50 years ago: Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” hit #1 on country charts

Ring of Fire Johnny Cash

Writer(s): June Carter, Merle Kilgore (see lyrics here) Released: April 19, 1963 First Charted: June 1, 1963 Peak: 17 US, 14 CB, 14 GR, 13 HR, 17 US, 12 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.2 US, 0.5 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 62.9 video, 315.81 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: While it has become one of Johnny Cash’s signature hits, “Ring of Fire” wasn’t his originally. June Carter, who Cash married in 1968, wrote the song with Merle Kilgore and her sister Anita originally recorded it. She released it as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire” on her album Folk Songs Old and New and as a single. WK Cash heard Anita’s version and claimed he had a dream in which the song was accompanied by Mexican horns. He told Anita he’d give her six months and if her version wasn’t a hit, he was going to record it how he felt it. He recorded it the same year with mariachi-style horns. WK His version topped the country charts for seven weeks. There are claims that Carter saw the phrase “love is like a burning ring of fire” underlined in an Elizabethan poetry book that belonged ot her uncle, A.P. Carter. WK At the time, she and Cash were married to other people, but were friends and singing partners. She was “driving around aimlessly one night, worried about Cash’s wildman ways – and aware that she couldn’t resist him.” RS500 When they married in 1968, Merle Kilgore (the co-writer on “Ring of Fire”) was the best man. SF Cash’s career had waned slightly in the early ‘60s; he hadn’t hit #1 since 1959’s “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town.” Cash’s version of “Ring of Fire” was “a forceful blend of his image and musical attitude” AMG which helped develop his image of “The Man in Black.” The phrase “fell into a ring of fire” sounded “intimidating and dangerous” AMG and like “something an outlaw would do.” AMG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Johnny Cash AMG All Music Guide RS500 Rolling Stone (12/11/2003). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/31/2021; last updated 7/12/2023.

 

Today in Music (1938): Roy Acuff charted with “Wabash Cannonball”

Wabash Cannonball Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys

Writer(s): J.A. Roff, adapted by A.P. Carter (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 24, 1938 Peak: 12 US (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 10.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.31 video, 4.14 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This is “a genuine knight-of-the-road ballad with a touch of the Paul Bunyan flavor,” RA “perhaps the greatest of all train songs.” SS The song originated in the 1880s, In 1882, J.A. Roff wrote words and music for “The Great Rock Island Route!,” a song about a mythical train which traveled coast to coast. It became an anthem for hoboes. In Southern America in the late 19th century, the railroad offered a different form of work for those wishing to escape the farms and served up a touch of romanticism for those who wanted to live a less conventional life, riding the rails and going wherever the trains would take them. William Kindt adapted Roff’s piece in 1905 under the title “Wabash Cannonball.” There were several Wabash Railroad passenger trains dating back to the 1880s while the term “cannonball” was used to reference a fast train. When the song entered the public domain in 1928, it was reworked and claimed by A.P. Carter whose group, the Carter Family, recorded the song the next year, but didn’t release it until 1932. In the meantime an unissued version was recorded by Clark & Edans in 1928 and Tennessee singer and guitarist recorded and released the song in 1929. Roy Acuff, who was billed as “the King of Country Music,” SS recorded the song in 1936 with Dynamite Hatcher on vocals, but didn’t release it until 1938. NRR He didn’t record it with his vocal until 1947, although he performed it regularly on the Grand Ole Opry, SS where he first appeared in 1938 and was its top star by 1942. NRR His “voice was pure country and he was one of the first to carry the title ‘hillbilly’ proudly.” AC He embraced the plain and simple values of poor, rural Americans and gained an audience via his recordings, tours, and movie appearances. NRR In 1962, he was the first living artist elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame. NRR Resources: AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley NRR National Recording Registry Publishing Group. RA Theodore Raph (1964). The Songs We Sang: A Treasury of American Popular Music. A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc.: New York. Page 367. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 67-8. Related Links: First posted 11/24/2014; last updated 11/23/2025.

Today in Music (1935): Carter Family “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye)” charted

Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By) The Carter Family

Writer(s): Ada R. Habershon, Charles H. Gabriel, A.P. Carter (adapted by) (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 24, 1935 Peak: 17 BB (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.70 video, 9.88 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In his book Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Steve Sullivan says this is “perhaps the most beloved traditional song in all of country music.” SS “The power of its performance and its message – of sadness over the death of a loved one, transcended by contentment that she’s gone to a better place, and the knowledge that the family circle will continue – has resonated over the years.” SS It originated in 1907 as a gospel song by Ada R. Habershon and Charles Gabriel originally titled “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” According to Country Music Sources, the first country recording was done by Frank & James McCravy in 1927. Alvin Pleasant (A.P.) Carter rewrote the verses and retitled the song “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” but kept the melody and the chorus. SS The song was now set at a funeral with mourners pondering if they would ever be reunited with their mother. The Carter Family – consisting of A.P., his ex-wife Sara, and sister-in-law Maybelle, recorded the song in 1935. The trio were considered “the standard-bearers for the hillbilly songs that traced their heritage back to the first British folk melodies.” AC According to author Ace Collins, when it came to the Carter Family’s recording of “Unbroken” “those suffering through the Depression in the hills and valleys clung to it as if it were a personal statement of faith. It quickly became one of the most popular funeral hymns.” AC In 1968, Johnny Cash recorded “Daddy Sang Bass,” a song written by Carl Perkins that was based on “Unbroken.” Cash tapped the new version of the Carter Family, which consisted of Maybelle Carter and her daughters, to add harmonies. Daughter June married Cash that year. The song received attention again in 1972 when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded an album called Will the Circle Be Unbroken which consisted of country classics with country legends like Maybelle Carter and others. It has also been recorded by Roy Acuff, Gregg Allman, Joan Baez, the Band, the Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Moby, Bill Monroe, the Neville Brothers, Ralph Stanley, Mavis Staples, and Gene Vincent. WK Resources: AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley. Pages 27-8. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 39-40. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/24/2022; last updated 11/23/2025.