Not many artists in music history can be compared to the legendary Man in Black, Johnny Cash. The country star is considered not only one of the leading stars of the genre but also an influential musician, composer, and singer that pioneered the course of music history.
There is no doubt that The Man in Black is one of the most influential country music stars of all time. Although Cash was never happy to stay on the side of the road and always had a rebellious spirit, he once said accurately: “Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the good guy. Cash causes all problems. They fight.”
He has used his iconic baritone voice to sing tunes in a wide variety of musical genres. With his unique voice and musical style, he has consistently achieved to create a particular tone that is recognized the first moment the tune starts playing. He was known for his deep voice, the characteristic boom-chick-a-boom sound of his backing band, the Tennessee Three, and wearing dark clothes, which earned him the nickname “The Man In Black.”
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Playing Cash tunes will unavoidably help you progress with your skills as a player and composer. His country and folk-influenced songs excellently prove that you can achieve brilliance with simplicity. From impressive ballads to iconic country tunes, there is much to learn and add to your repertoire.
Johnny Cash’s last song released before his death was the melancholic tune, Hurt in 2002. Despite being a cover of Nine Inch Nails industrial rock song, Hurt remained one of Cash’s most influential releases of all time.
The song is remembered for Cash’s deep vocals full of grief, a simple yet impressive acoustic guitar accompany, and its fantastic video clip with passages from his life. Cash’s cover was heartfelt and shocking, often resonating with his own life and reflecting on it as the finality of death awaited him.
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It is an intermediate-level song to play with arpeggiated verses and strummed chorus. The chords are pretty straightforward, with only one barre chord in the progression.
During the ’60s, Cash held a concert at California Folsom State Prison, where he performed Cocaine Blues, among many other songs, for an audience comprised primarily of prisoners. The tune is a western swing song written by T.J. Arnall as a rework of the traditional song Little Sadie. Cash modified the lyrics to make a somewhat less provocative version of the song for his opening performance.
The tune has a traditional country melody and upbeat rhythm with a bass note followed by a palm-muted note. The chords transit between C and G until the outro, where D and F chords are added to the progression. You can add a capo on the 1st fret to match the recording.
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If you want to play more folk tunes, you should take a look at my article Top 50 Famous & Easy Folk Guitar Songs – Tabs, Chords Included
Initially composed by American actor Stan Jones, ‘(Ghost) Riders in the Sky’ was a song covered by many artists over time, with Cash being one of the best. Cash’s version of this cowboy-style country / western song had a perfect combination of instruments and vocals that could transport you to the pages of a dusty old book on myth and folklore.
The song is played with 4 basic open chords along with a standard country rhythm. The lead guitar partitions are also straightforward, with repetitive and rhythmic walks on the upper strings.
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Cash was at the top of his career when he played A Boy Named Sue in California’s San Quentin prison in 1969. Written initially by singer-songwriter, poet, and cartoonist Shel Silverstein, the Cash version followed Cash’s spoken blues style, where he used the spoken word format with the basic accompaniment of a string and a percussion instrument.
You can play this song with 3 basic open chords: A, D, and E. The strum pattern is a moderate tempo classic pattern, and the lyrics are spoken instead of sung. It is an utterly entertaining song to play which you can change the lyrics and experiment with your own covers.
The iconic song You Are My Sunshine has been covered by many artists, including Johnny Cash. The Cash version resembles a country-influenced ballad with Cash’s deep vocals and a sentimental acoustic guitar accompaniment.
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The Johnny Cash version uses three easy chords A, D, and E. If you are familiar with fingerpicking, you can arpeggiate the chords to play it like the recording, but if you are a beginner, you can go with a basic strum pattern.
This song was originally written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and covered by Johnny Cash in 1970, who made the song famous. His cover immediately topped the charts and gained huge success.
It is a relatively easy song to play with all open basic chords along with a quick but simple strum pattern. Just listen to the song carefully to grab the feeling of the rhythm and enjoy playing this country classic.
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Cash was nicknamed “Man in Black” for his trademark all-black stage costume. While people thought of it as a style, Cash showed them that black was also the color of rebel and protest. The tune was created by Cash and released on his 1971 album of the same name.
The high tempo of the song makes it very fun to play. There are 4 chords in the progression, including a B chord which can be challenging for beginners to play.
One of the most popular and must-learn country songs by the legend Johnny Cash is, undoubtedly, Ring Of Fire. The tune is regarded as one of the best 50 country songs ever written and is globally well-known.
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Undoubtedly, the song’s chord progression is very easy to play. The strumming pattern is straightforward country style, but the high tempo requires a strumming hand with good stamina. The intro and outro riffs are also straightforward to play, which gives a nice touch to the song.
Jackson is the song in which Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter join together in a moving performance. Originally a Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood pop hit, ‘Jackson’ saw a country-style rendition at the hands of the Cash-Carter duo. With Cash’s burgeoning popularity, the song became a country hit even with audiences outside the country.
It is a melodic and harmonic country tune that defended the powerful voices of Cash and Carter. The progression features some complex chord shapes which may need some practice before playing for inexperienced guitarists. As the song has a high tempo, you should start slow and build up the speed later.
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The song was written by Australian country singer Geoff Mack in 1959 and was covered by Johnny Cash in 1996. Although many artists covered the song and sung their own versions, Cash’s unique deep voice added to it a signature characteristic that transformed it into a more charming tune.
The song is pretty easy to play with 6 chords and a moderate-paced tempo. There is only one unconventional chord, B7, that can be a little challenging for beginner players. In addition, if you want to achieve the same tone with the recording, you should use a capo on the 2nd fret.
One of the earliest and most iconic songs of the country legend Johnny Cash is I Walk The Line from 1957. The tune had a huge success, with almost 2 million copies sold. It became a globally famous hit and one of the pioneer songs of the genre due to its unique sound.
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The tune’s easy version can be played with three chords; C, G7, and F. The barre chord F can be challenging for beginner guitarists who are not having a hard time using the barring technique. But, starting slowly and practicing is essential to learn this key technique to add many new songs to your repertoire.
This 1958 song was written by Cash during a break from touring inspired by a newspaper article with the title “Johnny Cash has the great river blues in his voice.” Considered as one of the best works of Cash by the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, the tune has an upbeat rockabilly tone with blues and country influences.
It is an intermediate-level song with power chord variations and repetitive chord embellishments as transitions. The palm mute technique and dynamics are crucial in the riffs to play the tune properly.
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Now here’s a song that almost became synonymous with Johnny Cash’s career as a singer-songwriter. Folsom Prison Blues was the incorporation of the prison song and the train song, two dominant themes that would be found in many of his later themes.
Folsom Prison Blues became one of his signature songs, and the live performance of the song at Folsom Prison earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1969.
The song can be played with single-picked bass notes followed by traditionally strummed chords along with an upbeat tempo. With several simple solo fills in between verses that create a bluesy character, it is a great song to play and have fun and also to add to your country repertoire.
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