Johnny Cash’s first album to top the country chart was At Folsom Prison, recorded live in 1968.
The album captures Cash’s performances at California’s Folsom State Prison on January 13, 1968. Columbia Records released it in May that year, and its stark live sound helped revive Cash’s commercial career. The performance of “Folsom Prison Blues” became especially famous, partly because of the enthusiastic response from the inmates.
At Folsom Prison reached number one on Billboard’s country albums chart and number 13 on the all-genre Billboard 200. It was Cash’s first album to lead the country listing. A common mix-up is At San Quentin, another celebrated prison recording from 1969; that album also topped the country chart, but it came later. The Folsom concert is widely regarded as one of the defining live performances in country music history.