"Bad News"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album I Walk the Line
A-side"Bad News"
"The Ballad of Ira Hayes"
Released1964 (1964)
Genrecountry
LabelColumbia 4-43058
Songwriter(s)John D. Loudermilk[1]
Producer(s)Don Law and Frank Jones[1]
Audio
"Bad News" on YouTube

"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.[2][3]

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)[4][5][6][7][8] in June 1964,[5][8][9] Cash's version peaked at #8 of the Billboard country chart for two weeks.[2] ("The Ballad of Ira Hayes" was more popular, reaching number 3.)[10]

Analysis

"Bad News" depicts a [...] drifter [...] who has a bad reputation and is known as bad news everywhere he goes. He laughs maniacally as he recounts the failed attempts to slow him down or hang him, but the rebel in him just taunts authority and continues to laugh in the face of those who chase after him. It's a unique take, and a nice play on Johnny's original outlaw reputation. John D. Loudermilk wrote this song, which sounds tailor-made for Cash. It's fun to listen to him grunt and carry on as he recounts all he has to do to stay free of those who want to capture him.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[11]

"Bad News," one of three new songs on the album [I Walk the Line], had been recorded earlier in 1963 by its writer, John D. Loudermilk, a cousin of Charlie and Ira Loudermilk—or, as they were better known, the Louvin Brothers. Loudermilk's recording went to #23 on the Country charts but stalled out after that. Blake's Dobro adds some added swagger to Cash's version, while the singer's rumbling laugh and raspy voice brings a menacing quality.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[2]

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 4-43058,[1] 1964)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad News"J. D. Loudermilk2:56
2."The Ballad of Ira Hayes"P. La Farge4:07

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1964) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 8

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Johnny Cash - The Ballad Of Ira Hayes". Discogs. 1964. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  2. 1 2 3 C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-1-61713-608-5.
  3. ↑ "Bad News (by John D. Loudermilk) Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  4. 1 2 John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
  5. 1 2 The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  6. ↑ Steve Turner (1 November 2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-8499-0815-6.
  7. ↑ "Billboard". Billboard. 23 May 1970. pp. 1–. ISSN 0006-2510.
    Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN 978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (1 August 2002). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-471-7.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780896893078.
  8. 1 2 John L. Smith (1 January 1985). The Johnny Cash Discography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-24654-8.
  9. ↑ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. pp. 43, 44. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
    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 [...]
  10. ↑ Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  11. ↑ John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 150–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
  12. ↑ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
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