Founded in 1952 by producer Sam Phillips, Memphis’ Sun Records gave rise to the careers of many a musical titan. Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash—we heard them all first at Sun Records. While grateful for the place that gave him his start, Cash’s relationship with the label was winding down by the late 1950s. On this day (July 17) in 1958, the Man in Black closed the book on his time with Sun Records with one final recording session, which resulted in the songs “Down the Street to 301” and “I Forgot to Remember to Forget.”
This Johnny Cash Song Was Originally a Hit for Another Sun Records Mainstay
Johnny Cash wasn’t the first Sun Records artist to record “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”.
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Three years earlier, Elvis Presley had recorded the song—written by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers—in 1955.
Fittingly, “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” was both Presley’s first U.S. number-one hit and his final single for Sun Records. The King of Rock and Roll moved to RCA Records in November 1955.
Nearly a decade later, the Beatles would cover “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” in May 1964 for the BBC radio show From Us To You.
In another narrative twist, that day marked the final time the Beatles performed a song for the BBC that wasn’t also recorded by EMI.
Meanwhile, influential producer Jack Clement wrote “Down the Street to 301” specifically for Cash.
Neither song achieved stunning commercial success, with “Down the Street to 301” peaking at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, these recordings captured the Hall of Fame singer-songwriter during a pivotal transition in his illustrious career.
Why Did Cash Leave Sun Records?
Signing with Sun Records in 1954, Johnny Cash’s earlier hits skewed more rockabilly than country.
During his four-year tenure with the historic label, he recorded timeless hits like “Cry! Cry! Cry!” (1955); “Folsom Prison Blues” (1955); and “I Walk the Line” (1956).
[RELATED The Simple Edit That Changed the Sound of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line”]
By 1958, however, Cash was feeling boxed in by what the small label could offer him. Phillips did not want him to record gospel songs, and was paying the artist a 3 percent royalty rate. That fell below the standard rate of 5 percent at the time, despite the fact that Cash was the label’s most consistently-selling artist.
Additionally, Elvis Presley had departed Sun Records in 1955, and Cash felt that Phillips had redirected those resources to Jerry Lee Lewis.
Ready for his next chapter, Cash signed a substantial contract with Columbia Records in 1958. There, he grew into the global icon we all recognize today, exploring more nuanced storytelling on smash hits like “Ring of Fire”.
Johnny Cash remained with Columbia Records for 28 years until the label dropped him from its roster in July 1986.
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