Greatest! | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | October 19, 1959 | |||
Recorded | July 30, 1955 - July 17, 1958 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 25:46 | |||
Label | Sun | |||
Producer | ||||
Johnny Cash chronology | ||||
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Singles from Greatest! | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Greatest! is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on October 19, 1959, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. The album is made of songs Cash recorded for Sun prior to leaving the label. The album was re-issued in 2003 by Varèse Sarabande with four additional tracks, two of them being alternate versions of songs already on the album.
The tracks on Greatest! were recorded between July 1955 and July 1958. Six out of the twelve songs became singles, with "Get Rhythm" topping the Country charts and becoming the most successful one.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Goodbye Little Darlin' Goodbye" | Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin | 2:14 |
2. | "I Just Thought You'd Like to Know" | Charlie Rich, Bill Justis | 2:23 |
3. | "You Tell Me" | Roy Orbison | 1:48 |
4. | "Just About Time" | Johnny Cash | 2:07 |
5. | "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" | Stan Kesler, Charlie Feathers | 2:09 |
6. | "Katy Too" | Johnny Cash, Jack Clement | 1:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Thanks a Lot" | Charlie Rich | 2:38 |
8. | "Luther Played the Boogie" | Johnny Cash | 2:03 |
9. | "You Win Again" | Hank Williams | 2:18 |
10. | "Hey Good Lookin'" | Hank Williams | 1:41 |
11. | "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" | Hank Williams | 2:14 |
12. | "Get Rhythm" | Johnny Cash | 2:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Fool's Hall of Fame" | Jerry Freeman, Danny Wolfe | 2:26 |
14. | "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" (Undubbed Master) | Stan Kesler, Charlie Feathers | 2:11 |
15. | "Hey Good Lookin'" (Undubbed Master) | Hank Williams | 1:43 |
16. | "Rock and Roll Ruby" | Johnny Cash | 1:42 |
Total length: | 33:48 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | "Just About Time" | Country Singles | 30 |
1959 | "Thanks a Lot" | Country Singles | 12 |
1959 | "Luther Played the Boogie" | Country Singles | 8 |
1959 | "Katy Too" | Country Singles | 11 |
1959 | "Cry Cry Cry" | Pop Singles | 66 |
1959 | "Goodbye Little Darlin' Goodbye" | Country Singles | 22 |
1959 | "Get Rhythm" | Country Singles | 1 |
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides.
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be created by record companies without express approval from the original artist as a means to generate sales. They are typically regarded as a good starting point for new fans of an artist, but are sometimes criticized by longtime fans as not inclusive enough or necessary at all.
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"The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album Make It Happen. The track was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in July 1970, and it became a #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 12 September 1970. Subsequently, Motown released a partially re-recorded and completely remixed version as a single in the United States as well, where it quickly became a #1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts.
Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! is the debut studio album by American singer Johnny Cash, released on October 11, 1957. 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! . 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.
Now Here's Johnny Cash is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on June 26, 1961, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. The album is made up of songs Cash recorded for Sun prior to leaving the label. The album was re-issued in 2003 by Varèse Sarabande, with five bonus tracks. In 2007 it was re-released with Greatest! on one CD.
"The Tracks of My Tears" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. It is a multiple award-winning 1965 hit R&B song originally recorded by their group, The Miracles, on Motown's Tamla label. The Miracles' million-selling original version has been inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the "Songs of the Century" – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century, and has been selected by Rolling Stone as No. 50 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", among many other awards. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked The Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time."
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"Lewis Boogie" is a song written by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1956 and released as a single in June 1958 on Sun Records, Sun 301, backed with "The Return of Jerry Lee". The recording was reissued in 1979 as a 7" 45 single as Sun 29 as part of the Sun Golden Treasure Series. The song was also released in the UK and Canada as a single.
Sings Hank Williams is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on September 5, 1960, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. Despite the title, the album does not exclusively cover Hank Williams material, but is also made up of songs that Cash recorded for Sun prior to leaving the label. The album was re-issued in 2003 by Varèse Sarabande with five bonus tracks, two of them being alternate recordings of songs already available on the album.
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Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, originally released on December 1, 1958 by Sun Records. The album is made up of songs Cash recorded for Sun prior to leaving the label for Columbia Records. The album was re-issued in 2003, under the label Varèse Sarabande, with four different versions of songs already available on the original LP as bonus tracks. The complete contents of the album are also incorporated into an extended version of the previous collection With His Hot and Blue Guitar included in the 2012 box set Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection.
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