Songwriter (Johnny Cash album)

Last updated
Songwriter
Songwriter (Johnny Cash album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 28, 2024
Recordedearly 1993, with overdubs in 2023
Studio
Genre Country
Length30:53
Label
Producer John Carter Cash and David R. Ferguson
Johnny Cash chronology
Johnny Cash and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
(2020)
Songwriter
(2024)

Songwriter is the 72nd studio album (and fifth posthumously released studio album) by Johnny Cash. It is scheduled to be released on June 28, 2024, through Mercury Nashville. [1]

Contents

Produced by John Carter Cash and David R. Ferguson, the album contains eleven original songs by Cash: the album's lead single, "Well Alright", was released on April 23, 2024. [2]

Background

The album was recorded as a series of songwriting demos at LSI Studios (then owned by Rosey Cash) in early 1993, a time when Cash wasn't signed to a label and shortly before he met Rick Rubin. [1] The songs were written over several decades: "Drive On" was recent, "Hello Out There" and "Poor Valley Girl" have been dated to the late '70s and "Sing It Pretty, Sue" had appeared as the last track of the 1962 album The Sound of Johnny Cash . [1] The tapes were shelved when Cash instead made the American Recordings album with Rubin, [2] although he used re-recordings of the songs "Drive On" and "Like A Soldier" for that album. [1]

After rediscovering the demos, John Carter Cash and David "Fergie" Ferguson stripped them back to just Cash's vocals and guitar before overdubbing newly recorded parts by a new band, including several musicians who had worked with Cash such as Marty Stuart and David Roe. [3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Johnny Cash, except where noted

Songwriter track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hello Out There"3:03
2."Spotlight"2:47
3."Drive On"3:21
4."I Love You Tonite"3:20
5."Have You Ever Been to Little Rock?"2:43
6."Well Alright"2:12
7."She Sang Sweet Baby James"3:20
8."Poor Valley Girl"2:16
9."Soldier Boy"2:49
10."Sing It Pretty Sue"2:17
11."Like a Soldier"2:45
2CD edition bonus disc – Icon
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."I Walk the Line" Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)2:33
2."The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" (with Waylon Jennings) (Bobby Braddock, Charlie Williams) Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town (1987)3:24
3."Sixteen Tons" (Merle Travis)Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town (1987)2:46
4."Long Black Veil" (Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin)Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)3:14
5."Cry! Cry! Cry!"Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)2:24
6."Guess Things Happen That Way" (Jack Clement)Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)1:45
7."Get Rhythm"Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)2:30
8."Ring of Fire" (June Carter Cash, Merle Kilgore)Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)2:43
9."Folsom Prison Blues"Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series (1988)2:44
10."Cat's in the Cradle" (Harry Chapin, Sandy Chapin) Boom Chicka Boom (1990)3:18
11."Hey Porter" The Mystery of Life (1991)2:20
12."Wanted Man" (Bob Dylan, Cash)The Mystery of Life (1991)2:52

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Peacock, Tim (23 April 2024). "Johnny Cash's 'Songwriter,' Featuring Previously Unreleased Tracks, Due In June". udiscovermusic. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (April 23, 2024). "Lost Johnny Cash songs from 1993 to be released as a new album". The Guardian . Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  3. "Posthumous Johnny Cash Album Songwriter Announced, New Song "Well Alright" Shared: Listen". Pitchfork . Condé Nast. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.