Today in History

What went down and why you should care.

jul 15 Learn More Johnny Cash Dropped by Columbia Records


On this day in 1986, Johnny Cash was dropped by Columbia Records after 26 years. Cash's popularity was at its lowest in the '80s, and the legendary singer-songwriter wasn't stoked about the way the record company was promoting him—or rather, about the way the label wasn't promoting him. So, in an attempt to get the boot from Columbia, he recorded the intentionally atrocious song "Chicken in Black" about a three-way brain transplant between Cash, a dead bank robber named Manhattan Flash, and a chicken. The wonderfully terrible tune worked, and Columbia kicked Cash to the curb.

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