The Chicken in Black

Last updated
"The Chicken in Black"
Single by Johnny Cash
B-side "Battle of Nashville"
Released1984 (1984) [1]
Genre Country
Label Columbia Bros. 38-04513
Songwriter(s) Gary Gentry
Producer(s) Billy Sherrill
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"That's the Truth"
(1984)		"The Chicken in Black"
(1984)		"They Killed Him"
(1984)
Music video
"The Chicken in Black" on YouTube

"The Chicken in Black" is a song written by Gary Gentry and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

Contents

Released as a single in 1984 (Columbia 38-04513, with "Battle of Nashville" on the opposite side), [6] the song reached number 45 on U.S. Billboard 's country chart. [7]

Cash was initially optimistic and pleased with the recording. [8] However Cash later renounced the song and in his second autobiography called it "intentionally atrocious" after close friends and family reacted poorly to the video and song. [9] John Cash called the song the "nadir" of his 1980s career. [10]

Lyrics

A humorous story song, the lyrics relate how Cash visits his doctor due to persistent headaches and is told that his body has "outlived [his] brain". The doctor refers him to another doctor in New York City, who performs a brain transplant on Cash, replacing his brain with that of a dead bank robber. When Cash visits a bank, however, his new brain compels him to rob it, and when he performs at the Grand Ole Opry some time later, he robs the audience of their valuables. He calls his doctor and demands his old brain back, but the doctor informs him that it has been transplanted into a chicken. The song ends with Cash warning his friends that if they meet him he might rob them and noting that if they have ten dollars to spare they "ought to catch that Johnny Chicken Show".

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 38-04513, 1984) [2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Chicken in Black"G. Gentry2:58
2."Battle of Nashville" J. R. Cash 3:17

Charts

Chart (1984)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [11] 45

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References

  1. ↑ "The Chicken In Black". Johnny Cash Official Site. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  2. 1 2 "Johnny Cash - The Chicken In Black | Releases". Discogs . Retrieved 2021-02-05. ZS5 02803: The General Lee -T. Bresh - J. Cash- Taken From The Scotti Brothers Lp: "The Dukes of Hazzard" FZ 37712 Johnny Cash // Duelin' Dukes -J. D'Andrea - J. Harrington -J. Pennig- Narration: Sorrell Booke
  3. ↑ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN   978-1-900924-22-1.
  4. ↑ Steve Turner (30 October 2005). The Man Called CASH: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend. Thomas Nelson. pp. 249–. ISBN   978-1-4185-7809-1.
  5. ↑ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-313-29506-5.
  6. ↑ [2] [3] [4] [5]
  7. ↑ "Johnny Cash". Billboard .
  8. ↑ Crouch, Ian (31 March 2014). "JOHNNY CASH EIGHTIES MAN". New Yorker.
  9. ↑ Cash, Johnny (7 October 2003). Cash: The Autobiography. p. 171. ISBN   978-0060727536.
  10. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (4 November 2014). Johnny Cash: The Life. p. 502. ISBN   978-0316194747.
  11. ↑ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
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