Rapper FIRST time REACTION to JOHNNY CASH Cocaine Blues Live at Folsom State Prison!

[@tlo3571]

Johnny Cash had a time when he was addicted to drugs and got himself is trouble. While high he accidentally set a forest fire which burned Hundreds of acres of land. He was arrested for trying to smuggle amphetamines into the US via Mexico. He never saw time in prison, but he did see the inside of a jail on several occasions. He hit rock bottom then decided he was going to die if he didn’t get sober.

[@MatthewC137]

Johnny Cash played the maximum security San Quentin prison on new year's day 1958 and a young and still unknown Merle Haggard was one of the inmates in the crowd. That day helped Merle on his way to becoming a country music star like Johnny. Edit: History channel says 1958 but other sources say 1959. Being new year's day it's easy to see how some got it wrong.

[@Joedirt3349]

Thought it was 1968?

[@MatthewC137]

@@Joedirt3349 His first prison concert was January 1st of either 1958 or 1959. There's conflicting info out there but I now think 1959 seems more likely. He went back in 1969 and played Folsom prison in 1968. Merle Haggard went in in 1957 at the age of 18.

[@Texan1981]

⁠@@MatthewC137both of those albums are two of my favorite Cash albums. If I had to pick, I’d have to go with San Quentin. I love not only the music, but him talking/relating to the inmates, as well! You could hear the energy in so many songs, but for some reason(IMO) The Wreck of the Old 97 seemed to be pretty electric! He is definitely my favorite and a personal hero for reasons, and one of his daughters (Kathy) who helped me through a tough time. I don’t know if he’s your favorite or not, but it’s obvious you sure know a lot about him, and I really appreciate that! Have a Happy New Year, and God bless you, fellow Cashaholic!

[@kelleewolfe2834]

Thanks! I didn't know that about Merle!! I love him too.

[@ghettogepetto2389]

I was at that show! Serving 2-5 for B&E.

[@FishManLA]

When my son was 13 years old, I took him to an open mic night at a country bar. He could really kill it on guitar at 13. He walked up to the stage and launched into "Cocaine Blues." I turned to a woman sitting next to me at the bar and said, "CPS is going to be coming after me!"

[@delcrowe9712]

Johnny Cash is an Original Gangster. He played many shows in prison.

[@csarebel100]

Johnny Cash spent the last 15+ years in extreme jaw pain. The reason why was cause if he had surgery he would never sing again, and he refused pain pills cause he didn't want to relapse back to his pill addiction. And he couldn't dream of a life without being able to sing. So he lived with the pain to do what he loved

[@Where_is_Waldo]

One of my favorite Johnny Cash moments: The warden asked him not to sing any songs that would remind the prisoners that they're in prison and Johnny said "Do you think they forgot?"

[@margaretervin8895]

lmao

[@slugcult1973]

That was Joaquin Phoenix who said that.

[@georgeemery3295]

Yeah I think this was just a scene from the movie

[@Where_is_Waldo]

@@georgeemery3295 I actually never saw the movie but could swear I remember hearing it in an album I thought was a live album. Maybe someone I know just got a copy of the song from the movie or that's the way it was framed in the sound track? I don't know but I hadn't seen the movie so I didn't think I got it from the movie.

[@CallumGTFC]

​@Where_is_Waldo you should watch the movie mate, amazing film

[@carissamarple]

Definitely Folsom Prison Blues. I grew up listening to him because of my father and I've loved him ever since the first day I heard him.

[@vivienneclarke2421]

Same here......

[@jjayp1]

Same here. I'll always have a soft spot for Cash, Waylon, Jones, Daniels, Merle, Hank Jr because of my pops. Haha I remember he took me to Nashville when I turned 21 and I asked him if Cash really lived "the man in black" or if it was more of a gimmick. I honestly thought he was going to stop the car in the middle of I-30 and make me walk to the hotel. He just shook his head and mumbled a couple cuss words under his breath. And he didn't have to say anything else because that response told me more than any spoken dialogue could have. RIP to the legends, man.

[@Clarkchapin]

That’s the one! Folsom Prison Blues!

