Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece

Hello.......I'm Johnny Cash...the famous words that opened his acts on almost all of his shows. The making of Johnny Cash at Folsom prison is really great reading, I would really recommend this book to everybody, even if you are not a Cash fan

A new biography of an American legend based on interviews with Tennesseans and the archives of Cash's manager proves why this man is so beloved by so many

This short book, probably less than 100 pages if you take out pictures and account for unused page space, is the recounting of Johnny Cash's 1968 recording of "Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison," the album that catapulted Cash into superstardom and highlighted for a generation the misery of prisoners life behind bars. Streissguth does an excellent job of telling about the concert and giving the back-story behinds the original idea, as well as why it ended up as an iconic album. One would do well to learn about this instant in the long career of Cash and how it changed him and America. I highly recommend this book for a quick afternoon read.

In 1969 Cash performed at Folsom Prison in California and produced a title album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison which as to make him a superstar in the country world. Michael Streissguth's Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison: The Making Of A Masterpiece is no ordinary biography of Cash, which has been done before: it's a survey of that performance, what led to it, and what came out of it, richly enhanced by the author's access to Folsom Prison and Columbia Record archives and illustrated with over 100 rare photos. A 'must' for Cash fans.

For anyone who is not familair with the 1968 recorded "live" album, it is recommended that you give a listen and experience the album first...Cash at Folsom Prison was perhaps the first recording made in quite a while combining a musical event with a genuine social statement. As a result, it seemed ominously fitting that this legendary Cash LP was made in the turbulent year of 1968, in a maximum security prison no less, only to become one of the years best selling albums. If any year could be perfectly represented by one piece of recorded music, it was 1968's JOHNNY CASH AT FOLSOM PRISON. The author explains exactly how Cash (who was denied the chance to record a live prison LP years earlier) and Columbia Records went about planning this album, how it was recorded by producer Bob Johnson, how it was carefully edited & released, and what the publics reaction was. Yet, page after page, Streissguth, brings the little known story of the recording and the history of the event together like a beautifully made documentary. Most of all this book strengthens the powerful message and experience of AT FOLSOM PRISON and gives the recording a new found dimension that enables it to still be considered one of greatest "live" album events in popular music history. RECOMMENDED!