Johnny Cash Live! Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Hello. I'm Johnny Cash."

I always thought it was cool that Johnny opened his shows this way. It had a certain humble flair to it. He did the same thing on his weekly TV show. His back would be to the camera and he would turn dramatically, the spotlight would hit him and he would say those famous words.

Answer: Greystone Chapel

With Johnny's support and encouragement, Glen Sherley wrote several other songs. Glen was sitting in the front row at Johnny's show and was unaware that Cash was going to do the song. Sadly Glen took his own life at age 42.

Answer: Bob Dylan

Unconcerned about any push back from the Nashville establishment, Cash made no secret of his friendship with Dylan. Dylan gave Johnny the song a week prior to Cash's San Quentin performance. The two recorded a rough demo of the song, accompanied by Carl Perkins, but it was never released publicly. They also performed the song together on Johnny's weekly TV show.

Answer: Columbia Records

After getting his start on the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis, Johnny signed with Columbia in 1958. Both live albums reached number one on the Billboard Country Album chart and the "San Quentin" album crossed over into the pop chart and topped that one as well, due in large part to the success of "A Boy Named Sue".

As Johnny's career waned Columbia would ultimately drop him but his career had a resurgence with his "American Recordings" series, released by a label of the same name.

Answer: John Sebastian

John Sebastian came into national prominence in the mid-1960s as the founder and lead singer of the group The Lovin' Spoonful. They had several hits including "Daydream", "Do You Believe In Magic" and "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind" as well as several others written or co-written by Sebastian.

After the band broke up Sebastian continued to write and perform. He came back into prominence as the writer and singer of the theme song for the TV show "Welcome Back Kotter" which became a number one hit for him.

Answer: False

Quite the contrary. The albums were Johnny's idea. He pitched it to Bob Johnston who had just taken over as head of the country division of Columbia Records. Johnston loved the idea and immediately called Folsom Prison and San Quentin. Folsom responded first.

Answer: England

A camera crew from Grenada Television was filming the San Quentin concert. Cash was becoming very irritated as they tried to tell him where to stand, what to sing, etc. At one point he became so angry he stuck his middle finger up at one of the cameramen. The inmates cheered wildly when he announced "I'm here to do what YOU want me to do and what I want to do!"

Answer: False

The "Folsom Prison" album was recorded in January, 1968. The "San Quentin" album was recorded in February, 1969. Cash actually did two shows at Folsom: One in the morning and one in the early afternoon. Carl Perkins and The Statler Brothers performed on both the Folsom and San Quentin shows.

Answer: Luther Perkins

Luther Perkins was an original member of Johnny Cash's band, originally known as The Tennessee Two. The addition of drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland made it The Tennessee Three. Sadly, Luther's death occurred because he fell asleep with a lit cigarette and burned to death in the ensuing fire.

Answer: Home of The Blues

"Home of The Blues" was one of Johnny's early Sun recordings. "25 Minutes To Go" was written by Shel Silverstein who also composed Johnny's hit "A Boy Named Sue". "Wreck of The Old '97" was an old railroad song; Cash arranged his version and originally recorded it on the Sun label. It became a staple of his live concerts. "Send A Picture of Mother" was a Cash composition.