1968: A Folsom Redemption, an ExhibitsUSA traveling exhibition

Created to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a landmark event, 1968: A Folsom Redemption is a collection of photographs and memories of two journalists lucky enough to be among a handful of witnesses to the historic Johnny Cash concerts at Folsom Prison. This candid and personal exhibition covers a critical juncture in the career of Johnny Cash, one of the twentieth century’s most beloved performers.

In January 1968, Johnny Cash was at a crossroads. His music career , in a slow decline in several years, was in need of a smash hit. He had recently straightened out his personal life, and leadership changes at record label meant he was finally able to convince them of the merits of a live recording in  a prison setting. Cash had been performing for inmates as far back as 1957, when he received a stream of requests from prisoners who identified with the man who sang “Folsom Prison Blues.” This connection developed with prisoners during these concerts had made him increasingly sympathetic to those he would later call “the downtrodden.”

Working as freelance journalists, photographer Dan Poush and writer Gene Beley met with Cash and his family the day before the concerts began, at the invitation of Reverend Floyd Gressett, a friend of Cash’s who ministered to inmates and helped set up the show at Folsom State Prison with Recreation Director Lloyd Kelley. After practicing the set with the Tennessee Three at Hotel El Rancho the night before, on January 13, 1968, Cash, along with opening acts Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers, who performed two separate shows in the dining hall at Folsom. Notable for capturing Cash’s ability to connect with his audience, the recordings crackled with the excitement of an adoring crowd. The resulting album, At Folsom Prison, was released four months later to critical and popular acclaim.

Beley’s first-person account of those days, and his knowledge of storylines at work behind the scenes, make this a fascinating exploration of the little-known aspects of a well-known event in popular culture. 1968: A Folsom Redemption takes the viewer right into the heart of this pivotal moment in the life and career of one of the twentieth century’s most important and cherished musical personalities.

For the first time ever, this travelling road show collection of thirty-one photos features a wide rand of intimate photos with friends and family to a backstage meeting with country music legend Merle Haggard with the Man in Black. This exhibition highlights Cash’s golden era from January 1968 Folsom prison album recording to a March1, 1969 concert in Anaheim, California when he was getting ready to launch his network television show. 1968: A Folsom Redemption is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.

The exhibit will be on display from January 28 to March 16, 2023 in the temporary galleries of the Hoover Presidential Museum. Please visit https://hoover.archives.gov for hours, fees, and more information.