As part of Columbia/Legacy's ongoing celebration of Johnny Cash's 80th Birthday in 2012, the label assembled a series of compilations under the rubric "The Greatest." The concept of this 14-track compilation is clear: it is a collection of duets Cash cut for Columbia between 1967 and 1985. Some of these cuts appeared on albums by other artists ("Girl from the North Country" is pulled from Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline), some were not released at the time (his George Jones duet "I Got Stripes" was a bonus track on the 2002 reissue of Silver), some are pulled from Cash's TV show (the opening "I've Been Everywhere" with Lynn Anderson), a few are duets with his wife June Carter Cash, and a couple are with his Highwaymen companions Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, while most derive from albums Cash released himself over the years.
John R. Cash was an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and author. He was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound. Cash didn't sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world-weariness of country. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame. This box includes 20 original albums from 1958 to 1986: "The Fabulous Johnny Cash", "Hymns By Johnny Cash", "Songs of our Soil", "Now, there was a Song", "Ride this Train", "I Walk the Line", "Bitter Tears", "Orange Blossom Special", "Sings the ballads of the true West", "Everybody loves a Nut", "From sea to shining Sea", "At Folsom Prison", "At San Quentin", "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash", "The Johnny Cash Show", "A thing called Love", "John R. Cash", "One piece at a Time", "Johnny 99", and "Heroes".
The great Johnny Cash performed live on Irish TV in 1993 with his entire revue, and this marvelous music is making its debut release on DVD. Cash performs his greatest hits with The Carter Family, son John Carter Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Sandy Kelly, and wife June Carter Cash…
Assembling a comprehensive multi-disc Johnny Cash collection is a difficult task for a variety of reasons, not the least of it being the sheer number of records Cash put out in the '60s and '70s. Counting duets, he had over 130 charting singles, which is far too much for the average box set, plus those singles don't necessarily tell the full story of Cash the recording artist, since he was a prolific album artist, as well. Then, there's the sheer variety of what he recorded – rockabilly, folk tunes, tales of gunslingers and Indians, scores of novelty numbers, gospel, Americana kitsch, train songs, pop, and straight-ahead country, he tried it all, giving it all his own unique stamp, distinguished by his booming voice and the distinctive two-step muted rhythm picked out by his guitarist, Luther Perkins.
A Concert: Behind Prison Walls is a live album recorded by Johnny Cash in 1976. The album features Cash with his backing band the Tennessee Three, but also features performances by Linda Ronstadt, Roy Clark, and Foster Brooks.
Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash is the sixteenth album in total by the singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1963. This album collects tracks from singles and an EP released between 1959 and 1963, Cash's first years on the Columbia label, and marked the first release of these tracks in LP format, with the exception of "I Still Miss Someone," which had previously appeared on the 1958 album The Fabulous Johnny Cash. "Ring of Fire", one of Cash's most famous tracks, made its first LP appearance here. Ring of Fire was the first #1 album when Billboard debuted their Country Album Chart on January 11, 1964. It was certified Gold on February 11, 1965, earning him his first Gold LP.
There are several Cash boxes available, but The Legend–spanning the years 1955-2002 but concentrating on his long tenure at Columbia and, to a lesser degree, his beginnings at Sun–probably belongs at the top of the list. Cash's greatest strengths are dramatized on these four, thematically programmed discs: Win, Place and Show: The Hits; Old Favorites and New; The Great American Songbook (mostly traditional songs); and Family and Friends (collaborations).