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Morning Edition
Cathy Wurzer

50 years since Johnny Cash was No. 1 on the Billboard country chart with ‘A Boy Named Sue’

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Johnny Cash was No. 1 on the Billboard country chart 50 years ago on Wednesday with “A Boy Named Sue.”

The song was written by poet Shel Silverstein, whose friend, Jean Shepherd, was reportedly teased as a boy for having a girl’s name. Cash said it was a spontaneous decision to play the song during his show at San Quentin prison – the band didn’t know he was going to play it, and Cash read the lyrics off a sheet of paper. “A Boy Named Sue” went on to become Cash’s biggest hit.