VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson
Encyclopedia
VH1 Storytellers is a live album
by Johnny Cash
and Willie Nelson
, released in 1998 (see 1998 in music
) on American Recordings. The album was produced by Rick Rubin
and was the third record released as part of Cash's 9-year period of collaboration with Rubin.
The opening track is a duet with Cash and Nelson, followed by alternating solos by both artists. Cash and Nelson discuss the songs and their origins between tracks on the recording.
Additional personnel
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John 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...
and Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, released in 1998 (see 1998 in music
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
) on American Recordings. The album was produced by Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick 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...
and was the third record released as part of Cash's 9-year period of collaboration with Rubin.
The opening track is a duet with Cash and Nelson, followed by alternating solos by both artists. Cash and Nelson discuss the songs and their origins between tracks on the recording.
Track listing
- "(Ghost) Riders in the SkyRiders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a country and cowboy-style song. It was written on June 5, 1948 by Stan Jones. A number of versions were crossover hits on the pop charts in 1949...
" (Stan Jones) – 6:13 - "Worried Man" (Cash, June Carter CashJune Carter CashValerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
) – 3:48 - "Family Bible" (Walt Breeland/Paul Buskirk/Claude Gray) – 3:20
- "Don't Take Your Guns to TownDon't Take Your Guns to Town"Don't Take Your Guns to Town" is a 1958 single by Johnny Cash. The song tells the story of a young cowboy who, ignoring the titular advice from his mother, gets into a gunfight at a saloon and is killed. The single became his fifth release to reach the number one position on the country chart,...
" (Cash) – 4:42 - "Funny How Time Slips AwayFunny How Time Slips Away"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and also performed by Willie Nelson. The song was included as a track on Willie Nelson's 1962, debut album, And Then I Wrote.-Cover versions:...
" (Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
) – 3:59 - "Flesh and BloodFlesh and Blood (Johnny Cash song)"Flesh and Blood" is a 1970 single written and recorded by Johnny Cash and was featured in the film, I Walk the Line starring Gregory Peck . "Flesh and Blood" went to number one on the U.S. country singles chart for one week, spending a total of thirteen weeks on the chart.-Chart performance:...
" (Cash) – 2:42 - "CrazyCrazy (Willie Nelson song)"Crazy" is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1962....
" (Nelson) – 2:23 - "Unchained" (Johnstone) – 2:43
- "Night Life" (Breeland/Buskirk/Nelson) – 3:43
- "Drive On" (Cash) – 2:23
- "Me and Paul" (Nelson) – 3:11
- "I Still Miss SomeoneI Still Miss Someone"I Still Miss Someone" is the title of a song written and originally recorded by American country music singer Johnny Cash. He first recorded it in 1958 as the b-side to "Don't Take Your Guns to Town".-History:...
" (Cash, Roy Cash Jr.) – 3:13 - "Always on My Mind" (Johnny Christopher/Mark James/Wayne Carson Thompson) – 4:05
- "Folsom Prison BluesFolsom Prison Blues"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
" (Cash) – 3:40 - "On the Road AgainOn the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)"On the Road Again" is a song made famous by country music singer Willie Nelson, and is part of the soundtrack to the 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose....
" (Nelson) – 1:32
Personnel
- Johnny Cash - Vocals, Guitar, Producer
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
- Vocals, Guitar
Additional personnel
- 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, Mixing - Sean Murphy - Producer
- Bill Flanagan - Executive Producer
- Michael Simon - Director
- Koji Egawa - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
- Randy Ezratty, Al Schmitt - Mixing
- Paul Cohen - House Mix
- Stephen Marcussen - Mastering
- David Coleman - Art Direction, Artwork, Design
- Wayne Wilkins - Art Direction, Artwork
- Marc Bryan-BrownMarc Bryan-BrownMarc Bryan-Brown is a photographer based in Manhattan, New York, USA.Bryan-Brown was educated in England at the Dragon School in Oxford and Marlborough College in Wiltshire. He then attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA....
- Photography - Bruce Gillmer - Project Supervisor
- Wayne Isaak - Music Executive
- Sean Kelly - Coordination
Chart performance
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 25 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 56 |