Bad News (John D. Loudermilk song) explained

Bad News
Type:	single
Artist:	Johnny Cash
Album:	I Walk the Line
A-Side:	"Bad News" "The Ballad of Ira Hayes"
Genre:	country
Label:	Columbia 4-43058
Producer:	Don Law and Frank Jones

"Bad News" is a song written by and originally released by John D. Loudermilk, whose version reached #23 on the U.S. Billboard country chart in 1963.^[1]

Johnny Cash version

Johnny Cash recorded this song for his album I Walk the Line out in May 1964.

Released as a single (Columbia 4-43058, with "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" on the opposite side)^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} in June 1964,^[7] Cash's version peaked at #8 of the Billboard country chart for two weeks. ("The Ballad of Ira Hayes" was more popular, reaching number 3.)^[8]

Analysis

Personnel

• Johnny Cash – vocal, guitar
• Norman Blake – dobro
• Carter Family: Maybelle, Anita, Helen, June – vocal harmony
• Jack Clement – guitar
• Marshall Grant – bass
• W.S. Holland – drums
• Luther Perkins – electric guitar
• Bill Pursell – piano

External links

• "Bad News" on the Johnny Cash official website

Notes and References

1. Bad News (by John D. Loudermilk) Chart History. Billboard. 2020-05-18.
2. Book: John L. Smith. Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. 1 January 1999. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-3629-7.
3. Book: The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-29506-5. 8–9.
4. Book: Steve Turner. The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. 1 November 2005. Thomas Nelson Inc. 978-0-8499-0815-6. 266.
5. Billboard. Billboard. 23 May 1970. 1–. 0006-2510.
   Book: Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. 2000. Krause Publications. 978-0-87341-934-5.
   Book: Tim Neely. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. 1 August 2002. Krause Publications. 978-0-87349-471-7.
   Book: Tim Neely. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. 31 August 2006. Krause Publications. 9780896893078.
6. Book: John L. Smith. The Johnny Cash Discography. 1 January 1985. Greenwood Press. 978-0-313-24654-8.
7. Book: Peter Lewry. I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. 2001. Helter Skelter. 978-1-900924-22-1. 43, 44.
   June
   "The Ballad Of Ira Hayes"/"Bad News" (Columbia 4-43058) released.
   
   11 July
   Johnny Cash's recording of Peter La Farge's "Ballad Of Ira Hayes" debuts at #42 and with 20 weeks on the chart it will [...].
8. Book: Joel Whitburn. Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. 2002. Record Research. 978-0-89820-151-2.
   Book: Joel Whitburn. Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. 2005. Record Research. 978-0-89820-165-9.