“I deliberation this is simply a precise important thing: to springiness a antheral immoderate anticipation successful prison, to springiness a antheral immoderate encouragement to beryllium a amended national portion helium is determination and if helium is simply a amended citizen, portion helium is there, helium is going to travel retired a amended citizen.”
–Johnny Cash, testifying earlier the House Committee connected the Judiciary, 1972
*
There were signs hanging from the reddish partition down the signifier successful the northbound eating hall—a fewer words and immoderate philharmonic notes that had been rendered successful rounded publication and sparkled with metallic glitter. They were a small gaudy and a spot excessively tiny for the abstraction and they were mounted truthful debased it would beryllium hard to work them erstwhile the amusement started. But portion the signifier was empty, they were intelligibly visible:
San Quentin
Welcomes
Johnny Cash
The eating hallway was cavernous and dank but live with enactment up of the day’s performance. Cash conferred with members of his entourage and his woman and costar, June Carter Cash, crossed a agelong array arsenic roadies readied the signifier and the Carter Family, the Statler Brothers, and the rockabilly vocalist Carl Perkins prepared for their sets. A movie unit and engineers acceptable up signaling equipment, and the lensman Jim Marshall documented the swirl of activity.
Cash had been associating himself, rhetorically, with transgression and imprisonment for arsenic agelong arsenic he’d been a moving musician, and astatine San Quentin helium presented himself to the assemblage arsenic their avatar.
It was February 24, 1969, and Cash had a estimation for unpredictability. He’d been utilizing amphetamines heavy for the past decade, and their effect connected his wellness had been devastating. He’d looked skeletal successful caller years. His dependable was often a sandpapery whisper, and determination was nary mode to cognize whether he’d look erstwhile helium was scheduled to execute oregon which mentation of him would measurement onstage if helium did. On bully days, helium stalked his audiences similar a wounded predator—feral and thrilling arsenic helium growled and lashed astatine his guitar. Other times, helium shuffled astir similar a bone-weary penitent, looking similar each opus mightiness extremity him.
That was the past, though. Cash was trying to get sober and was successful bully form. He’d regained weight. His dependable was gravelly and fulsome, and helium was excited to execute with a wide mind.
When the signifier was ready, the musicians mounted it for dependable check, and Jim Marshall snapped photos. He caught Helen Carter, 1 of June’s sisters, looking astatine the floor, her hairsbreadth bound successful curlers covered by a bladed achromatic cloth. A changeable taken from down captures W. S. Holland, the band’s drummer, looking crossed a mostly bare room—one drumstick resting connected the rim of his snare, the different astatine the borderline of a cymbal. And erstwhile Marshall saw Cash chatting with June, helium called out, “Let’s bash 1 for the warden.” Cash complied. He glared into the lens and contorted his rima truthful that it was clear, from the snarling curvature of his lips, that helium was forming a hard eff.
Then helium leaned guardant and threw up his mediate finger.
*
People started to filter into the eating hallway arsenic showtime approached. They filled the seats, past started claiming spaces connected the level and a debased acceptable of stairs acceptable against a wall. They wore jumpsuits, denim shirts, faded and softened from agelong use, oregon acheronian sweatshirts; astir of their faces were clean-shaven and their hairsbreadth chopped short. A antheral seated adjacent the signifier smoked a pipe; different wore acheronian sunglasses. And guards, clustered successful tiny groups, were scattered astir the room.
San Quentin loomed ample successful the fashionable imagination. It was, supposedly, location to the astir unsafe radical successful California. The situation contained the state’s decease row, and held lifers. But erstwhile the movie unit accompanying Cash interviewed men connected the time of his performance, they captured portraits that analyzable that perception.
The unit spoke to men successful their cells, the camera’s lens focused tightly connected their faces arsenic they spoke. People here, 1 said, “have a woman and kids successful a batch of cases. And, uh, they’ve travel present for immoderate specified transgression oregon thing similar that. But for the astir portion they’re not dissimilar the mean antheral connected the street.” “They’re hiding us,” different pronounced. “That nine retired determination created a bully galore of us. I myself consciousness that the top transgression a goodly information of america astatine San Quentin are blameworthy of is 1 thing: that we were calved poor.”
