Following the success of 1968’s At Folsom Prison and 1969’s At San Quentin, ABC tapped legendary singer-songwriter Johnny Cash to star in his own television show as a summer replacement for their Saturday night variety show, The Hollywood Palace. Though short-lived, The Johnny Cash Show featured performances by some of the era’s most influential artists including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Eric Clapton.
On June 7th, 1969, The Johnny Cash Show premiered on ABC. Taped at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, then home to country music institution the Grand Ole Opry, it was a venue Cash had fulfilled the dream of playing 13 years prior following his chart-topping hit “I Walk The Line.” Episode one featured performances by singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, Cajun fiddler Dough Kershaw, comedian Fannie Flagg, and to many’s surprise, Bob Dylan. That night Dylan played “I Threw It All Away” from his 1969 country album Nashville Skyline, “Living The Blue,,” which would appear on 1970’s Self Portrait, and a final duet with Cash on “Girl From The North Country”.
Despite being canceled in 1971, The Johnny Cash Show played host to many memorable performances, including a segment dubbed “Country Gold” which featured legends rarely or never seen on TV before like Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn and the Everly Brothers.
In celebration of Johnny Cash’s 92nd birthday today, here are 12 great performances from The Johnny Cash Show including Cash’s now-classic protest song “The Man in Black”.
Bob Dylan – “I Threw It All Away”
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash – “Girl From The North Country”
Joni Mitchell & Johnny Cash – “The Long Black Veil”
Louis Armstrong & Johnny Cash – “Blue Yodel #9”
Ray Charles & Johnny Cash – “Ring Of Fire”
Bill Monroe And His Bluegrass Boys – “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Bad Moon Rising”
Stevie Wonder – “Heaven Help Us All”
Roy Orbison & Johnny Cash – “Pretty Woman”
Pete Seeger & Johnny Cash – “Cripple Creek”, “Worried Man Blues”
Derek And The Dominos – “It’s Too Late” and “Matchbox” (with Cash and Carl Perkins)
John Hartford, Vassar Clements, Norman Blake & Johnny Cash – Bill Monroe Medley
Johnny Cash – “Man In Black”