“Cry! Cry! Cry!” is a song that was written and performed by singer/song writer, Johnny Cash. The song was originally released in 1955 and entered the charts at #14. The early success of the song led to a featured spot on the Louisiana Hayride Tour and kicked off the career of Johnny Cash in the process. The song sold over 100,000 copies alone in the southern states. Cash then began to tour with Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 (among other artists from the record business) soon after its release.

In 1954, before the release of the song "Cry! Cry! Cry!," Cash signed with Sun Records

Sun Records

Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...

 after he came home from serving with the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. During that time, he wrote the song “Hey Porter” which was met with little excitement from the executives at his record label. He was then told to come back with a song that Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips

Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...

, would be able to sell. Cash went home and wrote the song "Cry! Cry! Cry!" overnight and came back and performed it to Phillips the following day. The song was then coupled with "Hey Porter" and released as the B-side of the record. For the recording of the song, Johnny Cash was backed by "The Tennessee Two", Luther Perkins

Luther Perkins

Luther Monroe Perkins was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly music...

 on guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and Marshall Grant

Marshall Grant

Marshall Garnett Grant was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became known as The Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland...

 on bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

.

Appearance in Walk the Line

The fact that it was Cash's first successful tune was mentioned several times in the dialogue of the 2005 film, Walk the Line. While it appeared on the film's soundtrack album, it was not performed in the film (two deleted scenes show the Johnny Cash character, as played by Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...

, composing the song in the basement of his house and later listening to it on the radio).

Covers

Marty Stuart

Marty Stuart

John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...

 released a cover of the song in 1989; his version peaked at #32. Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...

 have also covered the song in a rare recording with Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

.

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

 released a cover of this song in 1982 as the B side to "I'm Your Toy".

For the Johnny Cash tribute album All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash

All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash

All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash is a tribute album to legendary country musician, Johnny Cash featuring songs from well-known punk and folk rock artists, such as the Bouncing Souls and Chuck Ragan. It was released on Anchorless Records on October 21, 2008...

(released in October, 2008), the Canadian punk rock band The Flatliners

The Flatliners

The Flatliners are a punk rock/ska punk band from Richmond Hill and Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Since their formation in 2002, The Flatliners have been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska scene as well as other areas of the Greater Toronto Area. They are currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords...

 did a cover of this song as well.

Norah Jones

Norah Jones

Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...

 covered the song; her version was included on the bonus CD Live at The Living Room

The Living Room

The Living Room is a music venue on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side in New York City that was established in 1988. The Living Room is co-owned by Steve Rosenthal and Jennifer Gilson. The Living Room has showcased some of the best of New York City’s singer/songwriter, alt-country, and rock world...

, available with the album The Fall (2009) in Japan and in the U.S. through iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 and Target

Target Corporation

Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

.