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Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West

Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West is a concept double album and the 22nd overall album released by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1965 (see 1965 in music). Covering twenty individual songs, the album, as its title suggests, contains various ballads and other songs on topics related to the history of the American Old West. This includes Carl Perkins' "The Ballad of Boot Hill", "Streets of Laredo", and the sole single from the album, "Mr. Garfield", describing the shock of the population after the assassination of President James Garfield. One of the songs, "25 Minutes to Go", would later be performed at Folsom Prison and appear on Cash's famous At Folsom Prison recording in 1968, while the melody of "Streets of Laredo" would be recycled for the song "The Walls of a Prison" featured on Cash's album From Sea to Shining Sea.

Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West
Studio album by
Johnny Cash
ReleasedAugust 2, 1965
RecordedAugust 14, 1959 – April 26, 1965
Genre
Length64:52
LabelColumbia
Producer
Johnny Cash chronology
Orange Blossom Special
(1965) 		Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West
(1965) 		Everybody Loves a Nut
(1966)
Singles from Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West
  1. "Mister Garfield / The Streets of Laredo"
    Released: June 1, 1965
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
PopMattersfavorable
Record Mirror[1]

Sings the Ballads of the True West was re-issued in 2002 (see 2002 in music) through Legacy Recordings, with two bonus tracks, one of which is an instrumental version of a track available on the album. The original album was included on the Bear Family box set Come Along and Ride This Train.

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hiawatha's Vision"Johnny Cash2:25
2."The Road to Kaintuck"Cash, June Carter2:43
3."The Shifting, Whispering Sands Part I"V. C. Gilbert, Mary Hadler2:54
4."The Ballad of Boot Hill"Carl Perkins3:48
5."I Ride an Old Paint"Traditional, Cash2:58
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Hardin Wouldn't Run"Cash4:19
7."Mr. Garfield"Ramblin' Jack Elliott4:35
8."Streets of Laredo"Traditional, Cash3:39
9."Johnny Reb"Merle Kilgore2:50
10."A Letter from Home"Maybelle Carter, Dearest Dean2:35
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie"Traditional, Cash2:26
12."Mean as Hell"Cash3:07
13."Sam Hall"Tex Ritter3:15
14."25 Minutes to Go"Shel Silverstein3:14
15."The Blizzard"Harlan Howard3:53
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Sweet Betsy from Pike"Jimmie Driftwood3:57
17."Green Grow the Lilacs"Traditional, Cash2:47
18."Stampede"Peter La Farge4:01
19."The Shifting, Whispering Sands Part II"Jack Gilbert, Mary Hadler2:28
20."Reflections"Cash2:58
Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
21."Rodeo Hand"La Farge2:27
22."Stampede" (Instrumental)La Farge1:07
Total length:68:26

Personnel

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Modern interpretations & associations

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Baltimore based creative folklore/music ensemble Television Hill have recorded a 6-song concept EP called My Name's Hardin, the title of which pokes fun at Bob Dylan's misspelling of outlaw Wes Hardin's name on his 1967 release John Wesley Harding and paying homage to Dylan's record and Johnny Cash's double concept LP Sings the Ballads of the True West. The EP is a biographical work exploring Wes Hardin's life and draws from Hardin's autobiography, Letters from Prison and an assortment of other biographical and relevant source material.

Mean as Hell!

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In March, 1966 (see 1966 in music), Columbia released Mean as Hell!: Ballads From The True West, a single LP distillation of Sings the Ballads of the True West. It peaked at #4 on the top country albums chart. It has not been released on CD.

Mean as Hell! : Ballads From The True West
 
Studio album by
Johnny Cash
ReleasedMarch 1966
RecordedAugust 14, 1959–April 26, 1965
Genre
Length38:15
LabelColumbia
ProducerDon Law, Frank Jones
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic      link

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Shifting Whispering Sands, Part I"Jack V.C. Gilbert, Mary Margaret Hadler2:54
2."I Ride an Old Paint"Traditional, Cash2:58
3."The Road to Kaintuck"Cash, June Carter2:43
4."A Letter from Home"Maybelle Carter, Dearest Dean2:35
5."Mean as Hell"Cash3:07
6."25 Minutes to Go"Shel Silverstein3:14
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Mr. Garfield"Ramblin' Jack Elliott4:35
8."The Blizzard"Harlan Howard3:53
9."Streets of Laredo"Traditional, Cash3:39
10."Sweet Betsy from Pike"Jimmie Driftwood3:14
11."Stampede"Peter La Farge2:57
12."Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie"Traditional, Cash2:26

Charts

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Album - Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1965 Country Albums 4

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1965 "Mr. Garfield" Country Singles 15

References

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  1. ^ Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (27 November 1965). "Johnny Cash: Sings The Ballads Of The True West" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 246. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
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