Luther Played the Boogie

"Luther Played the Boogie"
Single by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
A-side"Luther Played the Boogie"
"Thanks a Lot"
ReleasedFebruary 15, 1959 (1959-02-15)
GenreRockabilly[1]
Length2:02
LabelSun 316
Songwriter(s)Johnny Cash[2]
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two singles chronology
"Don't Take Your Guns to Town"
(1958) 		"Luther Played the Boogie"
(1959) 		"Frankie's Man, Johnny" / "1959"
Music video
"Luther Played the Boogie" (audio only) on YouTube

"Luther Played the Boogie" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Luther is Luther Perkins, the guitarist in Cash's band.

The song was recorded on July 10, 1958.[3] during Cash's final sessions for Sun Records.[4] It would be released as a single (Sun 316, with "Thanks a Lot", another song from the same session,[5] on the opposite side) on February 15 of the next year,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] when he already left the label for Columbia.[4]

Before that, the song appeared on Sun Records' album Greatest! Johnny Cash,[8] that came out in January 1959.

Cash received a BMI award for this single.[14]

  1. ^ Beck, Richard (2019). Trains, Jesus, and Murder - The Gospel According to Johnny Cash. Fortress Press. p. 19. ISBN 9781506455594. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Luther Played The Boogie". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  3. ^ John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
  4. ^ a b John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
  5. ^ John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
  6. ^ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1 March 2011). Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll. Open Road Media. pp. 411–. ISBN 978-1-4532-1314-8.
  7. ^ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1975). Catalyst: The Sun Records Story. Aquarius Books. ISBN 9780904619003.
  8. ^ a b John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
  9. ^ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1980). Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label. Quick Fox. ISBN 978-0-8256-3161-0.
  10. ^ Tim Neely (1 May 2004). Goldmine Records & Prices. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-781-7.
  11. ^ Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  12. ^ Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
  13. ^ George Albert (1 January 1984). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
  14. ^ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.