1968: A Folsom Redemption

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center celebrated Johnny Cash’s best-known performances by presenting the exhibition 1968: A Folsom Redemption. The 31 photos in this exhibit cover a critical juncture in the career of Johnny Cash, one of the 20th century’s most beloved performers.

In January 1968, Johnny Cash was at a crossroads. His music career, in a slow decline for several years, was in need of a smash hit. He had recently straightened out his personal life, and leadership changes at his record label meant he was able to finally convince them of the merits of a live recording in a prison setting. Cash had been performing for inmates as far back as 1957, when he received a stream of requests from prisoners who identified with the man who sang “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Working as freelance journalists, photographer Dan Poush and writer Gene Beley met with Cash and his family the day before the concerts began. The Reverend Floyd Gressett, a friend of Cash’s who ministered to inmates, helped set up the show at Folsom State Prison. After practicing the set with the Tennessee Three at Hotel El Rancho the night before, on January 13, 1968, Cash, along with opening acts Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers, performed two separate shows in the dining hall at Folsom. Notable for capturing Cash’s ability to connect with his audience, the recordings crackled with the excitement of an adoring crowd. The resulting album, At Folsom Prison, was released four months later to critical and popular acclaim.

This special exhibition was organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. Its presentation at the MACC is made possible in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.