“A Boy Named Sue” is today’s classic song of the day with a person’s name in the title. Recorded by Johnny Cash and released as a single in July of 1969, this track hit #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts.
Noted children’s author Shel Silverstein wrote “A Boy Named Sue” and released his own version of the song on his 1969 album, Boy Named Sue (and His Other Country Songs). Silverstein introduced the tune to Johnny Cash during a guitar pull in Nashville, although Cash’s wife, June Carter Cash, had to convince her husband to perform it.
The version of “A Boy Named Sue” that we all know and love was recorded live at San Quentin prison on February 24, 1969, for Cash’s upcoming album, Johnny Cash at San Quentin. Cash had only just learned the song and didn’t really know the words; he had to keep referring to a printed lyric sheet as he performed it while his band improvised their backing on the spot. (You can tell that by the way Johnny got off track in the middle of the song, with the band having to tap dance a bit to get back on the right chords.) He was surprised at the convicts’ enthusiastic response to the song, which he’d added to the setlist at the last minute. It became his biggest hit.
Note that the line “I’m the son of a bitch who named you Sue!” was bleeped out of the original single and album track, although it was unbleeped in later reissues. Curiously, Shel Silverstein’s original version didn’t include any profanity, instead using the line “I’m the heartless hound that named you Sue.” (That sounds more like the kind of language the writerly Mr. Silverstein would use.)
Dirty words or not, “A Boy Named Sue” is a hell of a song and Johnny gave it a hell of a performance at San Quentin. To prove it, here’s the film of Johnny performing “A Boy Named Sue” live at San Quentin. You can see him reading off the lyric sheet—almost like he was singing it for the first time.
