Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
{{Album infobox | Name = Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian | Type =
LP | Artist =
Johnny Cash | Cover = JohnnyCashBitterTears.jpg | Background = orange | Released =
October 1,
1964 | Recorded =
March 5, 1964 -
June 30, 1964 | Genre =
Country | Length = 31:13
Columbia> Producer = Don Law, Frank Jones | Reviews = | Last album = I Walk the Line
(1964) | This album = Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
(1964) | Next album = Orange Blossom Special
(1965) |
Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian is a concept album released by country singer Johnny Cash in 1964 (see 1964 in music) on Columbia Records. It is one of several Americana records by Cash; as its title implies, the tracks on the album focus exclusively on the history of and problems facing Native Americans in the United States. Cash had been convinced that his ancestry included members of the Cherokee tribe, and this partly served as inspiration for recording Bitter Tears. Throughout the album, Cash concentrates on the harsh and unfair treatment of the indigenous peoples of North America. The songs were written in part by Cash himself and in part by Peter La Farge, with the final track credited to Cash and Johnny Horton. The first song, "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow", was re-recorded by Cash decades later and released on Unearthed with the lyrics altered to describe his relationship with and devotion to June Carter Cash; the track itself was a duet with the latter. The one single from Bitter Tears that was released was "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", which reached No. 3 on the Country charts; the song tells the story of Ira Hayes, a young Marine of Native American descent who participated in the flag raising on Iwo Jima and became an instant celebrity, only to die drunk and in poverty on the reservation where he was born.# "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" (Peter La Farge) - 6:10# "Apache Tears" (Cash) - 2:34# "Custer" (La Farge) - 2:20# "The Talking Leaves" (Cash) - 3:55# "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (La Farge) - 4:07# "Drums" (La Farge) - 5:04# "White Girl" (La Farge) - 3:01# "The Vanishing Race" (Cash, Johnny Horton) - 4:02* Johnny Cash - Vocals
* Luther Perkins, Norman Blake, Bob Johnson - Guitar
* Marshall Grant - Bass
* W.S. Holland - Drums
* The Carter Family - Vocal AccompaniamentAlbum - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position | | 1964 | Country Albums | 2 | | 1964 | Pop Albums | 47 | |
Singles - Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position | | 1964 | "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" | Country Singles | 3 | |
* Johnny Cash discography* Luma Electronic entry on Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
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