“Ring Of Fireː The Best Of Johnny Cash” by Johnny Cash - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1963Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s

TJR says

Fed up with Sun Records endless string of “greatest hits”, Columbia decided they’d release one of their own. And it was very smartly compiled for the LP market, with only 1 track repeating from the album discography thus far – “I Still Miss Someone” (The Fabulous Johnny Cash, 1959). All 12 tracks pool from singles, b-sides and EP tracks, from “What Do I Care” (September 1958) all the way through to “Ring Of Fire” (April 1963), highlighting some hidden gems like “Remember The Alamo” (Johnny Yuma EP, 1959). But it is, of course, the title track which steals the show. The song was originally recorded by June’s sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album “Folk Songs Old and New” (1963) as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. Mercury released Anita’s version as a single and it was a featured “pick hit” in Billboard magazine. After hearing Anita’s version, Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by “Mexican horns”. Cash stated, “I’ll give you about five or six more months, and if you don’t hit with it, I’m gonna record it the way I feel it.” When the song failed to become a major hit for Anita, Cash recorded it his own way, adding the mariachi–style horns. Mother Maybelle and the Carter sisters are prominently featured in the Cash recording, singing harmony – a wonderful piece of musical history. The biggest hit single of Johnny Cash’s career, “Ring Of Fire” stayed at number one on the charts for seven weeks.

The Jukebox Rebel
09–Jun–2007

Tracklist
A1 [02:38] 9.2.png Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire [1963] (June Carter, Merle Kilgore) Country
A2 [02:34] 6.4.png Johnny Cash - I’d Still Be There (Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton) Country
A3 [02:07] 6.6.png Johnny Cash - What Do I Care (Johnny Cash) Country
A4 [02:35] 6.4.png Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone [1958] (Johnny Cash, Roy Cash) Country
A5 [02:54] 5.0.png Johnny Cash - Forty Shades Of Green (Johnny Cash) Country
A6 [03:56] 7.0.png Johnny Cash - Were You There When They Crucified My Lord (Traditional) Country
B1 [01:52] 6.4.png Johnny Cash - The Rebel Johnny Yuma (Richard Markowitz, Andrew Fenady) Country
B2 [02:20] 6.9.png Johnny Cash - Bonanza (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) Country
B3 [04:03] 7.5.png Johnny Cash - The Big Battle (Johnny Cash) Folk
B4 [02:50] 7.7.png Johnny Cash - Remember The Alamo (Jane Bowers) Folk
B5 [03:00] 6.5.png Johnny Cash - Tennessee Flat Top Box (Johnny Cash) Country
B6 [02:47] 6.2.png Johnny Cash - Peace In The Valley [1962] (Thomas A. Dorsey) Country

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