Which album features live recordings from Folsom Prison?

The story behind the answer

The album featuring live recordings from Folsom Prison is At Folsom Prison. Johnny Cash recorded it during two concerts at California's Folsom State Prison on January 13, 1968, and Columbia Records released it on May 6 that year.

The performance grew out of Cash's long-standing interest in playing for prisoners, an idea inspired partly by his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues." Producer Bob Johnston helped turn the project into a major comeback after several difficult years in Cash's career.

At Folsom Prison captured the energy of Cash's audience, including the inmates' reactions to songs such as "Cocaine Blues" and "Greystone Chapel." The album opened with the famous introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," and became one of the landmark live albums in country music.

At San Quentin is another important prison concert album, but it was recorded later at San Quentin State Prison in 1969. Bitter Tears is a studio album about Native American history and injustice, not a Folsom live recording.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

Add question to a list

Choose a list to keep this question in: