Bonanza (song)

Last updated
"Bonanza"
Single by Al Caiola and His Orchestra
A-side "Bonanza"
"Bounty Hunter"
Released 1961
Genre country
Label United Artists 302
Songwriter(s) Jay Livingston and Raymond Evans [1]
Producer(s) Don Costa [1]

"Bonanza" is the musical theme for the NBC western television series Bonanza starring Lorne Greene. [2] [3] It was written for the series by Jay Livingston and Raymond Evans. [4]

Contents

In 1961, it became a hit for Al Caiola and His Orchestra, whose instrumental recording (United Artists 302, backed with "Bounty Hunter") reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. [2] [3]

Johnny Cash version

"Bonanza!"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Ring of Fire
A-side "Bonanza!"
"Pick a Bale o' Cotton"
ReleasedJuly or August 1962 (1962-08)
Genre country
Label Columbia 4-42512
Producer(s) Don Law and Frank Jones [5]
Audio
"Bonanza!" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboard [6] Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg

Johnny Cash recorded an own version, with lyrics rewritten by him and his friend Johnny Western, [4] [7] and released it as a single on Columbia Records (Columbia 4-42512, "Bonanza!" with "Pick a Bale o' Cotton" on the opposite side) [8] [9] [10] [2] [11] in July [12] [13] or August 1962. [9] The Billboard magazine evaluated the single upon its release as having a "moderate sales potential", [6] but "Bonanza" only grazed the Hot 100 and entirely missed the Billboard country chart, [4] while "Pick a Bale o' Cotton" didn't make either.

Background

Rather than release another single from the album [ The Sound of Johnny Cash (1962)], Columbia chose to issue "Bonanza," the theme to the hit television show, with lyrics rewritten by Cash and Johnny Western. The song briefly touched the Pop chart at #94 before dropping off, and did not hit the Country charts at all. The B-side was another Leadbelly adaptation, "Pick a Bale o' Cotton," that also failed to attract much attention.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black [7]

In 1963 Cash took another stab at a TV western theme song by cowriting and recording "Bonanza." This time, he and friend Johnny Western wrote their own lyrics to the musical theme, composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, for the television series Bonanza. Cash's version was never used on the TV series about the Cartwright family, starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. But he did release it and include it on the Ring of Fire album. Interestingly, Cash would record a duet version of "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" with Lorne Greene.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash [4]

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 42512, 1962) [6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pick a Bale o' Cotton" Johnny Cash 1:56
2."Bonanza!" Jay Livingston – Raymond Evans 2:24

Charts

Al Caiola and His Orchestra version

Chart (1961)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [2] [3] 19

Johnny Cash version

Chart (1962)Peak
position
US Cash Box Country Singles [11] 24
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] 94

Related Research Articles

"Thanks a Lot" is a song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. It was written for him by Charlie Rich.

"All Over Again" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. He recorded it for his first single on Columbia Records.

"It's Just About Time" is a song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. It was written for him by Jack Clement.

"I Just Thought You'd Like to Know" is a song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. It was written for him by Charlie Rich.

"You Dreamer You" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"Goodbye Little Darlin', Goodbye" is a song co-written and originally recorded by Gene Autry. Autry sang it in the 1939 movie South of Border, and in April 1940 released it on a 78 rpm record.

"Port of Lonely Hearts" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"Pick a Bale o' Cotton" is a work song from the repertoire of Lead Belly.

"Everybody Loves a Nut" is a song written by Jack Clement and originally recorded by Johnny Cash on Columbia Records for his 1966 novelty album Everybody Loves a Nut.

"Austin Prison" is a song written by Johnny Cash and originally recorded by him on Columbia Records for his 1966 novelty album Everybody Loves a Nut.

"Boa Constrictor" is a song written by Shel Silverstein and originally featured on his 1962 album Inside Folk Songs.

"Mister Garfield" is a traditional song sometimes credited to Ramblin' Jack Elliott.

"Happy to Be with You" is a song co-written by Johnny Cash with June Carter and Merle Kilgore.

"You Beat All I Ever Saw" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"The Wind Changes" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"Red Velvet" is a song written by Ian Tyson and recorded by Johnny Cash. While the Johnny Cash version is the best known, it was first recorded by Ian & Sylvia Tyson in 1965 on their album Early Morning Rain.

"Girl in Saskatoon" is a song co-written by Johnny Cash with Johnny Horton and originally recorded by Cash for Columbia.

"Bad News" is a song written by and originally released by John D. Loudermilk, whose version reached #23 on the U.S. Billboard country chart in 1963.

"See Ruby Fall" is a song co-written by Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. The title is a play on the phrase "See Ruby Falls", which is painted on some Southern barn roofs to direct potential tourists to a well-known waterfall in Chattanooga.

"I Would Like to See You Again" is a song written by Charlie Craig and Larry Atwood.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bonanza / Bounty Hunter". Discogs . Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Joel Whitburn (2007). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006. Record Research. ISBN   978-0-89820-172-7.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Hot 100 Chart (The week of May 15, 1961)". Billboard . Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 41–. ISBN   978-1-61075-628-0.
  5. ↑ "Johnny Cash - Bonanza! / Pick A Bale O' Cotton". Discogs . Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  6. 1 2 3 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (11 August 1962). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 51–. ISSN   0006-2510.
  7. 1 2 C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat. pp. 89–. ISBN   978-1-61713-609-2.
  8. ↑ C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 23–. ISBN   978-1-61713-608-5.
  9. 1 2 Steve Turner (2005-10-30). The Man Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend. Thomas Nelson. pp. 246–. ISBN   978-1-4185-7809-1.
  10. ↑ John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-3629-7.
    John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-3629-7.
  11. 1 2 George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-1685-5.
  12. ↑ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN   978-1-900924-22-1.
    July
    "Bonanza"/"Pick A Bale O' Cotton" (Columbia 4-42512) released.
  13. ↑ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. p. 7. ISBN   978-0-313-29506-5.
  14. ↑ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.