"Johnny Cash" is the title of a country song co-written by John Rich

John Rich (musician)

John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist...

, Vicky McGehee, and Rodney Clawson. It was originally recorded by Tracy Byrd on his 2004 Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits (Tracy Byrd album)

Greatest Hits is the second greatest hits compilation released by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in 2005 as his only album for BNA Records. The tracks "Revenge of a Middle-Aged Woman" and "Johnny Cash" were previously unreleased; only the former was released as a single...

album, but not released as a single.

In 2007, a version of the song was recorded by Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean

Jason Aldine Williams is an American country music singer, known professionally as Jason Aldean. Since 2005, Aldean has recorded for Broken Bow Records, an independent record label for which he has released four albums and twelve singles...

, as the lead-off single to his 2007 album Relentless

Relentless (Jason Aldean album)

-Album:-Singles:-Certifications:-Personnel:*Jason Aldean - vocals*Kurt Allison - electric guitar*Tony Harrell - piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer*Wes Hightower - foot stomping*Michael Johnson - steel guitar*Tully Kennedy - bass guitar...

. Released in early 2007 as Aldean's fourth single, it also became his fourth consecutive Top Ten hit on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 charts, where it peaked at #6. The song was also featured in the soundtrack to the video game NASCAR 08

NASCAR 08

NASCAR 08 is the eleventh installment of the EA Sports NASCAR series. It was developed by EA Tiburon and released for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This is the earliest that EA has released a NASCAR game...

.

Content

"Johnny Cash" is an up-tempo song in which the narrator addresses his lover, inviting her to join him on a road trip to Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. The connection to singer Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

is made only in the chorus ("Blastin' out the Johnny Cash"), indicating that Cash's music will be played while the narrator and his lover are on their road trip.

Reception

Brody Vercher, reviewing the album for The 9513, said that the song is "a good pick-me up song for those looking to get the blood flowing before a workout." Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a C- rating. He said that "the song doesn’t even have a melody, with Aldean yelling through most of the record as if he’s straining to be heard over the loud production."

Music video

The music video takes place in places around Las Vegas, and features Jason Aldean and his band playing. The video was directed by Wes Edwards.

Chart performance

"Johnny Cash" debuted at number 44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of February 17, 2007. > >

Chart (2007)	Peak position