American V: A Hundred Highways
Encyclopedia
Track listing
- "Help Me" (Larry GatlinLarry GatlinLarry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has had a total of 33 Top 40 singles...
) – 2:51- Previously recorded by Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
for Jesus Was a CapricornJesus Was a CapricornJesus Was a Capricorn is the fourth album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records. The album cover pictures Kristofferson and his soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge...
(1972)
- Previously recorded by Kris Kristofferson
- "God's Gonna Cut You DownGod's Gonna Cut You Down"God's Gonna Cut You Down", also known as "Run On" and "Run On for a Long Time", is a traditional folk song which has been recorded by numerous artists representing a variety of genres...
" (Traditional) – 2:38- Previously recorded by OdettaOdettaOdetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
for Sings Ballads and BluesOdetta Sings Ballads and BluesOdetta Sings Ballads and Blues is the debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta, first released in 1956.Like much of Odetta's early work, Ballads and Blues combines traditional songs with blues covers...
(1956), by Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
for How Great Thou Art (1967), and by The Blind Boys of AlabamaThe Blind Boys of AlabamaThe Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer/percussionist are all blind....
(as "Run On for a Long Time") for Spirit of the Century (2001)
- Previously recorded by Odetta
- "Like the 309" (Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
) – 4:35 - "If You Could Read My MindIf You Could Read My Mind (song)"If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. It reached number one on Canadian music charts and was his first recording to appear on the American music charts, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1971. Later in the year, it...
" (Gordon LightfootGordon LightfootGordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
) – 4:30- Originally recorded by Lightfoot for Sit Down Young StrangerSit Down Young StrangerSit Down Young Stranger is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's sixth original album and also his best-selling original album. It was released in 1970 on the Reprise Records Label. The album was renamed If You Could Read My Mind shortly after release due to the song of that title reaching number #5...
(1970)
- Originally recorded by Lightfoot for Sit Down Young Stranger
- "Further On (Up the Road)" (Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
) – 3:25- Originally recorded by Springsteen for The RisingThe Rising (album)The Rising is the 12th studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released in 2002 on Columbia Records. In addition to being Springsteen's first studio album in seven years, it was also his first with the E Street Band in 18 years...
(2002)
- Originally recorded by Springsteen for The Rising
- "On the Evening Train" (Hank Williams) – 4:17
- "I Came to Believe" (Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
) – 3:44- Cash originally wrote this song prior to the sessions for this album
- "Love's Been Good to Me" (Rod McKuenRod McKuenRod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...
) – 3:18- Originally recorded by Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
for A Man Alone & Other Songs of Rod McKuenA Man Alone (album)A Man Alone is a 1969 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, arranged by Don Costa....
(1969)
- Originally recorded by Frank Sinatra
- "A Legend in My Time" (Don GibsonDon GibsonDonald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...
) – 2:37- Originally recorded by Gibson for Sweet Dreams and Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
for Lonely and BlueLonely and BlueLonely and Blue is the first music album recorded by Roy Orbison for Monument Records, released in 1961.The track entitled "Come Back to Me " features an almost identical intro to "Only the Lonely"...
(both 1960)
- Originally recorded by Gibson for Sweet Dreams and Roy Orbison
- "Rose of My Heart" by (Hugh MoffattHugh MoffattHugh Moffatt is an American country singer and songwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s several artists made hits out of his songs. He has also released critically acclaimed albums of his own.-Beginnings:...
) – 3:18- Written in 1981 or 1982 and recorded by many artists, including Moffat for Troubadour (1989)
- "Four Strong WindsFour Strong Winds"Four Strong Winds" is a song written by Ian Tyson in the early 1960s. It was first recorded by The Brothers Four in a version that "Bubbled Under" the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1963...
" (Ian TysonIan TysonIan Tyson CM, AOE is a Canadian singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Four Strong Winds". He was also one half of the duo Ian & Sylvia.-Career:Tyson was born to British immigrants in Victoria in 1933, and grew up in Duncan B.C...
