Which Johnny Cash album won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Country Album? The answer is Unchained.
Unchained won Johnny Cash the 1998 Grammy for Best Country Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards. The album was released on November 5, 1996, as the second major installment in Cash’s American series with producer Rick Rubin; it is also known as American II: Unchained.
Unlike the largely solo acoustic approach of 1994’s American Recordings, Unchained uses a full backing band. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers provide much of the musical foundation, with additional appearances by Marty Stuart, Flea, Lindsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood. The result blends Cash’s country identity with rock, folk, and roots influences.
The Grammy win is sometimes confused with American Recordings, which won Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1995. Unchained’s award was especially striking because the record received limited mainstream country-radio support despite its critical reputation. Cash and Rubin later protested that neglect with a memorable full-page Billboard advertisement celebrating the album’s Grammy recognition.