60 Years Ago: Johnny Cash Calls Out Country Radio Over Ira Hayes
The iconic black-and-white photo of Johnny Cash flipping the bird at the camera wasn’t really well-known to the public, and most certainly wasn’t making it onto T-shirts at Hot Topic until Rick Rubin and The Man in Black took out an advertisement in Billboard magazine in 1998.
The middle finger photo itself was shot at Johnny Cash’s 1969 concert at California’s San Quentin prison by photographer Jim Marshall, who took many of the iconic photos of rock stars in the 60s and 70s. The pose was the result of Johnny Cash’s response to Jim Marshall’s request: “John, let’s do a shot for the warden.” Marshall said later it was “probably the most ripped off photograph in the history of the world.”
At the 40th Annual Grammy Awards held on February 25, 1998 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Johnny Cash stunned the country world when he won for Best Country Album over Alan Jackson, George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, and Patty Loveless for his Rick Rubin-produced album Unchained. It was like a shot right across the bow of the country music industry. But Rick Rubin was not done.
Riding high off the victory, Rick Rubin pulled out $20,000 in 1998 money, and placed a full page ad in the Billboard issue that went to stands on March 14th, 1998. This was where the world was exposed to Johnny Cash’s notorious middle finger photo snapped by Jim Marshall, accompanied with the sarcastic caption, “American Recordings and Johnny Cash would like to acknowledge the Nashville music establishment and country radio for your support,” and a note about Unchained winning the Grammy for Best Country Album.
The ad definitely got the attention of the music world, and became a story all unto itself. “We hope it will open the eyes of the country community and hopefully they’ll say, ‘The guy did win.’ And he’s making records considered the best in country and maybe we should readdress the situation,” said Rick Rubin at the time.
In 2003, country music finally did by giving the Rubin/Cash collaboration The Man Comes Around the CMA Album of the Year.
But this wasn’t the first time Johnny Cash had pulled this stunt. Johnny Cash spent his career speaking out against injustices, and put special emphasis on the plight of the Americana Indian. There is no better example of this than his 1964 concept album Bitter Tears: The Ballads of the American Indian that was ahead of its time, and highly influential in drawing attention to the plight of America’s native people. It also ended up on SCM’s list of Greatest Country Concept Albums at #5.
Many of the songs of Bitter Tears were written by folk singer Peter LaFarge, but Johnny Cash contributed a few of his own, along with the song “A Vanishing Race” Cash co-wrote with Johnny Horton. But it was the song “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” that was selected to be the album’s single. Ira Hayes was a Marine of Pima descent that participated in the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima in 1945 during World War II.
But when country radio received “The Ballad of Ira Hayes,” they were reluctant to play it. Johnny Cash’s social commentary written by Peter LaFarge felt like too much for country listeners. The parallels between what Johnny Cash experienced in 1964 and what many country artists experience today were rather stark.
Johnny Cash could have just cast the song off as a dud and moved on. To be frank, Cash had quite a few singles fall flat for him in between the height of his Sun Records days, and his career resurgence with his prison albums in the late ’60s. But Cash believed in the single so much, he took out a full page ad in Billboard that was published on August 22nd, 1964 calling out country radio for its cowardice and reluctance to play the song.
“D.J.’s—station managers—owners, etc., where are your GUTS?” the letter said bluntly. Typed out in a period-era typewriter, the letter reads more like an angry screed that than a work of persuasion or rhetoric. In 1964, it was basically the equivalent of a middle finger.
“You’re right! Teenage girls and Beatle record buyers don’t want to hear this sad story of Ira Hayes—but who cries more easily, and who always go to sad movies to cry?? Teenage girls.
Some of you “Top Forty” D.J.’s went all out for this at first. Thanks anyway. Maybe the program director or station manager will reconsider.
This ad (go ahead and call it that) costs like hell.
Yes, I cut records to try for “sales.” Another word we could use is “success.”
What were the results? Some members of the country music community were irate, and attempt to strip Johnny Cash of his CMA membership. But eventually, country radio actually listened, and the song became a hit. “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and the song became one of Cash’s signature tunes. After Cash recorded it, many other country, folk, rock, and pop performers would record the song as well.
Can you imagine a country artist taking out a full page ad, or perhaps publishing or recording something similar in 2024, and challenging country radio to play it? It’s hard to imagine a major star doing what Cash did 50 years ago today, and most importantly, succeeding.
But like the letter ended, “NOBODY BUT NOBODY MORE ORIGINAL THAN JOHNNY CASH.”
Michael P.
August 22, 2024 @ 8:50 am
I listened to that song over and over and over on my parents’ stereo as a child in New York. I’d rewind the tape and play it again and again.
WuK
August 22, 2024 @ 9:28 am
Ballad of Ira Hayes has long been a favourite of mine, The album ‘Bitters tears has some great songs. Talking Leaves. As Long as the Grass Grows come to mind. It was an album with a message and a good concept album. I became a country music fan because of Johnny Cash and this album remains one of my favourites.
Tenski
August 22, 2024 @ 3:06 pm
My fiancée is from the same tribe and reservation as Ira Hayes. The Gila River reservation of the Akimel O’odham(or Pima as the white man calls them). A park named after Mr. Hayes in Sacaton, AZ has a statue of him there.
