Well, this is a bit of a turn-up. I didn’t think video existed of Johnny’s San Quentin performance, but here he is performing Shel Silverstein’s “A Boy Named Sue”, which became Cash’s biggest-ever chart single at #2 in 1969.
The song is obviously still new to Cash (he reads the lyrics as he sings) and a little under-rehearsed. He’s not always in sync with the band, but the performance–flubs and all–was released despite.
The days of the little mistakes making their way onto the album–even the hit single–are pretty much over. When people say artists like Cash and Dylan made “real” music, that included real mistakes.
Every Moment Has A Song 