The Man in Black 1954–1958

The Man in Black 1954–1958
The Man in Black 1954–1958
Box set by Johnny Cash
Released	1990
Recorded	1954–1958
Genre	Rockabilly; country;
Length	Seven hours
Label	Bear Family
Johnny Cash chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
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Allmusic	link

The Man in Black 1954–1958 is a Bear Family Records 5-CD box set of Johnny Cash's music. It contains every known recording from Sun to Columbia from the years 1954-1958. It's the first of three box sets in the Man In Black box set series.

The box itself is shaped as a square border box as it holds cases for the discs, and a booklet for a welcome bonus.

Track listing

Disc One
No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Wide Open Road"	The Sun Years	1:50
2.	"You're My Baby"	The Sun Years	1:48
3.	"My Treasure"	The Sun Years	2:31
4.	"My Treasure"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	1:17
5.	"Hey Porter"	Previously unreleased	2:13
6.	"Folsom Prison Blues"	Previously unreleased	2:32
7.	"Wide Open Road"	The Sun Years	2:36
8.	"My Two Timin' Woman"	The Roots of Rock, Vol. 10: Sun Country	1:59
9.	"Hey Porter"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:15
10.	"Cry! Cry! Cry!"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:29
11.	"Wide Open Road"	Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers	2:30
12.	"Port of Lonely Hearts"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:36
13.	"I Couldn't Keep from Crying"	The Singing Storyteller	2:03
14.	"New Mexico"	The Sun Years	2:07
15.	"Folsom Prison Blues"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:50
16.	"So Doggone Lonesome"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:39
17.	"Mean Eyed Cat"	Sings Hank Williams	2:30
18.	"Luther Played the Boogie"	Greatest!	2:05
19.	"Rock and Roll Ruby"	The Sun Years	1:44
20.	"I Walk the Line"	The Sun Years	2:41
21.	"Brakeman's Blues" (Incomplete)	Previously unreleased	1:32
22.	"Get Rhythm"	Previously unreleased	2:16
23.	"Get Rhythm"	Greatest!	2:15
24.	"I Walk the Line"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:46
25.	"Train of Love"	Sun Records, The Country Years	2:38
26.	"Train of Love"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:24
27.	"There You Go"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:19
28.	"One More Ride" (Incomplete)	The Sun Years	00:50
29.	"I Love You Because"	The Sun Years	2:27
30.	"Goodbye Little Darlin'"	Greatest!	2:16
31.	"I Love You Because"	Sings Hank Williams	2:28
32.	"Straight A's In Love"	Sings Hank Williams	2:14

Disc Two
No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Don't Make Me Go"	Previously unreleased	2:53
2.	"Next In Line"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:48
3.	"Don't Make Me Go"	The Sun Years	2:33
4.	"Don't Make Me Go"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:30
5.	"Home of the Blues" (Undubbed Master)	Previously unreleased	3:01
6.	"Give My Love to Rose"	Previously unreleased	3:12
7.	"Give My Love to Rose"	Sings Hank Williams	2:46
8.	"Home of the Blues" (Overdubbed Master)	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:41
9.	"Rock Island Line"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:01
10.	"Wreck of the Old 97"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	1:48
11.	"Belshazzar"	The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash	2:27
12.	"Country Boy"	The Sun Years	1:49
13.	"Leave That Junk Alone"	The Sun Years	1:30
14.	"Doin' My Time"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:39
15.	"Country Boy"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	1:53
16.	"If the Good Lord's Willing"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	1:44
17.	"I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:25
18.	"I Was There When It Happened"	Sun Records, The Country Years	2:18
19.	"Remember Me (I'm the One Who Loves You)"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:49
20.	"I Was There When It Happened"	With His Hot and Blue Guitar	2:17
21.	"Big River"	Previously unreleased	3:46
22.	"Ballad of a Teenage Queen"	Previously unreleased	2:18
23.	"Goodnight Irene"	The Sun Years	2:41
24.	"Big River"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:33
25.	"Ballad of a Teenage Queen"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:14
26.	"Come In Stranger"	The Roots Of Rock, Vol. 4: Cotton City Country	2:03
27.	"Guess Things Happen That Way" (Undubbed Master)	Previously unreleased	1:58
28.	"Come In Stranger"	Sings Hank Williams	1:43
29.	"Oh, Lonesome Me" (Undubbed Master)	Previously unreleased	2:30
30.	"Guess Things Happen That Way"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	1:52
31.	"Oh, Lonesome Me" (Overdubbed Master)	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:29

