Rosanna's Going Wild

"Rosanna's Going Wild"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album International Superstar
A-side"Rosanna's Going Wild"
"Roll Call"
Released1968 (1968)
GenreCountry
LabelColumbia 4-44373
Songwriter(s)June Carter, Helen Carter, Anita Carter[1]
Producer(s)Bob Johnston[2]
Audio
"Rosanna's Going Wild" on YouTube

"Rosanna's Going Wild" is a song written by June, Helen and Anita Carter for Johnny Cash.[3]

Cash released it as a single (Columbia 4-44373, with "Roll Call" on the opposite side)[4][5][6] in November 1967.[7] The song made it to number 2 on U.S. Billboard's country chart[8] and to number 91 on the Hot 100.[9]

Years later the song was included on Johnny Cash's album International Superstar (1972).

Analysis

Cash wrapped up 1967 by releasing a version of the Carter sisters' "Rosanna's Going Wild," a song about a young woman who is out to experience life to the fullest. The song climbed the charts as 1967 turned into 1968, peaking at #2 in February. The B-side was "Roll Call," which tells of an army platoon losing their final battle, culminating in the attendant roll call in the beyond. Written by the Carter sisters, "Rosanna's Going Wild" was Cash's last single of 1967 and hit #2 by February of 1968.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[4]

The success was completely unexpected:[10]

During the Christmas holidays preceding the Folsom recording date, Cash's latest single "Rosanna's Going Wild" debuted on Billboard's country music charts. A jaunty tear through the teenage rebellion of a young girl, the song was nowhere near his best work: He sounded drawn, sapped perhaps by his drug battles and a vigorous fall touring slate. There was little reason to believe that the record's debut portended a climb to #1 [by Cash's future single "Folsom Prison Blues"] because Cash had not reached the top of the charts since mid-1964, when his macho "Understand Your Man" hammered a stake in the spot for six consecutive weeks. The singer's fallow period seems improbable today, when many just assume that Cash dominated country music between the ages of Hank Williams and Garth Brooks. But Cash had skidded into a long, flat dry spell. The four singles prior to "Rosanna" had flickered briefly on the country charts, and no Johnny Cash album containing new material had hit #1 since 1964.

— Michael Streissguth. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, Revised and Updated[10]

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 4-44373,[2] 1967)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rosanna's Going Wild"June Carter, Helen Carter, Anita Carter1:54
2."Roll Call"B. J. Carnahan2:24

Charts

Chart (1967–1968) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[citation needed] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 91
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 2

References

  1. ^ John L. Smith (1 January 1985). The Johnny Cash Discography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-24654-8.
  2. ^ a b "Johnny Cash - Rosanna's Going Wild". Discogs. 1967. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. ^ John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0. For Cash's next single, June, Anita, and Helen Carter joined together to write "Rosanna's Going Wild" for Cash.
  4. ^ a b C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat. pp. 138–. ISBN 978-1-61713-609-2.
    C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-1-61713-608-5.
  5. ^ Steve Turner (1 November 2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-8499-0815-6.
  6. ^ "Billboard". Billboard. 23 May 1970. pp. 1–. ISSN 0006-2510.
    Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN 978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (1 August 2002). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-471-7.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780896893078.
  7. ^ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  8. ^ 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.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  9. ^ Joel Whitburn (1978). Joel Whitburn's pop annual, 1955-1977. Record Research.
  10. ^ a b Michael Streissguth (25 September 2019). Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, Revised and Updated. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-1-4968-2491-2.
  11. ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  12. ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-19.