The Essential Johnny Cash (2002 album)

This article is about the 2002 compilation album. For the 1992 album, see The Essential Johnny Cash (1992 album).

The Essential Johnny Cash

Greatest hits album by Johnny Cash

Released

February 2002

Recorded

September 1954–May 1993 at Sun's Studios

Genre

Country, rock and roll, rockabilly, gospel

Length

1:43:53

Label

Legacy/Columbia

Producer

Sam Phillips
Jack Clement
Don Law
Frank Jones
Bob Johnston
Johnny Cash
Charlie Bragg
Brian Ahern
Earl Ball
Flood
Brian Eno
The Edge

Johnny Cash chronology

American III: Solitary Man
(2000)

The Essential Johnny Cash
(2002)

At Madison Square Garden
(2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

The Essential Johnny Cash is a double-compact disc compilation by Johnny Cash released as part of Sony BMG's Essential series. It was compiled to commemorate Cash's 70th birthday. It is not to be confused with the three-CD box set of the same name released by Columbia Records in 1992.

The double album concentrates mainly on Cash's first 15 years as a recording artist with Sun Records and Columbia, contains only eight post-1970 selections, and no selections from Cash's work with Rick Rubin for American Recordings: Cash's final hit single, a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt", was released ten months later. The album was certified Gold and Platinum on February 5, 2005 and was certified 2 & 3 x Platinum on March 3, 2016 for sales of 1,500,000 copies by the RIAA.^[1]^[2] It has sold 1,695,500 copies in the US as of November 2016.^[3]

Amongst the 36 tracks on the compilation are two songs that feature Cash prominently but never appeared on any of his albums: "Girl from the North Country" from Bob Dylan's 1969 album Nashville Skyline, and "The Wanderer" from U2's 1993 album Zooropa.

As a testimony to Cash's wide sphere of influence on country, rock, and other modern musics and his wide fan base, the liner notes feature testimonials and 70th birthday greetings from a wide array of artists - not only from friends and fellow travelers and collaborators like Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Petty, ex-stepson-in-law Nick Lowe, and wife June Carter Cash, but from the likes of Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan of Slipknot, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, and Henry Rollins.

Track listing

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hey Porter"	Johnny Cash	2:13
2.	"Cry! Cry! Cry!"	Johnny Cash	2:23
3.	"I Walk the Line"	Johnny Cash	2:43
4.	"Get Rhythm"	Johnny Cash	2:13
5.	"There You Go"	Johnny Cash	2:17
6.	"Ballad of a Teenage Queen"	Jack Clement	2:11
7.	"Big River"	Johnny Cash	2:31
8.	"Guess Things Happen That Way"	Jack Clement	1:49
9.	"All Over Again"	Johnny Cash	2:12
10.	"Don't Take Your Guns to Town"	Johnny Cash	3:02
11.	"Five Feet High and Rising"	Johnny Cash	1:46
12.	"The Rebel - Johnny Yuma"	Richard Markowitz/Andrew Fenady	1:52
13.	"Tennessee Flat Top Box"	Johnny Cash	2:58
14.	"I Still Miss Someone"	Johnny Cash/Roy Cash Jr.	2:34
15.	"Ring of Fire"	June Carter/Merle Kilgore	2:35
16.	"The Ballad of Ira Hayes"	Peter LaFarge	4:07
17.	"Orange Blossom Special"	E.T. Rouse	3:06
18.	"Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)"	traditional, arranged by Johnny Cash	3:51

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It Ain't Me, Babe" (performed with June Carter Cash)	Bob Dylan	3:03
2.	"The One on the Right Is on the Left"	Jack Clement	2:47
3.	"Jackson" (performed with June Carter Cash)	Jerry Leiber [as Gaby Rodgers]/Billy Edd Wheeler	2:44
4.	"Folsom Prison Blues"	live version	2:44
5.	"Daddy Sang Bass"	Carl Perkins	2:20
6.	"Girl from the North Country" (performed by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash; from Dylan's Nashville Skyline)	Bob Dylan	3:42
7.	"A Boy Named Sue"	Shel Silverstein	3:46
8.	"If I Were a Carpenter" (performed with June Carter Cash)	Tim Hardin	2:59
9.	"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"	Kris Kristofferson	4:09
10.	"Flesh and Blood"	Johnny Cash	2:36
11.	"Man in Black"	Johnny Cash	2:52
12.	"Ragged Old Flag""	Johnny Cash	3:09
13.	"One Piece at a Time"	Wayne Kemp	4:01
14.	"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"	Stan Jones	3:44
15.	"Song of the Patriot" (performed with Marty Robbins)	Marty Robbins/S. Milete	3:24
16.	"Highwayman" (performed with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson as The Highwaymen)	Jimmy Webb	3:03
17.	"The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" (performed with Waylon Jennings)	B. Braddock/C. Williams	3:24
18.	"The Wanderer" (performed by U2 featuring Johnny Cash; from U2's album Zooropa)	Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., Adam Clayton	4:43

Disc three (3.0 version only)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"What Do I Care [Album Version]"	Johnny Cash	2:09
2.	"I Got Stripes"	Johnny Cash	2:05
3.	"Understand Your Man"	Johnny Cash	2:44
4.	"What Is Truth"	Johnny Cash	2:39
5.	"Oney"	Jerry Chesnut	3:06
6.	"Any Old Wind That Blows"	D. Feller	2:47
7.	"A Thing Called Love"	Jerry Hubbard	2:34
8.	"Without Love"	Nick Lowe	2:29

