1955 Recording that Became a Signature Song for ‘The Man in Black' was Once Subjected To a Major Lawsuit

While serving in the United States Air Force in Germany, singer-songwriter Johnny Cash saw the movie, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. Cash was inspired by the film and wondering what could lead a person to murdering someone saying, "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind." This would become his iconic, signature song, "Folsom Prison Blues."

"Folsom Prison Blues" was a part of Cash's early recording sessions in 1955 at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Because of Cash's limited resources and band at the time, the blues-inspired tune was recorded with no drummer. Instead, Cash replicated the sound by sticking a piece of paper or a dollar bill under his guitar strings and strumming the snare rhythm via the strings.

After the song's release in December of 1955, it became subject to a plagiarism dispute. Gordon Jenkins, an American pianist and composer, accused Cash of stealing the melody for "Folsom Prison Blues" from the "Crescent City Blues" off of his 1953 concept album, Seven Dreams. As the song continued to gain popularity through the 60s and 70s, Jenkins filed a copyright infringement case against Cash. The two eventually settled out of court, with Cash paying Jenkins $75,000. Despite settling and the payout, Cash retained all composing and publishing rights to the song.

Cash began opening almost all of his live performances with "Folsom Prison Blues" after his iconic, trademark greeting, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." In 1968, Cash performed at Folsom State Prison which was recorded and then released as the live album, At Folsom Prison. The live version of "Folsom Prison Blues" was released as a single and reached number one on the country singles chart, and number 32 on the Hot 100.

In 1969, the live version of the song won Cash the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, one of Cash's 13 Grammy wins overall in his career. In 2001, the 1955 original recorded version of "Folsom Prison Blues" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 10:35 AM.