[@carissamarple]

@@jjayp1 that's about how my dad feels about him as well. And yes. Living long while their music lives through our souls and we spread it ❤️

[@keithrenaud3380]

Yes. Folsom Prison Blues. But the version with Willie Nelson. Album is called Story Tellers.

[@buckyc.9069]

Johnny Cash has been called "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap". Don't forget that.

[@anthonylawson2275]

I have been insisting for years that Cash created rap.

[@StrongStyleFiction]

Sunday Morning Coming Down, one of Johnny's best. Written by Kris Kristofferson, another legend.

[@robertkalmus3113]

Hurt

[@wickedj3]

The story of Kris flying a chopper to Johnny's house to introduce him to this song is wild AF

[@williamsloan5228]

Sunday Morning Coming Down is one of the best songs ever written by Kristoferson and ever performed by Cash.

[@ronaldmcrae4896]

@@williamsloan5228 Chris actually sang it also. It was pretty good.

[@joannpurinton8236]

Johnny had addictions.

[@757optim]

The fact that Johnny played in prison made some people think he had been in prison. (Did have some brushes with the law). Merle Haggard was in the "audience" at Johnny's prison concert. He feared what fans would think if they knew. His friend Johnny Cash encouraged him to just tell them. And yes, Merle Haggard was a beloved country music artist. RIP Hag.

[@kevincosta9228]

Johnny recorded more than 1,500 songs. The man sung about everything under the sun. There was a three CD set released, titled Love, God, Murder, where each album was filled with songs from one of the three categories. Johnny is the legend of legends. There will never be another like him

[@DavidPChristian2]

Cocaine Blues predated Cash. It was first recorded in 1929, called Little Sadie (same story and tune without the cocaine) by Clarence Ashley, a traveling folk singer who hooked up with an early record producer. The coke lyrics came in some time between Ashley's song and 1947 when it was recorded by two artists, one went to number 15 on the national charts. Murder ballads are one of the major roots of country, dozens if not hundreds of them were written, usually by unknown, often with tunes that went back to England. Now, about Cash. He grew up dirt poor in Arkansas and did his early recordings in the same studio as Elvis Presley. Through a lot of his early career he was strung out on speed, his second wife and mother-in-law saved his life probably, although they would have given the credit to Jesus. His few fairly minor scraps with the law got noticed in the press so those guys in Folsom knew he was one of them who'd gotten lucky.

[@lathedauphinot6820]

So was Merle Haggard, who was in the audience when Cash played San Quentin and had his first TV appearance on The Johnny Cash Show.

[@matthewdooley7855]

Bluegrass is full of stories like this. Folks who complain about violence (or sex) in rap music need to check some other genres! I'd love to see a reaction to "Pretty Polly".

[@DavidPChristian2]

@@matthewdooley7855 Ralph Stanley and Patty Loveless live? Or maybe Banks of The Ohio, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs?

[@Idealist2448]

The Man In Black! He did this for a reason. He received tons of mail from inmates all around, many from Folsom, which was inspired of his song, Folsom Prison Blues.

[@russellw7785]

You can watch it. It was videoed. Johnny Cash live in Folsom Prison. Merle Haggard was a inmate and heard him. He turned out to be a legend himself

[@leroyleach7581]

...FUN FACT: Elvis and Johnny met at Sun studios in Memphis around 1955, and in the early days, even did shows together....well, neither knew that they grew up just 50 miles apart! Johnny in a small house in a cotton patch near Dyess, AR....and, Elvis in a city subsidized housing project near downtown Memphis!

[@shawn5928]

Another vote for Folsom Prison Blues!

[@patrickcohan8902]

"Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)" gives me chills every time that I hear it! When I was in church choir, we'd sing it every Lenten mass; hard not to get misty-eyed. But Johnny singing it with his wife is pure magic!

[@maynardw7150]

Definitely "The Man in Black" should be next!

[@Searles007]

LIVE for sure. Should always be the first song for Johnny. 🤙

[@JohnSheehan72]

I also think one of the things about Johnny is his devotion to his wife June Carter (and hers to him). I always loved their performances of "Jackson" - you should check out one of the live versions of that --- you can see how much they loved each other.

