Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!

Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! is the debut studio album by American singer Johnny Cash, released on October 11, 1957.[1] The album contained four of his hit singles: "I Walk the Line," "Cry! Cry! Cry!," "So Doggone Lonesome," and "Folsom Prison Blues." It was re-issued on July 23, 2002, as an expanded edition, under the label Varèse Vintage, containing five bonus tracks, three being alternate versions of tracks already on the original LP. In 2012, Columbia Records reissued the album with 16 additional non-album Sun Records tracks as part of its 63-disc Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection box set. In 2017, 60 years after the original release, the album was remastered under the title Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! (Definitive Expanded Remastered Edition). In 2022, Sun released a remastered edition of the original studio album, with only the original track listing. The songs had been remastered as to simulate being in the studio as the tracks were recorded.

Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!
Studio album by
Johnny Cash
ReleasedOctober 11, 1957 (1957-10-11)[1]
RecordedSeptember 1954 – August 4, 1957
Genre
Length27:40
LabelSun
ProducerSam Phillips
Johnny Cash chronology
Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!
(1957)		 The Fabulous Johnny Cash
(1958)
Singles from Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!
  1. "Cry! Cry! Cry!"
    Released: June 21, 1955
  2. "So Doggone Lonesome"
    Released: December 15, 1955
  3. "I Walk the Line"
    Released: May 1, 1956
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

This was one of the first albums ever issued on Sam Phillips' Sun Records label.

Background

Cash auditioned for a place on the music label Sun Records in 1955, but he failed to impress its founder Sam Phillips after presenting himself as a gospel singer. Cash was told to come back with a more commercial sound, as Phillips believed gospel wouldn't sell. Cash returned with the songs "Hey Porter!" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!" and subsequently released them as his debut single on Sun Records in July 1955. On the recording, he was backed by Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, dubbed "The Tennessee Two" by Phillips. ("Hey Porter" was not included on the original Sun album, but it was included in later reissues by other labels.)

"Cry! Cry! Cry!" became a commercial success, entering the country charts at #14.

His second single, "Folsom Prison Blues", was released in December 1955 and reached the country Top Five in early 1956.

His final single on With His Hot and Blue Guitar!, "I Walk the Line", continued his success, reaching number one on the country charts and staying there for six weeks, eventually crossing over into the pop Top 20.[4]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rock Island Line"Unknown2:11
2."(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle"Jimmie Davis, Hank Williams2:25
3."Country Boy"Johnny Cash1:49
4."If the Good Lord's Willing"Jerry Reed1:44
5."Cry! Cry! Cry!"Cash2:29
6."(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You"Stuart Hamblen2:01
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."So Doggone Lonesome"Cash2:39
8."I Was There When It Happened"Jimmie Davis, Fern Jones2:17
9."I Walk the Line"Cash2:46
10."Wreck of the Old ’97"Traditional; arranged by Cash1:48
11."Folsom Prison Blues"Cash2:51
12."Doin' My Time"Jimmie Skinner2:40
Total length:27:40
Bonus tracks included in 2002 re-issue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Hey Porter" 2:14
14."Get Rhythm" 2:15
15."I Was There When It Happened" (Alternate Version)Davis, Jones2:18
16."Folsom Prison Blues" (Alternate Version) 2:34
17."I Walk the Line" (Alternate Version) 2:40
Total length:39:41

On the Varèse CD reissue, "Country Boy" is not the original "full band" version from the LP but rather an acoustic version with just Cash and his guitar, which is the demo version; however, the "full band" version is available on iTunes. "Country Boy" was re-recorded for his 1996 album Unchained during his American Recordings period.

See Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection for the track listing of the extended edition included in the 2012 box set.

Arizona-based record store chain Zia Record Exchange reissued the album on an exclusive clear orange vinyl as a limited run of 500 copies in October 2020.[5]

Personnel
  • Johnny Cash - vocals, rhythm guitar
The Tennessee Two
Technical
  • Sam Phillips - producer
  • Cary E. Mansfield - reissue producer
  • Bill Dahl - liner notes, reissue producer
  • Dan Hersch - digital remastering
  • Bill Pitzonka - art direction

Charts

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1955 "Cry Cry Cry" Country Singles 14
1956 "Folsom Prison Blues" Pop Singles 17
1956 "Folsom Prison Blues" Country Singles 3
1955 "So Doggone Lonesome" Country Singles 4
1956 "I Walk the Line" Country Singles 1
1956 "I Walk the Line" Pop Singles 17

References
  1. "With His Hot and Blue Guitar".
  2. "Johnny Cash". adriandenning.co.uk. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  3. Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! at AllMusic
  4. "Johnny Cash - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  5. "- Johnny Cash - with His Hot & Blue Guitar (Zia Exclusive)".
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