Chapter 14: Rock and Roll Pt. 2
“Folsom Prison Blues”
Album/Year Released
Recorded 1955; live version 1968
Artist/Composer
Johnny Cash (1932–2003)
Genre/Style
Country; honky tonk; rockabilly
Song Form
12-bar blues
“Folsom Prison Blues,” written by Johnny Cash in 1953 and first recorded in 1955, combines elements of train and prison songs with a distinctive country-blues style. The lyrics tell the story of a prisoner reflecting on his crimes and isolation, delivered in Cash’s clear baritone with syllabic articulation, occasional slides, and rhythmic accents that reinforce the narrative. Recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 30, 1955, the session featured Cash on vocals and guitar, Luther Perkins on guitar, and Marshall Grant on bass, with Sam Phillips producing. The recording lacks a traditional drummer; instead, Cash placed a piece of paper under the guitar strings to emulate a snare drum, adding percussive texture while maintaining the song’s momentum.
The song is structured around a 12-bar blues-influenced progression, but its phrasing is more speech-like and narrative-driven than conventional blues. Central to its sound is Cash’s boom-chicka-boom rhythm, in which the guitar alternates between a bass note on the first beat and a strummed chord on the second and third beats. This pattern produces a chugging, train-like pulse. Perkins’s guitar and Grant’s bass reinforce this pattern, contributing to the song’s driving feel typical of honky-tonk and early country music.
The recording was later included on Cash’s debut studio album, Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! (1957), and subsequently on the compilation All Aboard the Blue Train (1962). Cash performed the song live to audiences throughout his career, most notably at Folsom State Prison on January 13, 1968. This performance, recorded for the album At Folsom Prison and released by Columbia Records, features W. S. Holland on drums alongside Cash, Perkins, and Grant, with a tempo increased from the original studio recording. The live version became a number-one country hit, reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969. Audience reactions were carefully managed due to the prison setting, though cheering was added in postproduction to enhance the sense of a live performance.
“That’ll Be The Day”
Album/Year Released
Recorded 1957
Artist/Composer
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
Genre/Style
Rock and roll; rockabilly
Song Form
Verse-chorus
“That’ll Be the Day,” recorded by Buddy Holly & The Crickets in 1957, exemplifies the mid-1950s rock and roll sound and draws heavily on rockabilly conventions. Rockabilly was an early form of rock and roll that blended country (often called “hillbilly” music at the time) with rhythm and blues. Its musical characteristics include a strong, steady rhythm, twangy percussive guitar tones, simple chord progressions often derived from blues (frequently I–IV–V), a driving backbeat, and vocal phrasing that alternates between syllabic clarity and occasional melismatic embellishment. Rockabilly arrangements typically feature a small ensemble with guitar, upright or electric bass, and minimal drums.
In “That’ll Be the Day,” Holly’s vocal delivery reflects these rockabilly traits. His singing is mostly syllabic, with brief melismatic passages for emphasis with vocal hiccups. He applies subtle syncopation to accent certain lyrics and add rhythmic tension. Holly’s lead guitar, played on a Fender Stratocaster solid-body electric, produces a bright, sustained tone that stands out against the ensemble. The solid-body design allows both single-note riffs and chordal punctuations to be executed clearly, giving his lines a melodic and rhythmic presence that interacts with the vocals in a call-and-response style. Holly often anticipates or slightly delays notes relative to the beat, a technique that contributes to the swing-like feel common in rockabilly guitar work.
Niki Sullivan’s rhythm guitar provides steady chordal accompaniment, outlining the harmonic progression and maintaining the pulse. The combination of lead and rhythm guitars creates a layered texture: the rhythm guitar reinforces the harmony and drive, while the lead adds melodic motion and rhythmic variation. The bass and minimal drum patterns, typical of rockabilly ensembles, provide rhythmic support, helping unify the band’s sound.
The recording shows how electric guitar, vocal phrasing, and ensemble coordination can be combined to produce a consistent rock-and-roll sound. Holly’s use of a solid-body guitar allowed both chordal and single-note passages to be executed with clarity, contributing to the overall texture of the band. “That’ll Be the Day” demonstrates the functional interaction of vocals and guitars, with each element supporting the song’s rhythmic and harmonic structure.