Length 27:40 Release date 11 October 1957 Label Sun Record Company | Artist Johnny Cash Producer Sam Phillips Genres Country music, Rockabilly | |
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Released October 11, 1957 (1957-10-11) Recorded September 1954 – August 4, 1957 Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar
(1957) Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous
(1958) Similar Johnny Cash albums, Country music albums | ||
Johnny cash 01 rock island line with his hot and blue guitar
Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar is the debut studio album by American country star Johnny Cash, released on October 11, 1957. The album contained four of his hit singles: "I Walk the Line," "Cry! Cry! Cry!," "So Doggone Lonesome," and "Folsom Prison Blues." It was re-issued on July 23, 2002 as an expanded edition, under the label Varese Vintage, containing five bonus tracks, three being alternate versions of tracks already present on the original LP. In 2012, Columbia Records reissued the album with 16 additional non-album Sun tracks as part of its 63-disc Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection box set.
Contents
- Johnny cash 01 rock island line with his hot and blue guitar
- Background
- Track listing
- Personnel
- Charts
- Songs
- References
This was one of the first albums ever issued on Sam Phillips' Sun Records label.
Background
Cash auditioned for a place on the music label Sun Records in 1955, but failed to impress its founder Sam Philips after presenting himself as a gospel singer. Cash was told to come back with a more commercial sound, as gospel wouldn't sell. He returned with the songs "Hey Porter!" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!" and subsequently released them as his debut single on Sun Records in July 1955. On the recording he was backed by Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, dubbed "The Tennessee Two" by Philips. ("Hey Porter" was not included on the original Sun album, but was included in later reissues by other labels.)
"Cry! Cry! Cry!" became a commercial success, entering the country charts at number fourteen.
His second single, "Folsom Prison Blues", was released in December 1955 and reached the country Top Five in early 1956.
His final single on With His Hot and Blue Guitar, "I Walk the Line", continued his success, reaching number one on the country charts and staying there for six weeks, eventually crossing over into the pop Top 20.
Track listing
All tracks written by Johnny Cash, except where noted.
Note that on the Varese CD reissue, "Country Boy" is not the original "full band" version from the LP, but rather an acoustic version with just Cash and his guitar which is the demo version, but the "full band" version is available on iTunes.
See Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection for the track listing of the extended edition included in the 2012 box set.
Personnel
Charts
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Songs
1Rock Island Line2:11
2(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle2:24
3Country Boy1:51