Hey, Porter – 1955
“Hey Porter” is Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two’s first recording; John wrote the song with fellow band mates Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant after Sam Phillips (Owner of Sun Records) turned down “I Was There When It Happened”, the song John, Luther and Marshall auditioned with. The reasoning behind Phillip’s decision was that “Sam didn’t want a gospel song, he wanted a fast song,” like Elvis Presley’s “That’s All right”. Having been stationed in Landsberg, Germany, during his stint with the United States Air Force, Cash based the song on a man returning home from overseas who felt elated to be returning to his native South. “Hey Porter” was the first of many rail-themed songs that Cash would record during his career, and was soon followed by “Folsom Prison Blues”, another rail-themed track.