Disc Three
No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Sugartime"	Previously unreleased	1:46
2.	"Born To Lose" (Undubbed Master)	The Sun Years	2:10
3.	"You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:41
4.	"Born to Lose"	The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash	2:11
5.	"Sugartime" (Overdubbed Master)	Now Here's Johnny Cash	1:50
6.	"Story of a Broken Heart"	The Sun Years	2:33
7.	"Always Alone" (Incomplete)	The Sun Years	1:35
8.	"Always Alone"	The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash	1:52
9.	"Story of a Broken Heart" (False Starts)	Previously unreleased	2:28
10.	"Story of a Broken Heart"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:12
11.	"You Tell Me"	Greatest!	1:55
12.	"Life Goes On"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:01
13.	"You Win Again"	Previously unreleased	2:18
14.	"I Could Never Be Ashamed of You"	Previously unreleased	2:14
15.	"Hey Good Lookin'"	Previously unreleased	1:43
16.	"I Can't Help It"	Previously unreleased	1:46
17.	"Cold Cold Heart"	Previously unreleased	2:21
18.	"Blue Train"	All Aboard the Blue Train	2:03
19.	"Katy Too"	Greatest!	1:58
20.	"The Ways of a Woman in Love"	The Sun Years	2:28
21.	"Fools Hall of Fame"	Previously unreleased	2:25
22.	"The Ways of a Woman in Love"	Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous	2:17
23.	"Thanks a Lot"	Greatest!	2:38
24.	"It's Just About Time"	Previously unreleased	2:08
25.	"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"	Previously unreleased	2:10
26.	"I Just Thought You'd Like to Know"	Greatest!	2:25
27.	"It's Just About Time"	Greatest!	2:10
28.	"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"	Greatest!	1:55
29.	"Down The Street to 301"	Now Here's Johnny Cash	2:03

Disc Four
No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Oh What a Dream"	Previously unreleased	2:05
2.	"I'll Remember You"	Previously unreleased	2:07
3.	"Drink to Me"	Songs of Our Soil	1:54
4.	"What Do I Care"	"All Over Again" B-side	2:08
5.	"Suppertime"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:51
6.	"It Was Jesus"	Hymns by Johnny Cash	2:05
7.	"Oh What a Dream"	Columbia Records 1958-1986	2:03
8.	"I'll Remember You"	Previously unreleased	2:05
9.	"Mama's Baby"	The Unissued Johnny Cash	2:22
10.	"The Troubadour"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:16
11.	"Run Softly Blue River"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:15
12.	"All Over Again"	Single A-side	2:15
13.	"That's All Over"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	1:54
14.	"Frankie's Man Johnnie"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:17
15.	"Fool's Hall of Fame"	The Unissued Johnny Cash	2:09
16.	"Walkin' the Blues"	The Unissued Johnny Cash	2:14
17.	"Lead Me Father"	Hymns by Johnny Cash	2:27
18.	"That's Enough"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:42
19.	"I Still Miss Someone"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:36
20.	"One More Ride"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:02
21.	"Pickin' Time"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	1:59
22.	"Don't Take Your Guns to Town"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	3:04
23.	"I'd Rather Die Young"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:31
24.	"The Shepherd of My Heart"	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:12
25.	"Cold Shoulder"	The Unissued Johnny Cash	1:52

Disc Five
No.	Title	Original Album	Length
1.	"Lead Me Father" (Takes 1-4)	Previously unreleased	3:41
2.	"Lead Me Father" (Takes 5-9)	Previously unreleased	4:32
3.	"Lead Me Father" (Takes 10-12)	Previously unreleased	3:47
4.	"Lead Me Father" (Master-Take 13)	Hymns by Johnny Cash	2:36
5.	"That's Enough" (Takes 1-3)	Previously unreleased	2:28
6.	"That's Enough" (Master-Take 4)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:52
7.	"I Still Miss Someone" (Takes 1-5)	Previously unreleased	4:07
8.	"I Still Miss Someone" (Takes 6-8)	Previously unreleased	4:19
9.	"I Still Miss Someone" (Takes 9-10)	Previously unreleased	2:55
10.	"I Still Miss Someone" (Master-Take 11)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:43
11.	"One More Ride" (Takes 1-4)	Previously unreleased	3:09
12.	"One More Ride" (Takes 5-11)	Previously unreleased	2:16
13.	"One More Ride" (Master-Take 12)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:06
14.	"Pickin' Time" (Takes 1-2)	Previously unreleased	2:32
15.	"Pickin' Time" (Master-Take 3)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:04
16.	"Don't Take Your Guns to Town" (Takes 1-4)	Previously unreleased	2:46
17.	"Don't Take Your Guns to Town" (Takes 5-6)	Previously unreleased	3:31
18.	"Don't Take Your Guns to Town" (Master)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	3:04
19.	"I'd Rather Die Young" (Take 1 and Master-Take 2)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	2:53
20.	"The Shepherd of My Heart" (Takes 1-2 and Master-Take 3)	The Fabulous Johnny Cash	3:31
21.	"Cold Shoulder" (Master-Take 1 and Master-Take 2)	The Unissued Johnny Cash	2:15

Song information

Previously unissued:

CD 1: tracks 5, 6, 21, 22
CD 2: tracks 1, 5, 6, 21, 22, 27, 29
CD 3: tracks 1, 13 to 17, 21, 24, 25
CD 4: tracks 1, 2, 7, 8,3

CD 5 contains a complete session: false starts, breakdowns, rejected and finished masters of songs recorded on August 13, 1958.

Numbers next to some songs indicate the year of the release.

Credits

Mastered By - Bob Jones
Producer - Don Law, Jack Clement, Sam Phillips
Reissue Producer - Colin Escott, Richard Weize

References