Johnny Cash - Greatest Hits And Favorites [2LP] DMM 180gram Transparent Red Vinyl (import)

Beginning his career as an outlaw to the Nashville establishment, Johnny Cash has come to define country music over the last 40 years. Transforming into The Man in Black, Johnny spent more than thirty years reinventing and contradicting himself - breaking all of the rules of traditional country music only to emerge as the ultimate mythic hero and archetype of the genre.

At the start, "Cry, Cry, Cry" managed to crack Billboard's Top 20, peaking at No. 14. A long succession of chart singles followed. "So Doggone Lonesome" and "Folsom Prison Blues" both broke into the trade publication's Top 10. But Cash's fourth chart single proved to be his career song. "I Walk the Line" shot to Billboard's No. 1 position and remained on the record charts for an incredible 43 weeks, ultimately selling over 2 million copies.

Throughout the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Cash continued to produce remarkable records and charted consistently. "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," "I Got Stripes," "Ring of Fire," "Understand Your Man" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" all hit the upper registers of the record charts. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and other top-rated network programs followed. In the early 1960s, concept albums such as Bitter Tears and Ballads of the True West made him a favorite among the folk music crowd, culminating in an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival.

Premiering in 1969, The Johnny Cash Show aired on ABC. Taped at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the show featured an eclectic mix of guests ranging from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Louis Armstrong and Merle Haggard. Through his selection of guests, Cash helped bridge the generation gap and break down musical barriers. He also used the show as a forum to discuss and raise the country's collective consciousness about social issues of the day such as the plight of the Native Americans, prison reform and the conflict in Vietnam.

No other artist has touched the world of music quite like Johnny Cash. He is the only person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame AND The Songwriter's Hall of Fame. His very name is synonymous with the fight for the rights of the poor and downtrodden and the image of "The Man in Black" is as deeply American as the stars and stripes themselves. Johnny Cash is America.