Tom Scott
August 22, 2024 @ 5:47 pm
I’ll bet Beyonce could do it today!
Mick
August 22, 2024 @ 9:17 pm
No. Just no.
RBF
August 22, 2024 @ 10:45 pm
Cash is a pretendian and also a rock n roller, not a country artist.
Nalli
August 25, 2024 @ 4:23 am
I’m sure he cares a ton about you gatekeeping him from being country. I know your hot take certainly influences my thinking.
John
August 23, 2024 @ 9:19 am
To night on XM radio outlaw country At 8pm John Carter Cash Johnny’s son will talk about the new album Spot light.by Johnny Cash.ot a good one.thr man in black lives on
.
Tracy Grimmett
August 23, 2024 @ 1:20 pm
Beyounce’ trying to sing country music is like trying to hold in a fart after eating taco bell!
Jacqueline Dorsey
October 12, 2024 @ 11:31 am
That’s not nice when you see a country person step up on stage sounding so country they need to hold it in like a fart
Paul Carey
August 23, 2024 @ 4:50 pm
Stompin tom Connors could give cash a good challenge!
Tom Demerath
August 23, 2024 @ 10:08 pm
Ira Hayes is a great American Hero for what he
did by serving his country in a time of crisis
But it’s his loss of life that is a tragedy that
happens to many of our war veterans
Cody
August 23, 2024 @ 10:26 pm
I know an old Marine in my VFW post that knew Hayes – his stories were very detailed, and as an archivist I know the records and I checked and they did serve together. Anyways, I never told him I double checked his story but he hated this song; hated the drinking aspect, he went on about how Ira talked about his drinking on his bond tour and how it started to affect stuff. Hell, we’re all drunks after war but Natives volunteered in insane numbers off the rez – I’m glad to read how Cash pushed hard to tell at least one of their stories.
Joe Campbell
August 24, 2024 @ 5:36 am
Had he not been native American they would have played the song a million times and never given it a second thought.
trevistrat
August 24, 2024 @ 3:51 pm
I finally found the “Billboard” magazine in question online and at the time, “Ira Hayes” was at #15.Another Cash song, “Bad News”, was at #17.The letter must have worked, though. One month later, in the Sep. 26 issue, “Ira Hayes” was at #3 and “Bad News” was at #8.(Side note: If you’ve ever heard Johnny’s version of “Bad News”, you can tell at this point in his life, the pills had the “upper” hand.)
CountryDJ
August 26, 2024 @ 8:08 am
To expand on the previous post:
Cash’s 1964 Columbia single was a two-sided hit. Designated “A” side The Ballad Of Ira Hayes and the “B” side Bad News. During that era Billboard, Cashbox & Record World all tracked each side of a single record separately. Ira Hayes began it’s chart run first followed by Bad News two weeks later on both the Billboard and Cashbox country charts.
The week that Cash’s letter was published [8/22/1964] The Ballad Of Ira Hayes ranked #15 during it’s 7th week the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The record had previously climbed to #15 three weeks prior but then slipped back to #20. Perhaps that brief slide contributed to Cash’s ire and inspired his letter in Billboard. But by the time the letter was published, the Ira Hayes single had already regained momentum climbing to #17 and then #15 on Aug. 22 on it’s way to a maximum peak position of #3 [for three weeks] one month later. On the Cashbox country survey the song never made a backward move during it’s journey into the top ten peaking at #4. Record World mirrored Billboard as the song also held the #3 peak position for three weeks on their country chart.
In his letter Cash seemed to be primarily angry with top 40 radio for ignoring the record. Ira Hayes never garnered enough airplay to even enter Billboard’s Hot 100 pop survey. But to be fair, Cash had little success with pop airplay since his Sun Record days in the 1950’s. In the early 1960’s the only Cash single record to have any significant success was Ring Of Fire. That record peaked at #17 in mid-1963. Cash’s new records were not regularly played by most pop stations.
It should be noted that by the mid-60’s Cash was in the depths of his drug addiction. So it’s hard to know exactly how clear-eyed he was at the time of composing that full-page ad. It definitely got the attention of the radio & music industries but for the most part the public was unaware of the controversy. No social media in 1964.
Ultimately Cash’s pleas to pop radio fell upon deaf ears. Hard to determine if that letter had any real effect on country stations because the song was already receiving substantial airplay and steadily climbing the country trade magazine charts at the time that his letter was published. But he may have hurt his cause with pop stations as he did not score another significant pop hit until five years later when A Boy Named Sue went to #2 in 1969.
Shirley
September 12, 2024 @ 8:08 pm
I loved the song as a child, and some what understood but just felt it in my heart ❤️ and I still love the song and Jonny Cash, and glad he stood up
Amvet
August 28, 2024 @ 5:54 am
As a Navy Hospital Corps veteran – kudos to Air Force veteran Johnny Cash for his love and devotion to his country and acknowledgment of World War II Marine Ira Hayes outstanding service during that bloody battle. The history of America must be preserved with emphasis on the inclusion of all races, genders, and ethnicities. God Bless America!
Sammy
August 28, 2024 @ 6:10 am
Ira Hayes is a great song. The Kinkster did a great version – RIP Kinky!