Rosanna's Going Wild

Last updated
"Rosanna's Going Wild"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album International Superstar
A-side "Rosanna's Going Wild"
"Roll Call"
Released1968 (1968)
Genre Country
Label Columbia 4-44373
Songwriter(s) June Carter, Helen Carter, Anita Carter [1]
Producer(s) Bob Johnston [2]
Audio
"Rosanna's Going Wild" on YouTube

"Rosanna's Going Wild" is a song written by June, Helen and Anita Carter for Johnny Cash. [3]

Contents

Cash released it as a single (Columbia 4-44373, with "Roll Call" on the opposite side) [4] [5] [6] in November 1967. [7] The song made it to number 2 on U.S. Billboard 's country chart [8] and to number 91 on the Hot 100. [9]

Years later the song was included on Johnny Cash's album International Superstar (1972).

Analysis

Cash wrapped up 1967 by releasing a version of the Carter sisters' "Rosanna's Going Wild," a song about a young woman who is out to experience life to the fullest. The song climbed the charts as 1967 turned into 1968, peaking at #2 in February. The B-side was "Roll Call," which tells of an army platoon losing their final battle, culminating in the attendant roll call in the beyond. Written by the Carter sisters, "Rosanna's Going Wild" was Cash's last single of 1967 and hit #2 by February of 1968.

C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black [4]

The success was completely unexpected: [10]

During the Christmas holidays preceding the Folsom recording date, Cash's latest single "Rosanna's Going Wild" debuted on Billboard's country music charts. A jaunty tear through the teenage rebellion of a young girl, the song was nowhere near his best work: He sounded drawn, sapped perhaps by his drug battles and a vigorous fall touring slate. There was little reason to believe that the record's debut portended a climb to #1 [by Cash's future single "Folsom Prison Blues"] because Cash had not reached the top of the charts since mid-1964, when his macho "Understand Your Man" hammered a stake in the spot for six consecutive weeks. The singer's fallow period seems improbable today, when many just assume that Cash dominated country music between the ages of Hank Williams and Garth Brooks. But Cash had skidded into a long, flat dry spell. The four singles prior to "Rosanna" had flickered briefly on the country charts, and no Johnny Cash album containing new material had hit #1 since 1964.

Michael Streissguth. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, Revised and Updated [10]

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 4-44373, [2] 1967)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rosanna's Going Wild" June Carter, Helen Carter, Anita Carter 1:54
2."Roll Call"B. J. Carnahan2:24

Charts

Chart (1967–1968)Peak
position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[ citation needed ]1
US Billboard Hot 100 [11] 91
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [12] 2

Related Research Articles

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

"Train of Love" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

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

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

"The Sons of Katie Elder" is the theme song for the 1965 Paramount western of the same name starring John Wayne. It was written by Ernie Sheldon (words) and Elmer Bernstein (music).

"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.

"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 originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"Bad News" is a song written by and originally released by John D. Loudermilk, whose version reached number 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.

"Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

"Papa Was a Good Man" is a song written by songwriter Hal Bynum.

"I Will Rock and Roll with You" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash for his 1978 album Gone Girl.

Cash wrote two songs for the album, one of them being "I Will Rock and Roll with You," a rockedup retelling of his Memphis origins, featuring one of the best lead-guitar breaks to appear on a Johnny Cash tune since Carl Perkins left the group in 1973.

There are two songs written by Cash on his album, Gone Girl: "It Comes and Goes" and "I Will Rock and Roll with You." Both seem to look back at his Memphis roots while examining his life with June.

"It'll Be Her" is a song written by Billy Ray Reynolds and originally recorded by Johnny Cash for his 1978 album Gone Girl.

"Gone Girl" is a song written by Jack Clement and originally recorded by Johnny Cash, giving its title to Cash's album Gone Girl that appeared in December 1978.

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

References

  1. John L. Smith (1 January 1985). The Johnny Cash Discography. Greenwood Press. ISBN   978-0-313-24654-8.
  2. 1 2 "Johnny Cash - Rosanna's Going Wild". Discogs . Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 127–. ISBN   978-1-61075-628-0. For Cash's next single, June, Anita, and Helen Carter joined together to write “Rosanna's Going Wild” for Cash.
  4. 1 2 C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat. pp. 138–. ISBN   978-1-61713-609-2.
    C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 123–. ISBN   978-1-61713-608-5.
  5. Steve Turner (1 November 2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 266. ISBN   978-0-8499-0815-6.
  6. "Billboard". Billboard. 23 May 1970. pp. 1–. ISSN   0006-2510.
    Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN   978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (1 August 2002). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN   978-0-87349-471-7.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN   9780896893078.
  7. The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 8–9. ISBN   978-0-313-29506-5.
  8. Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN   978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN   978-0-89820-165-9.
  9. Joel Whitburn (1978). Joel Whitburn's pop annual, 1955-1977. Record Research.
  10. 1 2 Michael Streissguth (25 September 2019). Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, Revised and Updated. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 61–. ISBN   978-1-4968-2491-2.
  11. "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  12. "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-19.