Johnny Cash & June Carter

Jackson

"Jackson" is a song written in 1963 by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber. It was recorded in 1963 by the Kingston Trio, Wheeler, and Flatt and Scruggs.

It achieved its most notable popularity with two 1967 releases: a country hit single by Johnny Cash and June Carter, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, and a pop hit single by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, which reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 39 on Easy Listening.

Background

Actress Gaby Rodgers is cited as co-author of "Jackson", because Leiber, in writing it with Wheeler, used his then-wife's name as a pseudonym. First recorded in 1963 by Wheeler, he explains the evolution of the song, and Leiber's contribution:

Critical reception

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #112 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.

Notable recordings

Johnny Cash and June Carter released a version in February 1967, reaching No. 2 on the US Country charts and winning a Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group. This version was reprised by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, performing as Johnny Cash and June Carter, in the 2005 film Walk the Line, and also appears on the soundtrack of the 2011 film The Help.

Legacy

According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, the name of UK pop band Prefab Sprout was a mondegreen from the lyrics "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout", misheard by frontman Paddy McAloon. McAloon has maintained, however, that the name was entirely made up.