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Rock Artist, Sawyer Hill, Delivers Incredible Cover Of Johnny Cash’s Classic Country Hit “Folsom Prison Blues”
Incredible.
This might be the best cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” I’ve ever heard, and it’s by rock artist Sawyer Hill.
He released a rendition of the classic country song with a bit of a twist, and while normally I would say we don’t need any sort of cover of such a classic song, this one is incredibly unique and cool.
Hill got his start at 15 in the bar scene and venues in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and in his teens, he played countless shows over the southern United States with his band. Now in his mid-20s, he has honed that alternative rock/progressive sound, but it’s really his voice that will stop you in his tracks.
It’s deep and and distinctive, very reminiscent of Cash himself in that way, and Hill previously opened for British rock star Yungblud during the North American leg of Yungblud’s “IDOLS” World Tour this past summer. And if Yungblud’s name sounds familiar, he just put out a song with Aerosmith and country music’s own Lainey Wilson called “Wild Woman.”
He’s an Ozzy Osbourne prodigy who moved to London at age 15 to pursue music, and he blends genres like alternative rock, pop punk, and hip-hop for a very unique sound that also very much harkens back to rock icons like the aforementioned Ozzy.
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So I’m sure seeing Hill open for him was a heck of a show, and I just can’t get over this cover…
Of course, “Folsom Prison Blues” was written by Gordon Jenkins in 1953, and was first recorded and released as a single in 1955. Later, it was included on Cash’s debut studio album Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! in 1957 as the album’s 11th track. It was also included on the compilation album All Aboard the Blue Train in 1962.
The famous story is that Cash performed the song live to a crowd of inmates at California’s Folsom State Prison in 1968 for his live album At Folsom Prison, which was released through Columbia Records. That’s the version became a number-one hit on the country music charts and became a crossover hit, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same year.
It ultimately won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969, and of course, became one of Cash’s signature songs and a country classic.
Hill previously said that Cash is one of his “biggest inspirations,” calling the recording of this song a “labor of love”:
“No metronome, fully live tracked. This song was a labor of love for all of you who heard this one on tour, as well as an homage to the great Johnny Cash, one of my biggest inspirations as an artist. My cover of Folsom Prison Blues is now yours, turn it up loud.”
It’s incredibly rare to be able to put your own twist on such a well-known standard that’s been completely perfect for many decades, but he somehow did it and I think that speaks to his artistry and talent.
I know, you might be skeptical about what this might sound like, but I insist you give it a chance because it’s truly an amazing cover. Check it out:
“Folsom Prison Blues”
“Wild Woman”
The post Rock Artist, Sawyer Hill, Delivers Incredible Cover Of Johnny Cash’s Classic Country Hit “Folsom Prison Blues” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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