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On This Day in 1968, Johnny Cash Was at No. 1 With a Prison Song That Led To Real Legal Issues
On 29 July 1968, Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" was in the midst of a four-week run at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, more than a decade after he first wrote and recorded it. Cash originally composed the song while serving in the US Air Force in Germany, after watching the 1951 film "Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison" and imagining a hardened criminal narrator, giving rise to the famous line "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." The version that topped the charts in 1968 was recorded live at Folsom Prison itself, forming part of his celebrated live album and cementing the song's place as one of his signature hits.
The track's success extended beyond country music, reaching number 32 on the Hot 100 and winning a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, but it also landed Cash in legal trouble. Songwriter Gordon Jenkins sued him for plagiarism, alleging that Cash had borrowed the melody and lyrics from his own 1953 song "Crescent City Blues." Cash settled out of court for roughly $75,000, though Jenkins was never credited as a co-writer on any released version of "Folsom Prison Blues."
In short
- Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" hit No. 1 for four weeks from 1968.
- Song was written in the Air Force, later recorded live at Folsom Prison.
- Gordon Jenkins sued for plagiarism; Cash settled for about $75,000.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Jenkins had a defensible case that “Folsom Prison Blues” drew substantially on “Crescent City Blues”: the songs shared a recognisable melody and lyrical material, and the later song’s success made it reasonable to seek compensation and recognition. A settlement suggests Cash accepted a financial resolution, even though it did not establish the full extent of any borrowing.
The case against
Cash could be seen as having created a distinct song from an acknowledged influence, reshaping the material with a prison narrative, new lyrics and a performance that gave it a different identity. An out-of-court settlement is not a finding of plagiarism, and without a co-writing credit the dispute’s terms do not settle whether Jenkins’s claim warranted authorship recognition.
Explained simply
Johnny Cash wrote "Folsom Prison Blues" in the 1950s whilst serving in the US Air Force in Germany, inspired by a 1951 film about Folsom Prison. The song imagines a hardened criminal narrator, most famously in the line "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." The version that became famous was recorded live at Folsom Prison itself in 1968, where it reached number one on the country music charts.
The recording proved exceptionally successful, also reaching number 32 on the mainstream Hot 100 chart and winning a Grammy Award. The song became one of Cash's signature pieces, a landmark recording that crossed over beyond country music radio.
However, the song's success was complicated by a plagiarism lawsuit from songwriter Gordon Jenkins, who claimed Cash had borrowed melody and lyrics from his own 1953 composition "Crescent City Blues." Cash settled out of court for roughly $75,000, though Jenkins was never credited as a co-writer on any released version of the recording.