Testimonals

The following people provided testimonials and/or 70th birthday greetings for the CD's liner notes (in this order):

Shawn Crahan (of Slipknot)
Corey Taylor (of Slipknot and Stone Sour)
Kirk Hammett (of Metallica)
Henry Rollins
Shelby Lynne
Al Gore
Nick Cave
Trisha Yearwood
Steve Earle
Tim Robbins

Chart performance

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian Country Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	16
U.S. Billboard 200	35

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)^[1]	3× Platinum	1,695,500^[3]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1 2 "American album certifications – Johnny Cash – The Essential Johnny Cash". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
↑ Paul Grein (August 7, 2013). "Week Ending Aug. 4, 2013. Albums: Robin Thicke, Call Katy Perry". Yahoo Chart Watch.
1 2 Bjorke, Matt (November 2, 2016). "Special Report: Catalog Country Album Sales: October 2, 2016". Roughstock.

Johnny Cash

Studio albums	With His Hot and Blue Guitar Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous The Fabulous Johnny Cash Greatest! Songs of Our Soil Sings Hank Williams Now, There Was a Song! Now Here's Johnny Cash The Sound of Johnny Cash All Aboard the Blue Train Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash I Walk the Line Orange Blossom Special Everybody Loves a Nut Happiness Is You Old Golden Throat More of Old Golden Throat Hello, I'm Johnny Cash The World of Johnny Cash Man in Black A Thing Called Love International Superstar Any Old Wind That Blows Ragged Old Flag The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me John R. Cash Look at Them Beans One Piece at a Time The Last Gunfighter Ballad I Would Like to See You Again Gone Girl Silver Rockabilly Blues The Baron The Adventures of Johnny Cash Johnny 99 Rainbow Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series Water from the Wells of Home Boom Chicka Boom The Mystery of Life American Recordings Unchained American III: Solitary Man American IV: The Man Comes Around Personal File American V: A Hundred Highways American VI: Ain't No Grave Out Among the Stars

Concept albums	Ride This Train Blood, Sweat and Tears Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian Sings the Ballads of the True West From Sea to Shining Sea America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song The Johnny Cash Children's Album The Rambler

Gospel albums	Hymns by Johnny Cash Hymns from the Heart The Holy Land The Gospel Road (film soundtrack) Sings Precious Memories A Believer Sings the Truth Believe in Him Return to the Promised Land (video soundtrack) My Mother's Hymn Book

Christmas albums	The Christmas Spirit The Johnny Cash Family Christmas Classic Christmas Johnny Cash Country Christmas

Collaborations	The Lure of the Grand Canyon Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter Johnny Cash and His Woman The Legend of Jesse James The Survivors Live Highwayman Class of '55 Heroes Highwayman 2 The Road Goes on Forever VH1 Storytellers

Live albums	At Folsom Prison At San Quentin The Johnny Cash Show På Österåker Strawberry Cake Koncert v Praze (In Prague–Live) At Madison Square Garden A Concert Behind Prison Walls

Non-Gospel Soundtracks	I Walk the Line Little Fauss and Big Halsy

Compilations	Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 Heart of Cash Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Sunday Morning Coming Down Five Feet High and Rising Destination Victoria Station Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 The Unissued Johnny Cash Johnny & June Tall Man Encore Biggest Hits The Man in Black 1954–1958 The Man in Black 1959–1962 Come Along and Ride This Train The Essential Johnny Cash (1992) Wanted Man The Man in Black 1963–1969 The Man in Black – His Greatest Hits 16 Biggest Hits Love, God, Murder The Essential Johnny Cash (2002) Unearthed The Legend The Legend of Johnny Cash Johnny Cash: Patriot 16 Biggest Hits: Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash The Legend of Johnny Cash Vol. II The Complete Columbia Album Collection

Songs	"25 Minutes to Go" "Seasons of My Heart" "Any Old Wind That Blows" "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" "Big River" "Blistered" "A Boy Named Sue" "Busted" "Cat's in the Cradle" "Cocaine Blues" "Cry! Cry! Cry!" "Daddy Sang Bass" "Dark as a Dungeon" "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" "Engine 143" "Flesh and Blood" "The Folk Singer" "Folsom Prison Blues" "Forty Shades of Green" "Get Rhythm" "Goodnight, Irene" "Green, Green Grass of Home" "Greystone Chapel" "Guess Things Happen That Way" "Hey, Porter" "Home of the Blues" "Hurt" "I Couldn't Keep from Crying" "I Love You Because" "I Still Miss Someone" "I Walk the Line" "If I Had a Hammer" "If I Were a Carpenter" "In My Life" "In the Jailhouse Now" "It Ain't Me Babe" "Jackson" "Kate" "The Man Comes Around" "Man in Black" "The Matador" "Oh Lonesome Me" "One Piece at a Time" "Oney" "Orange Blossom Special" "The One on the Right Is on the Left" "Remember the Alamo" "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" "Ring of Fire" "Rock Island Line" "So Doggone Lonesome" "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" "Tennessee Flat Top Box" "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" "A Thing Called Love" "Understand Your Man" "What Is Truth" "What'd I Say"

Television	The Johnny Cash Show

Family	June Carter Cash John Carter Cash Rosanne Cash Carlene Carter Vivian Liberto Tommy Cash Carter Family

Related	Albums discography Singles discography Sun Records discography The Highwaymen Carter Family Fold Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words Cash: The Autobiography Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music Walk the Line We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash Ring of Fire (2013 film) Ring of Fire (musical) My Father and the Man in Black Dyess, Arkansas The Sound Behind Johnny Cash

Book

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