, and the guitar is abysmal and completely different compared to Johnny's version. It's relevant because FPB is mostly original. This is typical garbage that has no real meaning behind it, Cash's song had a point and a story. It also... you know... sounded great, but I guess you listen to older music in a lame attempt to be unique.

[Grungadin]

@MeredithBixby

Show me one other song by him that was "ripped off". He gave credit to every band he did a cover of, and admitted Folsom Prison Blues was based on this song, although made much, much better. He had more than twenty hit songs, through six decades. How many did these guys have? How many decades were they popular and considered one of the greatest. Were they ever even considered great? My guess is no..

8472 views<4,928,626 views. I hope your math is better than your grammar.

[StagPreston]

@Grungadin Your guess would be wrong concerning Gordon Jenkins. He was one of the greatest orchestra arrangers in the history of pop music. He was in the background creating the arrangements for stars like Nat Cole, Peggy Lee and the Weavers. His career had slowed down by the 60s, but he did manage to arrange this great Grammy Award winning performance by Frank Sinatra, which was performed live by Sinatra and the band. Look up IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR by Frank Sinatra right here on Youtube

[samdunaway0496]

@Grungadin A-Bite me. B-Even though Johnny Cash did a great job of stealing this song, it was stolen--so shut up!!

[marcjames86]

yeah johnny's is better, ive never heard this song before but i have to say you definetley wouldn't get away with doing this today. however Cash is still a legend and he did write some amazing songs.

[gweaterman]

JAZZ SUCKS!!!!

[marcjames86]

ITS BLUES the clues in the title

[redsox5360]

who gives a shit johnny is still the best if it was not for him no one would even know this song , so calm down

[claybuds420]

johnny cash may have stole this however when he started his career he was trying to do songs that everyone had heard before and when e wrote this song it was no different then when weird al steals a song so why complain about it? he made it his own and its a great song its also faster tempo wich is more then can be said about a weird al song so dont bitch about it people u know u love cas's version way better

[ronnierayjenkins]

Gorden Jenkins wrote that...shameful to steal.

[AndrewEvanODell]

wow!

[Lonnie888]

Too bad - the Johnny Cash image has been tarnished a trifle - he didn't just borrow this song - he actually stole it..

[ScreamingEagle82nd]

Who doesn't? And who's seriously going to say this song is better than "Folsom Prison Blues"?