) – 4:34- Previously recorded by Ian and SylviaIan and SylviaIan & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
and Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
- Previously recorded by Ian and Sylvia
- "I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now" (Lou Herscher, Saul Klein) – 3:00
- Originally recorded by Cash for The Sound of Johnny CashThe Sound of Johnny CashThe Sound of Johnny Cash is the thirteenth album by country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1962 . Among other songs, it contains "In the Jailhouse Now", a Jimmie Rodgers cover which reached No. 8 on the Country charts, and "Delia's Gone", which Cash would re-record years later, on American...
(1962)
- Originally recorded by Cash for The Sound of Johnny Cash
Song information
The liner notes of Unearthed, a box set composed of outtakes from the first four entries into the series, claim "around 50" songs were recorded during the American V sessions before Cash's death on September 12, 2003. However, only two albums worth of material will be released, including American VI: Ain't No GraveAmerican VI: Ain't No Grave
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
, which was released in February 2010.
As the other American series albums, the album includes covers, originals, and a re-recording of a song. The originals on this album are "I Came to Believe" and "Like the 309", the latter of which was the last song Cash ever wrote before passing away.
The album takes its name from a lyric on the track "Love's Been Good to Me" by Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...
; the opening verse begins (emphasis added):
Personnel
Cash engineer David "Fergie" FergusonDavid R. Ferguson
David R. "Fergie" Ferguson began in the mid-1980s engineering Country Music recordings for "Cowboy" Jack Clement, at Clement's Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, in Nashville, Tennessee...
(assisted by Jimmy Tittle) and Rubin oversaw the completion of the recordings. Other musicians on the album include keyboardist Benmont Tench
Benmont Tench
Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
and guitarists Mike Campbell, Smoky Hormel, Matt Sweeney
Matt Sweeney
Matt Sweeney is a guitarist, vocalist, and producer who has worked with various musicians and groups.-Biography:Sweeney's high school band Skunk released two albums on Twin/Tone records...
and Jonny Polonsky.
Musicians
- Johnny Cash – vocal, guitar
- Laura Cash – fiddle
- Dennis Crouch – bass guitar
- Smokey Hormel – guitar
- Pat McLaughlin – guitar
- Larry Perkins – guitar
- Jonny Polonsky – guitar
- Randy Scruggs – guitar
- Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
– guitar - Benmont TenchBenmont TenchBenjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
– organ, piano, harpsichord - Pete Wade – guitar
- Mac WisemanMac WisemanMalcolm B. Wiseman , better known as Mac Wiseman, is an American bluegrass singer, nicknamed The Voice with a Heart. The bearded singer is one of the cult figures of bluegrass....
– guitar
Additional personnel
- Martyn Atkins – photography
- Christine Cano – art direction, design
- John Carter CashJohn Carter CashJohn Carter Cash is an American Country music-singer, author, songwriter and producer. He is the only son of Johnny and June Carter Cash.-Biography:...
– executive producer - Lindsay Chase – production coordination
- Rick HendrixRick HendrixRichard Binghames Hendrix Jr. , better known by the name Rick Hendrix, is an American entertainment promoter and songwriter of southern gospel, country music and pop music...
– promoter - Greg Fidelman – mixing
- Paul Figueroa – mixing assistant
- Dan Leffler – mixing assistant
- Vlado Meller – mastering
- Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
– producer, liner notes - David Campbell - string arranger
- Mark Santangelo – mastering assistant
- Jimmy Tittle – assistant engineer
Chart performance
Even in death, Johnny Cash topped the Billboard 200 with the album American V: A Hundred Highways. It is his first No. 1 album since 1969's Johnny Cash at San QuentinAt San Quentin
At San Quentin is a recording of a live concert given by Johnny Cash to the inmates of San Quentin State Prison. As well as being released on record the concert was filmed by Granada Television....
with 88,000 copies sold in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 4 |
External links
- Cash's official website
- USATODAY.com - Johnny Cash's final work yields 2 more albums
- E! Online News - Johnny Cash's Last "American" Song
- THE POP LIFE; Johnny Cash's Legacy Of Emotions, on CD's. New York Times (reprinted on JohnnyCashMusic.com). November 27, 2003.
- Cash Earns First No. 1 Album Since 1969. Billboard July 12, 2006.
- Luma Electronic's Johnny Cash discography listing