[@josephdowlearn8816]

I saw an interview where Johnny Cash said that his favorite places to do a show was prisons..the crowds were very energetic.

[@Darrell.B83]

I love watching your reactions to songs I grew up on! You gotta check out his songs "Rock Island Line", "Man In Black", "One Piece at a Time", "Don't Take Your Guns to Town", "Ragged Old Flag", "Five Feet High and Rising", "Jackson", and "Get Rhythm". Johnny Cash is my all time favorite singer. His story telling is second to none!

[@carissamarple]

All of these for sure ❤️

[@dustinduffy5870]

ragged flag is dope af

[@scrptar129]

Man in Black will make both the chest and the tears swell.

[@LegitHarpyHunter]

I really like "ain't no good chain gang" "I drove her out of my mind" and "Stripes"

[@Darrell.B83]

@@LegitHarpyHunter Ain't No Good Chain Gang with Waylon Jennings is a great song also! There are too many to think off. It'd be great to see their reactions to Waylon Jennings songs as well. The outlaw country era was pretty awesome.

[@pomx2900]

"25 minutes to go", is a must. From the same album.

[@VIDSTORAGE]

Cocaine Blues is an old song from from 1929 Little Sadie on to Country Western Swing Billy Hughes - Cocaine Blues 1947 and only refers to a Hypodermic but Ray Hogeshead actually says Cocalne in his 1948 version and they make it sound like the are having a great fun loving time being gangsters and snorting and shooting up Coke , fast forward to gangster rap in the 90s ,same thing different era .. The coke, morphine and heroin drug culture in the US goes way back before the 20th century was even much thought about ..

[@Texan1981]

As someone who has heard every song he’s done and has most albums (either vinyl or cd) and is a huge fan and has learned a lot about him/his life, I have to say after you finished playing the song and both gave your thoughts to him, his music, what you think it means, you both nailed it! Yes, he could relate to anyone. Yes, he was authentic. He didn’t look down on anyone. He wanted to lift people up. That’s also part of what’s behind him starting to wear black. Thanks so much for doing this! I’ve enjoyed all of your reactions, but especially when it comes to Johnny Cash, my favorite.

[@joe6913111111]

You Guys Need to react to Johnny Cash Ragged Old Flag

[@mickeyharper3914]

I am 66 years old. I got Johnny Cash"s San Quentin album for Christmas when I was 12. My friends were listening to the Beatles and the Monkees. They thought I wasn't wrapped to tight. 😅

[@All_Seeing_Knap]

That entire concert is legendary.

[@stephaniejohnston121]

Johnny married June Carter, from a famous musical family in the south. June wrote Ring of Fire about her relationship with Johnny, who was a divorce and a drug addict. "I fell into a burning ring of fire, i went down down down, and the flames went higher. And it burns burns burns, the ring of fire. the ring of fire."

[@theworldofguns562]

You almost had it, June wrote that song about her ex before Johnny, that’s why they played it together live on the Johnny cash show way back when, Before they got married.

[@theworldofguns562]

He did beat the addiction, he beat it 3 years before Elvis died. That’s roughly the time he was roommates with Waylon Jennings, Waylon did write a song about Johnnys addiction called “I’m a long way from home”. It’s a beautiful song! Really tugs the heart strings, Waylon’s son redid it for the walk the line movie, he did a great job!

[@MikeHanson]

The P.A. announcement at the end of the song is basically calling for a beat down on a couple of inmates. The prison told Johnny to cut it from the album but he left it in. Fucking legend.

[@alpowell]

I think most people can relate to Johnny Cash's struggles in life. It spans generations. As you point out, he's a great storyteller while using just a few words to do it.

[@sandyleewhite]

Outlaw Country at it's best!!! ❣❣❣ *RIP* Man in Black, we miss you* ❣❣❣

[@ruthcrawford3015]

The essence of 'Country Music" has so much to do with "heart to heart" connections. Singing from the heart, and as a listener, being hit in the heart by the song, music. Relatable, weather happy or sad. I agree that almost all of current popular music is mostly a show, and not from the heart at all...just a circus. I'm so glad the music of 'our time" (Baby Boomers) is being re-discovered by a new young audience, thanks to YT.

