The Fabulous Johnny Cash

1958 studio album by Johnny Cash

The Fabulous Johnny Cash is the second studio album by American country singer Johnny Cash and his first to be released by Columbia Records. The album was released on November 3, 1958, not long after Cash's departure from Sun Records.

Content

The album features five tracks written by Cash and backing vocal performances by The Jordanaires (who at this time were also regulars on Elvis Presley's recording sessions for RCA Records). Overall, even though the album is only 29 minutes in length, it is considered one of Cash's most cohesive pieces. This is largely because his sessions with Columbia were completed over a two-month period. That is greatly reduced when compared to the year by year sessions by Sun Records.^[4]

Commercial performance

The Fabulous Johnny Cash was a successful debut on Columbia for Cash as it sold over half a million copies during its initial release.^[5] Although Billboard did not publish a chart for country albums in 1958, the album peaked at #19 on the Billboard Best Selling LP's chart.

Reissues

The album was reissued in 2002 by Sony Music's Legacy imprint. The re-issue contains six bonus tracks and unedited versions of the songs. Legacy reissued the album on 180 gram vinyl for Record Store Day on November 23, 2012.^[6]

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

• Johnny Cash - lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
• The Jordanaires - background vocals
• Luther Perkins - lead guitar
• Marshall Grant - bass
• Marvin Hughes - piano
• Morris Palmer - drums
• Buddy Harman - drums on "Suppertime" and 2002 bonus tracks "Oh, What a Dream" and "I'll Remember You"
• Don Helms - steel guitar

Additional personnel

• Al Quaglieri - Producer
• Don Law - Producer
• Billy Altman - Liner Notes
• Don Hunstein - Photography
• Seth Foster - Mastering
• Mark Wilder - Mastering, Mixing
• Hal Adams - Cover Photo
• Stacey Boyle - Tape Research
• Kay Smith - Tape Research
• Matt Kelly - Tape Research
• Geoff Gillette - Sleeve Design
• Steven Berkowitz - A&R
• Darren Salmieri - A&R
• Patti Matheny - A&R
• Howard Fritzson - Art Direction
• Nick Shaffran - Series Consultant

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Singles - Billboard (United States)

References

1. "Johnny Cash: Ride This Train, PopMatters". 15 June 2002.
2. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 145. ISBN 9780743201698.
3. "Buyer's guide: How to buy the best of Johnny Cash". 27 February 2017.
4. "Johnny Cash". adriandenning.co.uk. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
5. "Johnny Cash".
6. "Johnny Cash - Fabulous Johnny Cash". johnnycashonline.com. Retrieved March 4, 2015.