Down the Street to 301

"Down the Street to 301"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Now Here's Johnny Cash
A-side	"Down the Street to 301" "The Story of a Broken Heart"
Released	June 1960 (1960-06)
Genre	Country, rockabilly, doo-wop, honky-tonk, pop
Label	Sun 343
Songwriter	Jack Clement [1]
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"Second Honeymoon (song)" (1960) "Down the Street to 301" (1960) "Going to Memphis" (1960)
Music video
"Down the Street to 301" (audio only) on YouTube

"Down the Street to 301" is a song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. It was written for him by Jack Clement. ^{[2] [3]}

The song was recorded by Cash on July 17, 1958 during his final session for Sun Records ^{[4] [3]} (or on May 15) ^[5] and released as a single (Sun 343, with "The Story of a Broken Heart" on the opposite side) ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} in June 1960. ^{[10] [11]}

Background

According to John M. Alexander's book The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash, the song was written by Charlie Rich:

"Down the Street to 301" was the last track Cash recorded at Sun Studios, courtesy of Charlie Rich. It's a story about a boy who is dating the girl who lives at 301. It appears that they were aiming for a song, and a sound, similar to Cash's giant hit "Ballad of a Teenage Queen." It almost feels like a follow-up to that song, with its doo-wop harmonies and pop production.

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

The song can be considered "a fitting finale to Cash's incredible Sun recording career". ^[4]

Charts

Chart (1960)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 [12]	85

References

1. "The Story Of A Broken Heart / Down The Street To 301". Discogs . 1960. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
2. "Down The Street To 301 - Composition by Johnny Cash, Traditional, Jack Clement - Discogs Tracks". Discogs . Retrieved 2019-01-23.
3. John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-3629-7.
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. John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
6. John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
7. Tim Neely (2004-05-01). Goldmine Records & Prices . Krause Publications. ISBN   978-0-87349-781-7. Down the Street to 301 The Story of a Broken Heart Sun 343.
8. Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1980). Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label . Quick Fox. ISBN   978-0-8256-3161-0. Down the Street to 301 The Story of a Broken Heart.
9. George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-1685-5.
10. Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN   978-1-900924-22-1.
    June
    Both Columbia and Sun Records release singles this month – "Second Honeymoon"/"Honky Tonk Girl" (Columbia 4-41707) and "Story Of A Broken Heart"/"Down The Street To 301" (Sun 343).
11. The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 21–. ISBN   978-0-313-29506-5.
12. "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-20.