[@williamkeady5235]

Delia's Gone. Every old time country singer had a "end your wife" song. When CMT refused to play Delia's Gone Johnny responded with the iconic full page ad in Rolling Stone where he flips off the camera.

[@adamreed6336]

Great proaction! Can't wait for you guys to check out Folsom Prison Blues soon. Its the 1st song on this album

[@dorothylawrence4752]

Johnny Cash is one of the best. George Jones would be another great one to check out. Who's going fill their shoes is one I would recommend

[@tfodthogtmfof7644]

I think Don nailed it on the idea of some people are icons above and beyond their art and fame. Johnny Cash means more than just his music, just like Mohammed Ali was so much more than his amazing boxing career, and Jimmy Carter did so much more than his term as President. not to make a political statement but rather a comment on all his work for charities like habitat for humanity and all the amazing things Ali did for so many. Some men are true icons that show us how to be better people than we might be now.

[@matthewdooley7855]

Young Johnny Cash was a wild man. His wife did an amazing job helping him. He also had a distinctive guitar style, making a sound like there's a train heading down the track. Cash always cared about people - so many of his songs shine a spotlight on a group of people, like prisoners or native americans, or just working people.

[@tylerscott9741]

25 minutes to go is a great Johnny Cash song

[@Jeff-fx1zy]

Shel Silverstein wrote it, before he wrote "A Boy named Sue".

[@billygilliland4538]

"When Uncle Bill Quit Dope" is another Cash song I think you'd find interesting. Always love your reactions.

[@laurenblainebamartistmgt]

Folsom Prison Blues, for sure. Make sure to get the live video from inside the prison. They LOVE him!

[@billygilliland8974]

You hit the nail on the head. Johnny Cash was a great story teller. All of his songs (even the covers) are / were so relatable. He could make you "feel" whatever it was that he was talking about.

[@bethscott4330]

You two HAVE to watch the movie Walk the Line. So good!

[@tabathahuacuz8423]

Was just thinking the same thing

[@rusttrail3]

One of the greatest live albums ever recorded, and Mearle Haggard was an inmate in the crowd.

[@rusttrail3]

Listen to the whole album in it's entirety. It's fucking mint.

[@kowgirlnme]

I remember watching a special (documentary)about this and they showed the concert on TV.. I was a kid.

[@johnvetere]

Johnny Cash is a great story teller you have to keep that in mind.

[@pillowvibes]

my grandma used to play his greatest hits cd so I’d go to sleep 😭 from like 4-8 I listened to him pretty much every single night.

[@anthonyv6962]

The story about the middle finger picture makes it a million times better. Through the 50's, 60's, 70's Cash made the record company a grip of money and was their big star. In the 80's he started falling off and the label dropped like he was one album artist. In the 90's he was playing dinner theaters to small audiences. At the same time Rick Rubin had left Def Jam the label he started. Rubin started another label either Def America or American Recordings, but he was lost not knowing who he wanted to work with. He got the idea to approach Cash to see if he wanted to make a record and he was unsure but they decided to get together and see what came of it. Anyway Rick Rubin and Cash went on the make some of Johnnys best records including the version of Hurt you listened to. I think the record went to number one. Cash to out a full page add in the NY Times giving the middle finger to the record company that dropped him.They mad like 4 albums together mostly just Cash and a guitar and a lot of covers of modern songs. Its really good material. Check out the Man Comes Around.

[@guyray1504]

In the mid 60's as a teenager i saw Jonny and the Carter family in Montgomery, Al. about a few blocks from Alabama State Prison. He had about 50 prisoners in a section behind him. He made sure they all got popcorn and drinks. What a good show.

[@becmer]

That is amazing

[@CloudslnMyCoffee]

Sunday Morning coming down is my favorite cash jam

[@sarahsloot2290]

This is a different side of Johnny cash. I’d say it’s even on the other side of Boy named Sue. He hits slices of life, I’ve experienced these blues.

[@ironheadbiker]

The radio release of the song was titled "Transfusion Blues". He took a Transfusion instead of a shot of cocaine. You could sing about killing your wife, just not about doing a drug. What a time.

