Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town
Studio album by
Johnny Cash
ReleasedApril 13, 1987
VenueCowboy Arms
StudioMercury Nashville
Genre
Length32:37
LabelMercury
ProducerJack Clement
Johnny Cash chronology
Believe in Him
(1986) 		Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town
(1987) 		Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series
(1988)
Singles from Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town
  1. "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town"
    Released: March 1987
  2. "Sixteen Tons"
    Released: June 1987
  3. "Let Him Roll"
    Released: September 1987
  4. "W. Lee O'Daniel (and the Light Crust Dough Boys)"
    Released: November 1987

Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town is the 73rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1987, and his first for Mercury Records. It was re-released in 2003, paired with Boom Chicka Boom on a single CD. "Sixteen Tons" was previously a hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford, "The Big Light" is an Elvis Costello song from his album King of America, released the previous year and "Let Him Roll" is from Guy Clark's debut, Old No. 1. The album reached #36 on the country charts, while the only released single, "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town", peaked at #43.[2]

"Ballad of Barbara" is a rerecording of a track that had been a hit single for Cash in the early 1970s. A number of tracks left over from the album's recording sessions would later surface on Cash's final Mercury album, The Mystery of Life, released in 1991.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Robert Christgau(B+) link

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Big Light"Elvis Costello2:41
2."Ballad of Barbara"Johnny Cash4:21
3."I'd Rather Have You"Cash3:11
4."Let Him Roll"Guy Clark4:29
5."The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" (with Waylon Jennings)Bobby Braddock, Charlie Williams3:24
6."Sixteen Tons"Merle Travis2:46
7."Letters from Home"J.C. Crowley, Jack Wesley Routh3:21
8."W. Lee O'Daniel (and the Light Crust Dough Boys)"James Talley2:46
9."Heavy Metal (Don't Mean Rock and Roll to Me)"Clark, Jim McBride2:50
10."My Ship Will Sail"Allen Reynolds2:46

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Chart (1987) Peak position
Top Country Albums 36

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year Single Peak positions
US Country
1987 "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" 43
"Sixteen Tons" -
"Let Him Roll" -
"W. Lee O'Daniel (and the Light Crust Dough Boys)" 72

References

  1. ^ "Johnny Cash is Coming to Town - Johnny Cash | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ C. Eric Banister -Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black 1617136085 2014 "“Sixteen Tons,” written by Merle Travis, fits, as one would expect, like a coal miner's glove, while “Letters from Home,” by Jack Wesley Routh and John Charles Crowley, finds Cash in a sentimental mood."

External links


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