Johnny Cash – Ghost Riders in the Sky

Live at Later… with Jools Holland, Series 3 Episode 7. 9 July 1994

“(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” – Single by Johnny Cash from the album Silver
B-side “I’m Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on My Old Guitar”
Released April 28, 1979
Recorded March 27–April 9, 1979
Studio Jack Clement Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
Label Columbia
Songwriter Stan Jones
Producer Brian Ahern
Charted No.31 in US

This was written and originally recorded by Stan Jones in 1948. Jones was a forest ranger who wrote songs on the side. After recording his version of the song, artists like Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry and Johnny Cash all recorded it, and the song became a cowboy standard.

The melody is based on the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

“Ghost Riders in the Sky” serves as a warning to a cowboy that he would one day be damned along with them and destined to attempt to chase the Devil’s herd across this unending sky” if he doesn’t change his ways. Multiple musicians enjoyed success with this song, including Burl Ives, The Outlaws, Vaughn Monroe, Bing Crosby, Frankie Lane, and Marty Robbins. Yet perhaps, the person with whom the song is often associated with was Cash, who recorded the song for his Silver album. Cash’s version spent a whopping 16-week streak at Billboard, which was quite an impressive mark for a cover song.