[@oakland-as-diehard6717]

Love 20 minutes away from Folsom prison. They have a trail named after Johnny Cash here “ Johnny Cash Trail “..Dude is a LEGEND

[@oakland-as-diehard6717]

“ Live “

[@Leancelopez]

When my son was about five, 18 years ago... he liked this song, and would request 'track # 5' because he didnt want to use the word cocaine. But, he could request a shitload of songs by name....and knew every word. Love those days!!

[@ldm7532]

Jonny cash I hung my head is one of the best pb

[@tp8030]

Johnny was wild! His stories are true.

[@daleross9001]

You betcha🤠

[@1tommymulligan]

Always liked Dont take your gun to town, Give my Love to Rose and Jackson.

[@lisafayepranger8561]

lovelovelove this song!

[@paulc1352]

I saw Johnny Cash live in the late 60's at the Wisconsin state fair. He has some great music....

[@christopherchandler2860]

Bro I am a diehard Johnny Cash fan. I will be here for every video…I swear!!! Some of my favorites are GET RYTHYM, BIG RIVER, ONE PIECE AT A TIME, JACKSON

[@potatoradio]

BB King Live at Cook County Jail is great too. Delilah is Tom Jones (What's new Pussicat) Cash's The Man in Black is HEARTBREAKING and smart.

[@TheDeerPredator8]

the song is Delilahs gone

[@themojoslide]

So glad you took our advice on this one! It's a classic!

[@carriemilito2851]

The Man in Black. There's a song that makes a statement. The lyrics still have an impact today.

[@starlawilson9011]

The prisoners loved him and were very respectful

[@jessdanowski3516]

Delia’s Gone is the other song you were talking about. It along with Cocaine Blues are my favorite Johnny Cash songs. I also love Bird on a Wire. You should watch Walk the Line they recreate the cocaine blues performance.

[@pyrovania]

Delilah is a Tom Jones song and it is also pretty dark.

[@manuelmelendez3140]

This is my goto from Johnny Cash. This song is fire and a class.

[@williamkeady5235]

It's about expressing an honest feeling, and telling an honest story of where that feeling will lead you.

[@Britishshadow]

Man in black is a must watch explains his life. A rare video is Drums, or The Ballard of Ira Hayes (same album)

[@TheSksexton]

Man In Black and One Piece at a Time definitely need to be the next two

[@clasmaster1471]

Johnny Cash was the man! RIP

[@dorisbusk6437]

Sunday Morning Coming Down Inside the Walls of Prison Classic Cash

[@patdonnelly9392]

Hit subscribe 'cause of your reaction! Love that you guys are listening to Johnny Cash! People throw the word 'legend' around too much, but Johnny truly fits that bill!! They'll never be another like him.

[@cherylwitter5038]

Heck ya Love Johnny Cash!

[@oakland-as-diehard6717]

Johnny’s song “ One piece at a time “ is a must.. trust me

[@wayneclark2899]

Oh man, another timeless classic I grew up on. Lovin' it fam! Thanks!

[@aimeekeel]

Love Johnny Cash

[@bigkw1568]

Cash definitely had the bravado .. Great reaction

[@sandramoore]

Waylon Jennings did what I consider the best version of Delia's Gone. It is haunting and it never fails to give me chills. The melody on Waylon's version reminds me of the folk song House of the Rising Sun. "Jailer, oh jailer, tell me -- how do I sleep, when all around my jail cell, I hear little Delia's feet." Give it a listen.

[@frontlinepdx6091]

I appreciate what you said about themes in hip-hop. Art has to be free. We need art to give us perspectives on what really happens in life.

[@lizstratton9689]

Hip Hop and Folk are two of the best at telling the story of the little guy, normal folk, what it's really like to be at the bottom of the food chain, love to hear more from this Album.

[@mitchshelton2995]

His last release was “Hurt”. It’s a journey from his early days to present time. He reflects on his past and ironically died shortly later. Love and respect.

[@rockinredneck57]

He made that song HIS. That's from Trent Reznor who wrote it.

[@65cj55]

That was only one song on a group of CD's he relesed before his death called the American Recordings.

[@MetalBere]

Love the man in black 🙌 I recommend you the movie "Walk the Line" about Cash's life, amazing.

