WagooMusic

Narrowing the list of hit singles recorded by Johnny Cash down to only ten is a difficult task considering how popular he became as a singer/songwriter. he swept America off its feet in 1955 when he released his first hit single and it just got better from there. he started his career as a country singer but he also sung blues, rock, folk and gospel. after his first hit record, he made an appearance on the Louisiana Hayride radio show and soon, music fanatics everywhere knew the name Johnny Cash.

Here are 10 hit singles recorded by Johnny Cash:

1. Ring of Fire- Co-written by June Carter and first sang by her sister Anita, this was a unique love song that Cash later recorded the way he thought it should be sung with lots of thought put into the instrumentals. his version of the song became the biggest hit of his career.

2. Folsom Prison Blues- the film inside the Walls of Folsom Prison was his inspiration to write this song. It’s actually a story about a man in prison who thinks about the crimes he committed when he hears the whistle of a train as it passes by. the version recorded from inside the walls of Folsom Prison became one of his biggest hits.

3. I Walk the Line- Released in 1957, this one became a number one country hit as Cash sings about being a devoted husband who will walk the line for his wife.

4. A Boy Named Sue- this is a fascinating song about a boy’s journey to find and get revenge on his absent father who’s only part in his life, was to name him Sue. It was released in 1969 and quickly hit the top of the billboard charts to become his fourth largest hit.

5. Ghost Riders in the Sky- Originally written and performed by Stan Jones in 1948 this song has become a legend throughout the years. It’s a fascinating story about a vision that a cowboy has where he sees the ghost riders (who are dammed cowboys) chasing the devils herd of fire-breathing cattle through the thundering sky. Cash recorded his version of the song in 1979 staying faithful to the original version but that dark voice added to the drama making it even more popular.

6. Cry Cry Cry- this is the song that started Cash’s career and it made it all the way to number 14 on the country music chart in 1955.

7. Big River- Written and recorded by Cash in 1958, big River hit number 4 on the country music charts and stayed there for an amazing fourteen weeks. when the song was released there was a verse omitted due to the length of the song and Cash would add this verse when performing in front of a live audience.

8. So Doggone Lonesome- Written by Johnny Cash and sang by him and his Tennessee Two band, this become one of his big hits. It was written as a tribute to Ernest Tubb.

9. Don’t Take your Guns to Town- this number one hit single stayed at the top for six weeks. the story talks about a mother warning her son not to take his guns to town. Ignoring her advice, the young cowboy is killed in a saloon gunfight.

10. Hurt- Johnny Cash did a remake of this Trent Reznor song in 2002. there was some skepticism within the music industry over this remake but it became one of the last hits Cash recorded before his death in 2003.

48 hit singles recorded by Johnny Cash reach the top of the country music charts throughout his career. his distinctive voice and unique style grabbed the hearts of music lovers from all generations and he’ll be remembered forever as one of America’s greatest singers. which ones are your favorites?

When you take up the acoustic guitar you want to play songs, right? Maybe to sing some songs around the campfire. Lots of pop songs and folk songs sound good accompanied by the acoustic guitar but a sudden wish to play Spanish guitar songs often takes hold of you. if you can play Spanish guitar songs or Spanish sounding instrumentals it is a mark of your progress as a guitar player. this is a wish that many guitarists have but not too many know how to go about finding suitable Spanish flavored music to play.

In order to be some help to these guitarists who wish to have a serious guitar piece to play, I will throw in some suggestions. I know that many of the songs we identify as Spanish guitar pieces are fairly advanced technically but I am not going to leave any out of my list on the basis of technical difficulty. Any guitar piece you hear is probably available on tab and it is up to you to decide once you attempt to play the tab whether you are trying to play something that is too hard for you.

So when we think Spanish music what artists do we think of? There is The Gypsy Kings, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Paco De Lucia. how about Jose Feliciano. He played Spanish guitar style arrangements of a couple of Beatles songs.

Or there is Spanish Caravan by The Doors. this was actually a mixture of a Flamenco guitar style called Granadinas and a classical guitar piece called Asturias by Isaac Albeniz. The guitar playing sounded impressive on the record but it is not a great technical challenge. You can get the general flavor of the intro to Spanish Caravan by playing the B, C and D bar chords at the second, third and fifth frets. they are all the same chord shape which is based on the A major chord shape in the first position. here is the B bar chord in tab:

e–2——————–|

B–4——————–|

G–4——————–|

D–4——————–|

A–2——————–|

E———————–|

Now to get the Flamenco flavor into these chords, take the bar off and put your first finger back on the fifth string and let the first string ring open in all three positions.

So now your B chord is:

e–0——————–|

B–4——————–|

G–4——————–|

D–4——————–|

A–2——————–|

E———————–|

You can also try the same technique by removing the bar from the F major shape, and moving it up the fretboard to see how it sounds.

Some popular Spanish songs you could Google are: Compostelana, La Tarara, Volver, Bomboleiro, Bomoleira, Adelita and La Morena de mi Copla. these are all well-known songs that chords, lyrics and tabs should not be too hard to find on the web.

With the new digital age of music upon us, there are several options available for musicians and producers to make money writing songs from home. with thousands of music publishing companies available at your disposal, your home based recording business can be very lucrative. Most musicians nowadays have some sort of Audio Editing/multitrack software on their PC’s. Little do they know that this is a powerful tool that can be used to make money in music publishing. Most musicians can play multiple instruments, therefore, they can write their own music, in different genres, giving them options when targeting a specific style. Instrumental music is used everyday in thousands of different formats. for instance, documentaries use instrumental music as background music. TV and Radio are always using instrumentals for commercials. They usually require a specific type of format in 15, 30 and 60 second spots, with multiple versions desired. Movies soundtracks are much more elaborate, and usually have orchestration: (strings, etc.), but there are new Virtual Instrument software programs for your PC that can simulate such arrangements. each Music Publisher is usually looking for a specific format/genre. If you develop a library of material to submit, your chances are better for your works being accepted.

Collaboration is another way to diversify your recordings. using internet based classified ads, your can find vocalists, guitar/bass players, and orchestration arrangers for your projects. these musicians usually have home recording software, or some other means to record their tracks for your songwriting collaboration. there are several file sharing sites to upload/download and exchange files. Most emails limit your file uploads. when sharing recorded music files, higher quality is key to a quality result in your final mix. using an internet based file sharing program will payoff. some of them are free of charge, as long as you don’t share large numbers of files.

All songs that you write/record with your collaborators should be copyrighted before submitting to publishers. Agree to terms with your collaborators and GET IT IN WRITING!! ASCAP now has ways to register songs online. this will protect your agreements you make with other songwriters, so there are no discrepancies down the road. Publishing companies usually take 50% of royalties, this is standard for all publishers. If publishers accept your song, and an artist wants to license the song, the licensing fee can range anywhere from $2500 to $10,000!!! Any royalties made after the song is released, 50% goes to the publisher and the rest is split between you and your songwriters. Sounds like a ripoff, but if that song is making a million dollars, think of the rewards.