The article traces the origins of prison albums, arguing that recordings by prisoners long predated Johnny Cash’s celebrated At Folsom Prison. It highlights Charles Lee Guy III’s 1963 album The Prisoner’s Dream, recorded while he was incarcerated in California, and explains why Cash nevertheless made the format culturally significant by bringing prison audiences and their experiences to a mainstream public.

Earlier examples included Alan Lomax’s 1933 recordings of imprisoned folk singers, Lead Belly’s 1940 collection of Southern prison songs, and Robert Pete Williams’s 1959 blues record. Guy’s album, despite its authenticity and striking cover of Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison’, was not commercially successful; Cash’s 1968 live album instead revived his career and popularised the prison album through its sympathetic portrayal of inmates and criticism of harsh prison conditions.