KILGORE, Texas — The Kilgore College East Texas Oil Museum is featuring an exhibit, "1958: A Folsom Redemption" celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic Johnny Cash concerts at Folsom Prison.
The exhibit which runs through May 21st, is a collection of photographs and memoirs of two journalists lucky enough to be among a handful of eyewitnesses to the historic Johnny Cash concerts at the prison.
Visitors have an opportunity to get a rare look into the career of one of the 20th Century's most beloved performers through candid and personal photos taken by Dan Push and memoirs by writer Gene Beley.
Performing for inmates since 1957, Cash received a stream of requests from prisoners who identified with the man who sang “Folsom Prison Blues.”
“This connection developed with prisoners during these concerts had made him increasingly sympathetic to those he would later call ‘the downtrodden’,” Olivia Moore, ETOM director said.
Along with opening acts Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers, Cash performed and recorded two separate shows in the dining hall at Folsom.
The album, At Folsom Prison, was released four months later to critical and popular acclaim.
This traveling road show will display a collection of 31 photos featuring a wide range of intimate photos with friends and family to a backstage meeting between Cash and country music legend Merle Haggard.d
“Beley’s first-person account of those days, and his knowledge of the storylines at work behind the scenes, make this a fascinating exploration of the little-known aspects of a well-known event in popular culture,” Moore said.
The exhibition highlights Cash’s golden era from the January 1968 Folsom Prison album recording to a March 1, 1969, concert in Anaheim, California, when he was getting ready to launch his network television show.
The exhibit is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.
The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.