# Did Johnny Cash sing a racist song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740 "2007-10-06T10:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/1 "2007-10-06T10:46:21Z")
A friend of mine played me a tune last night purporting to be Johnny Cash. The singer was singing something along the lines of “America for whites, Africa for blacks, ship them n\*ggers back.” It sounded like it was recorded in the '50s and it indeed did sound a bit like Johnny Cash but his style isn’t the hardest to impersonate and it’s not impossible that other singers could have sounded like him. So what’s the story, did he really sing on this track or is it wrongly attributed to Mr. Cash? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/2 "2007-10-06T11:32:26Z")
I seem to recall a thread on this years and years ago. There was some other singer with a similar voice. I am sure some Smart Person will be along shortly. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/3 "2007-10-06T12:04:14Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rockwell#Hatenanny_Records_and_the_Hate_Bus) says the song is credited to a group called Odis Cochran and the Three Bigots. Some websites claim it’s George Rockwell himself singing. I’ve listened to the song just now (no link, but you can find it yourself with a Google video search) and I must say that to my ears, it doesn’t sound much at all like Johnny Cash’s voice, nor does it sound like the kind of song he would have sung. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/4 "2007-10-06T12:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I seem to recall a thread on this years and years ago. There was some other singer with a similar voice. I am sure some Smart Person will be along shortly. [/QUOTE] [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312336&highlight=johnny+cash+niggers) the thread **Paul** was talking about. The short answer seems to be that some fuckwit who calls himself “Johnny Rebel” sings racist songs. From there, all racist songs get attributed to Johnny Rebel, and from there, they get attributed to all country singers named Johnny, 'cause hey, all country singers are redneck racists, right? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/5 "2007-10-06T12:44:55Z")
It was not Johny Cash’s type of song. He and the people he regularly sang with wouldn’t sing something like that. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/6 "2007-10-06T13:52:50Z")
During one part of his career, David Allen Coe sang extremely racist/sexist/vulgar songs. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/7 "2007-10-06T14:11:16Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] During one part of his career, David Allen Coe sang extremely racist/sexist/vulgar songs. [/QUOTE] A few were. But if I remember correctly a lot of racist songs that get credited to Coe were actually the works of Johnny Rebel. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/8 "2007-10-06T14:14:25Z")
Really, could the man who wrote and sang that piece o’ crap be the same man who wrote and sang “The Man in Black” or “Ragged Old Flag”? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/9 "2007-10-06T14:33:32Z")
[QUOTE=pkbites] A few were. But if I remember correctly a lot of racist songs that get credited to Coe were actually the works of Johnny Rebel. [/QUOTE] Well, I am not claiming DAC wrote the songs, just that he performed them. Back in the ?80s, I met DAC. I had heard a few of his songs, but didn’t really know much about him. During a long night involving much alcohol, he seemed like an OK guy. At the end of the night, he gave me a CD that he said contained songs “not available on any of my CDs”. I threw out the CD a short time later. It had songs like _Nigger Fucker_, _Fuck Her In The Butt_, etc. A few were kinda funny, like _Cumstains on the Pillow_. Here is Wiki’s take: > [@](#): > > Coe recorded two songs in the 1980s containing racist and misogynistic lyrics of extreme vulgarity, including one titled “Nigger Fucker.” For this reason, the earlier racist songs by the country musician known as Johnny Rebel have been attributed to Coe. [2][3] Coe has stated on his official website that these are not his works and refuses to acknowledge or play them in concert. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/10 "2007-10-06T15:13:33Z")
It’s hard to think of any country singer less likely to sing a racist song than Johnny Cash: > **[Johnny Cash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash)** > > John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Most of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm bass-baritone voice,\[a\] the distinctive sound of his Tennessee Three backing band characterized by train-like chugging guitar rhythms, a rebelliousness coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor,\[5 Born to po... His songs were very often about respect for the oppressed. He sang about respect for prisoners, for drug addicts, for the poor, and for Native Americans, just among few groups than quickly come to mind. He never did the smug “People like us are great, and those non-country types are so messed up” songs that some country singers do. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/11 "2007-10-06T15:22:48Z")
Coe had another song I believe called Alabama Nigger. I remember reading something like the drummer on the track was black. Hmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Fozzie\_Bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Fozzie\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fozzie_Bear)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/12 "2007-10-06T18:52:08Z")
Didn’t Coe also do The Rodeo Song? I thought that was mildly funny, but then it just has vulgarity - no racist stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/13 "2007-10-06T19:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=Fozzie Bear] Didn’t Coe also do The Rodeo Song? I thought that was mildly funny, but then it just has vulgarity - no racist stuff. [/QUOTE] No. That was Garry Lee and Showdown. But you’re not the first to think this. Per my previous post, Coe did do some vile songs, but quite a few that he didn’t do get credited to him. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/14 "2007-10-06T19:10:22Z")
I didn’t really think it was him I was just looking for evidence that it wasn’t. I had heard of Johnny Rebel and his stock in trade before and assumed it was him. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/15 "2007-10-06T19:23:49Z")
I heard a Coe bootleg years ago that had a very funny and very vulgar song about the three biggest lies in the world. Now I’m wondering if it was indeed Coe or not. Strangely, that thought never occurred to me until just now. I just took my friend’s word for it without questioning it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/16 "2007-10-06T21:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=Cub Mistress] I heard a Coe bootleg years ago that had a very funny and very vulgar song about the three biggest lies in the world. Now I’m wondering if it was indeed Coe or not. Strangely, that thought never occurred to me until just now. I just took my friend’s word for it without questioning it at all. [/QUOTE] This will only hurt for a little bit, I’ll only put the head of it in, and I promise never ever to come in your mouth? Yup, that’s Coe. The dirty and racist songs are available on a special CD from his website if you do a Google search. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-johnny-cash-sing-a-racist-song/421740/17 "2007-10-06T21:33:20Z")
FWIW, Coe denied to Howard Stern a few years back that the Johnny Rebel songs were him.