The Last Gunfighter Ballad

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The Last Gunfighter Ballad
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1977
RecordedFebruary 21, 1975 – October 6, 1976
StudioHouse of Cash Studios (Hendersonville)
Genre
Length30:23
LanguageEnglish
LabelColumbia
Producer
  • Charlie Bragg
  • Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash chronology
One Piece at a Time
(1976)
The Last Gunfighter Ballad
(1977)
The Rambler
(1977)
Singles from The Last Gunfighter Ballad
  1. "The Last Gunfighter Ballad"
    Released: 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The Last Gunfighter Ballad is an album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1977. Notable tracks include the title track, "Far Side Banks of Jordan" and "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine", the latter of which features Cash's brother Tommy Cash. The title track was the album's only single, reaching #38 on the country charts; it tells the tale of an aging gunslinger who finds himself unable to deal with the modern way of life.

"Ballad of Barbara" is a new recording of a song that had first appeared as the B-side of Cash's 1973 single "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup", while "City Jail" is a studio version of a track first released on the live album På Österåker. "Far Side Banks of Jordan", a duet featuring Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, is a remake of a track first recorded in 1975 for a planned gospel album that was recorded in full, but for reasons unknown was never released (the 1975 version of the song, along with the other tracks, would not be released until 2012). The song is noted for its lyrics which feature June pondering the possibility of dying before her husband (she would in fact die several months before Cash in 2003).[2]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Will Dance With You"Jack Wesley Routh2:49
2."The Last Gunfighter Ballad"Guy Clark2:48
3."Far Side Banks of Jordan" (with June Carter Cash)Terry Smith2:42
4."Ridin' on the Cotton Belt"Cash3:25
5."Give It Away"Tom T. Hall2:55
6."You're So Close to Me"Mac Davis2:50
7."City Jail"Cash3:56
8."Cindy, I Love You"Cash2:15
9."Ballad of Barbara" (with Tommy Cash)Cash3:49
10."Silver Haired Daddy of Mine"Gene Autry, Jimmy Long2:54

Personnel[edit]

Additional personnel[edit]

  • Produced by: Charlie Bragg and Don Davis
  • Arranged by: Bill Walker
  • Recorded at Sound Spectrum Recording, Inc. (House of Cash Studios)
  • Engineers: Charlie Bragg, Roger Tucker, Danny Jones, Chuck Bragg
  • Photography: Bill Barnes
  • Liner Notes: Johnny Cash (as John D. (Deadeye) Cash)

Charts[edit]

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1977 Country Albums 29

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
1977 "The Last Gunfighter Ballad" Country Singles 38

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Last Gunfighter Ballad Review by Jim Worbois". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  2. ^ Gregg Geller, "Producer's Note", Johnny Cash, Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth. Columbia/Legacy Records 88697985382, 2012