Johnny Cash in San Quentin (1969) (TV)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Michael Darlow

Release Date:

6 September 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A unique concert given to the long term inmates of the famous jail. Johnny and June sing 'Wanted Man'...

Cast

June Carter Cash	...	As singer
Johnny Cash	...	As singer
W.S. Holland	...	Himself - Drummer
The Tennessee Three	...	The Band
Bob Wootton	...	Himself - Lead Guitar

Runtime:

60 min | West Germany:30 min

Country:

UK

Color:

Color

Company:

Granada Television

Trivia:

The song "San Quentin" was so popular with the inmates that Cash played it twice in a row. This is not seen in the special, but can be heard on the soundtrack album.

Don't miss this, but be prepared for performance interruptus

A little too much in the way of interviews with inmates about prison life, especially frustrating when they interrupt songs, but that's the only thing wrong with this picture. That and the fact that it doesn't include the whole concert, every note from beginning to end, because anything less leaves you knowing there was more where this came from, but you'll never see or hear it.

I always want to hear songs from start to finish, particularly when they're performed live. And oh, what a performance we have here. Johnny, the ex-con junkie, is absolutely at home and relaxed in front of a roomful of lifers, truly enjoying doing what he was born to do. Genuine, alive, connected every moment with his equally engaged audience. He's absolutely wondrous, and so is his band. I'm probably not the first to suggest this, but it almost would have been worth doing hard time just to be in the audience. (Almost. Life without parole is a pretty pricey ticket.) This is the real stuff, folks. They don't make 'em like this anymore, and when they did, they didn't make many.