[@daleross9001]

He spent time in Folsum Prison love Johnny❤

[@jeanjones7396]

I Drove her out of my Mind is another good song by Johnny Cash.

[@Hd5Sw17]

Ayyy! Real banger this one. Johnny Cash one of them LEGEND legends 👏

[@Muffdiver-ou812]

Sunday morning coming down and Going to Jackson.

[@nightprowler-dm3bt]

THE MAN COMING AROUND

[@lathedauphinot6820]

“Delia’s Gone”: in this song the woman he shoots haunts his jail cell. In “Tennessee Stud” he gets run off by his girl’s dad & brother, goes around Arkansas, Texas, and northern Mexico racing his horse until he earns a “sack of silver and gold”, goes back to Arkansas, “whipped her brother and whipped her pa”, and claimed his woman. They’re both excellent folk songs. “Ring Of Fire” is about a woman and a venereal disease, “Folsom Prison Blues” about shooting a man “just to watch him die” and then going slowly nuts in prison watching the trains going by and thinking about how the people could freely move around and he couldn’t. In “25 Minutes To Go” he counts down the 25 minutes until his hanging. The last line is “And now I’m swinging and here I go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” There are many many more. He never stopped making great, real music.

[@anotherperson6460]

In case you didnt know. The song ring of fire was actually written by june carter cash. The song was about johnny cash

[@kateparenta3843]

John Henry is my favorite JC song!!

[@Cimbolic]

“Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian is a 1964 concept album, the twentieth album released by singer Johnny Cash on Columbia Records. It is one of several Americana records by Cash. This one focuses on the history of Native Americans in the United States and their problems. Cash believed that his ancestry included Cherokee, which partly inspired his work on this recording. The songs in this album address the harsh and unfair treatment of the indigenous peoples of North America by Europeans in the United States. Two deal with 20th-century issues affecting the Seneca and Pima peoples. It was considered controversial and was rejected by some radio stations and fans.” en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_Tears:_Ballads_of_the_American_Indian

[@jimz4958]

Johnny Cash was in the USAF Security Service and was a ditty bopper. He had a top secret secruity clearance. He learned to play the guitar while in his spare time in the Air Force.

[@nimatek667]

take a look at 'San Quentin' live in San Quentin. the inmates loved it XD

[@chrisryder8137]

I got to see Johnny in person when he played at the Clark Country Fair outside of Vancouver, WA. That night Ray Charles opened for him as well as Ricky Nelson, and I think Ricky passed away shortly after. This was the late 70's I want to say or maybe early 80's, but I will never forget because I always heard the songs my dad played on the stereo record player, but it was the first time I really listened as a kid. I loved it. You might want to listen to the highwaymen at some point. That has Johnny, Waylon Jenning, Kris Christopherson, and Willy Nelson. ... I missed out on going to one of Willy Nelson's concerts when he came to Napa, CA, I just didn't have the time or money and I regret it. You might also want to try some cover groups like Home Free or Pentatonix, but check out the originals before going down that rabbit hole :) that will have you for a while. Have a great new year.

[@biddygow]

I’m from Ireland and where I live there was a local band who did this every time they played a gig. It was always their last song of the night and the singer would shout “wrrrrrreck the place” and start into the song and the people would literally upend tables 🤣🤣🤣

[@Daisy-bn6rp]

A really good song that Johnny Cash does is one piece at a time

[@revaflowers3115]

Five Feet High And Rising, I Still Miss Someone,Further On Down The Road,The Man Comes Around are all good Cash songs.

[@barbarasenteney1011]

Writing music and poetry is personal, you write what you lived, see, hear, and feel. The best songs are from a personal point of view.. You will love - When Uncle Bill Quit Dope

[@curiousman1672]

Classic. Around the time the "Man in Black" persona came to be.

[@jonathanyoungblood8676]

Love it . Johnny Cash’s music is always a crazy story. Can’t wait for you pro re-actors to do 13 it’s hands down my favorite cash song . Glad Black Pegasus is getting down with the man in black 🔥🔥🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🐐🐐🐐

[@deweyplanck9850]

This song came from an old folk song popularized by Doc Watson. He married into the Carter family which was one of the first recording artists.