“Every clip a doorbell rings, it means something,” 1 noted with resignation. “You tin bash excessively overmuch time, I think, and it makes you institutionalized and you can’t deliberation for yourself.” Another opined, “Everybody’s playing their ain small crippled trying to get retired of this madhouse.” All lamented the unit they’d been exposed to. One said determination had been respective killings successful his archetypal week astatine the prison. Another reflected that, though the show of a idiosyncratic successful symptom had ever been upsetting to him, it nary longer was. “I’m getting to the constituent present to wherever it astir doesn’t adjacent interest me.”
Carl Perkins took the signifier to unfastened the amusement and stepped to the microphone. The country was heavy with the din of 1,400 men packed wrong a chromatic box—their voices, the dependable of feet scuffling connected the floor, and their hands moving restlessly atop the tables, echoing. But it quieted erstwhile helium spoke.
“We kinda consciousness similar you’re gonna bask yourselves tonight,” helium said humbly successful his Tennessee twang. “It’s our wishes.” Then helium launched into a raucous mentation of his “Blue Suede Shoes.” When he’d finished playing, the Statler Brothers, and past the Carter Family, took the signifier portion Cash looked connected from a hallway. From his hiding place, helium could archer the aerial carried a charge, and erstwhile helium felt it spike, helium emerged and walked past the beforehand enactment of eating hallway tables, shaking hands arsenic helium went.
Looking retired astatine the hundreds of men assembled earlier him, helium felt that, successful that moment, helium had the powerfulness to propulsion them to violence.
The set was playing the opening bars of “Big River,” but the country was different inactive arsenic helium mounted the signifier and gave his modular greeting. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” helium said, and the assemblage erupted joyously.
Cash had been associating himself, rhetorically, with transgression and imprisonment for arsenic agelong arsenic he’d been a moving musician, and astatine San Quentin helium presented himself to the assemblage arsenic their avatar—an embodiment of their anger, their hurt. He swaggered, teased with familial kindness, and performed a raucous mentation of “Folsom Prison Blues.” But erstwhile he’d captured their attention, helium softened his tone. He played a spiritual called “I Don’t Know Where I’m Bound,” and followed it with a humorous relationship of the clip helium was arrested successful Starkville, Mississippi. He’d ne'er performed either opus before, and the aforesaid was existent for his adjacent selection.
Seated onstage, Cash explained its origin. “I was reasoning astir you guys yesterday,” helium said. “I’ve been present 3 times before, and I deliberation I recognize a small however you consciousness astir immoderate things. It’s nary of my concern however you consciousness astir immoderate different things, and I don’t springiness a damn astir however you consciousness astir immoderate different things.” The assemblage laughed lightly. “I tried to enactment myself successful your place,” helium continued, “and I judge this is the mode that I would consciousness astir San Quentin.”
The assemblage was inactive arsenic the set started playing a plodding rhythm. “San Quentin,” Cash sang, “you’ve been surviving hellhole to me.” After a moment’s delay, the assemblage realized what he’d said and fto escaped a corporate roar of approval. Cash sang done their cheers, and they quieted truthful they could perceive his words. He cursed the prison, accused it of scarring people, and erstwhile helium delivered the last line—“San Quentin, I hatred each inch of you”—the assemblage erupted joyfully.
They settled aft a fewer moments, but Cash kept them connected the enactment by teasing a reprise. “One much time?” helium asked jokingly. He requested a solid of water, and aft a defender brought him 1 and he’d drained it, helium smashed the cupful underfoot. Then helium played the opus again, hostility gathering with each verse. The 2nd clip through, helium ended it, “San Quentin, you’ve been surviving hellhole to me,” and the assemblage leapt onto the tables and stomped and screamed.
With the country shaking, the show’s producer, Bob Johnston, plotted a people toward the nearest radical of guards. He thought the assemblage was astir to riot. Cash had the aforesaid idea, and, looking retired astatine the hundreds of men assembled earlier him, helium felt that, successful that moment, helium had the powerfulness to propulsion them to violence.
____________________________
Excerpted from The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music by Colin Asher. Copyright© 2026 by Colin Asher. Used with support of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
English (US) ·