About: The Folk Singer

"The Folk Singer" is a folk song, written by Charles E. Daniels and American musician Johnny Cash and first recorded by Cash in 1968. It is also known as "Folk Singer" or, less often, "The Singer". Allegedly about American pop singer Tommy Roe, "The Folk Singer" was first recorded in 1968 and released as a B-side on a 45 RPM live reissue of Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" single in April 1968. Later recorded by Burl Ives (on the album, The Times They Are A-Changin') the same year and Glen Campbell (on the album, Try a Little Kindness) in 1970, the song reached a wider audience from these versions.