An article marking the anniversary of Johnny Cash's live recording of "Folsom Prison Blues" reaching number one on Billboard's US Hot Country Singles chart on 20 July 1968. The piece recounts how Cash, who never served time himself, wrote the song from the perspective of a killer after watching a 1951 prison film while stationed in Germany with the US Air Force, and traces how the track's live recording at Folsom State Prison became a turning point in his career and personal life.

Cash first released "Folsom Prison Blues" in 1955, reaching number four on the country charts, but it was his live performance for inmates at Folsom State Prison on 13 January 1968 that propelled it to number one, where it stayed for four weeks before being replaced by Sonny James's "Heaven Says Hello". The resulting live album, At Folsom Prison, topped the country albums chart and reached the top 15 nationally, giving Cash his first Top 40 hit since 1964 and his first Grammy Award. Recorded during a period of personal recovery from substance use problems, the project marked a professional and personal comeback, leading Cash to record three more prison albums and later testify before a US Senate subcommittee on prison reform in 1972.