Mister Garfield Explained

Mister Garfield
Type:	single
Artist:	Johnny Cash
Album:	Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West
A-Side:	"Mister Garfield" "The Streets of Laredo"
Genre:	Folk, country
Label:	Columbia 4-43313
Producer:	Don Law and Frank Jones

"Mister Garfield" is a traditional song sometimes credited to Ramblin' Jack Elliott.

Content

The song is about the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield by Charles Guiteau^[1] at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington on July 2, 1881.

Johnny Cash version

Johnny Cash recorded it on Columbia Records for his 1965 double album Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West.

Released in June 1965 as the first and only single from the yet-to-be-released album (Columbia 4-43313, with "The Streets of Laredo" on the opposite side),^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} it reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard country chart^[8] and number 17 on the Cash Box country chart.

Later Cash sang the song on his album America^[9] (1972).

Background and lyrical analysis

External links

• "Mister Garfield" (1972 ver.) on the Johnny Cash official website

Notes and References

1. Book: Alexander, John M.. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. 16 April 2018. University of Arkansas Press. Fayettville, Arkansas. 978-1-61075-628-0. 188–.
2. Book: Peter Lewry. I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. 2001. Helter Skelter. 978-1-900924-22-1.
   June
   "Mister Garfield"/"The Streets Of Laredo" (Columbia 4-43313) released. Both titles are from the forthcoming Ballads Of The True West album.. 49.
3. Book: C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. 1 August 2014. Backbeat. 978-1-61713-609-2. 136–.
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. Book: Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Billboard. 23 May 1970. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 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. 31 August 2006. Krause Publications. 9780896893078 .
6. Book: The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-29506-5. 8.
7. Book: George Albert. The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. 1984-01-01. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-1685-5.
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.
9. Book: Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash, the Songs. 2004. Thunder's Mouth Press. 9781560256298 .