On July 30, 1955, a relatively unknown Johnny Cash stepped up to the microphone at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio, accompanied by ...

Starting in 1957, Cash performed many prison concerts over the years, including four dates at Folsom. But the 1968 gig helped to relaunch the singer’s career, which was floundering at the time in ...

The Folsom Prison concert wasn’t his first prison gig. He’d played several others and realized an opportunity to revive his struggling career might be waiting for him at Folsom.

The Folsom Prison Experience is an immersive tribute drama that takes you back in time. On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash performed a concert for Folsom prisoners and recorded a live album.

"The Prison Concerts: Folsom And San Quentin (Jim Marshall’s Photographs of Johnny Cash)," installation view at the Momentary in Bentonville, AR. Jared Sorrells photography for the Momentary.

As I noted in my report from Folsom, one of the the motivations behind the concert was to bring attention to vast shifts in the prison's population since Cash performed there. Members of the band ...

His connection to Folsom began much earlier. In 1953, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Germany, Cash saw the documentary Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison.