On This Day in 1970, Johnny Cash Recorded the Live Album That Launched Kris Kristofferson’s Career

On this day (July 10) in 1970, Johnny Cash took the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House to record the live album The Johnny Cash Show, a tie-in with his TV series of the same name. While it likely isn’t the title that comes to mind when most of Cash’s fans think of his live LPs, it was a significant release. Its sole single was “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” which topped the country chart and jump-started Kris Kristofferson‘s career. Days after it hit No. 1, Kristofferson took home the Song of the Year trophy at the CMA Awards.

This wasn’t the first time Cash performed the Kristofferson-penned classic. He debuted his version of the song on his TV show in February 1970. When he introduced the song, he also put its writer’s name in the minds of everyone watching. “One of the greatest songwriters around, these days, is a friend of mine named Kris Kristofferson. He’ll be with us on the show in a couple of weeks,” Cash told the audience. “Before he comes, I’d like to do one of his sons, too–one of my favorite songs of his,” he added before kicking off “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

“One of the biggest nights of my life was when John was gonna sing ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ on his show,” Kristofferson later reflected.

The Legend of Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash

Most country fans have heard the story of how Kris Kristofferson pitched “Sunday Morning Coming Down” to Johnny Cash. As the story goes, he landed a National Guard helicopter on Cash’s lawn and hand-delivered the demo. Some versions of the story allude to or outright say that the two had never met. Another version of the story has Kristofferson getting out of the cockpit holding the demo tape and a beer. No matter which embellishments are attached, it’s a great story. Kristofferson remembers it differently, though, according to Songfacts.

“I knew John before then,” he said in a 2008 interview. “I’d been his janitor at the recording studio, and I’d pitched him every song I ever wrote, so he knew who I was,” Kristofferson added. “It was still kind of an invasion of privacy that I wouldn’t recommend.”

The Truth of the Matter

While him landing a chopper on Cash’s lawn to hand off a demo is still an outrageous story, it seems tame after Kristofferson strips the embellishments away. “To be honest, I don’t think he was there. He had this whole story about me getting out of the helicopter with a tape in one hand and a beer in the other,” he recalled.

“John had a pretty creative memory, but I would never have disputed his version of what happened because he was so responsible for any success I had as a songwriter and performer,” he explained. “He put me on the stage the first time I ever was, during a performance at the Newport Folk Festival.”

Johnny Cash and June Carter invited Kris Kristofferson to join them on the stage during the 1969 Newport Folk Festival. It was his debut performance. By the end of the next year, Cash had brought his friend his first No. 1 and his first CMA Award and introduced him to the nation with a song that became a classic.

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