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"I Walk the Line" is a song written and recorded in 1956 by Johnny Cash. After three attempts with moderate chart ratings, it became Cash's first number one hit on the ''Billboard'' charts. It reached number 17 on the US pop charts. It remained on the record charts for over 43 weeks, and sold over 2 million copies.〔Johnny Cash - Biography.” CMT.com. MTV Networks. Web. http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/cash_johnny/bio.jhtml| Retrieved on 2010-07-11〕 It has also been used on many LP's released from Sun Records, such as ''With His Hot and Blue Guitar'', ''Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous'', and ''Sings Hank Williams''. It was the title song for a 1970 film starring Gregory Peck. ==Background of the song== The unique chord progression for the song was inspired by backwards playback of guitar runs on Cash's tape recorder〔"Johnny then in the Air Force, discovered that his buddies had borrowed his reel-to-reel tape recorder. When he turned it on, he heard a haunting, organ-like sound. In Truth, it was guitar runs recorded with a tape running one direction and played back in the other ..." (Johnny Cash, I Walk The Line ) - Through the eyes of a fan 〕 while he was in the Air Force stationed in Germany. Later in a telephone interview, Cash stated, “I wrote the song backstage one night in 1956 in Gladewater, Texas. I was newly married at the time, and I suppose I was laying out my pledge of devotion."〔Horstman, Dorothy (1976). ''Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy'', Country Music Foundation. p. 144.〕 After the writing of the song Cash had a discussion with fellow performer Carl Perkins who encouraged him to adopt "I Walk the Line" as the song title. Cash originally intended the song as a slow ballad, but producer Sam Phillips preferred a faster arrangement,〔Grant, Marshall (2006). ''I Was There When It Happened: My Life With Johnny Cash'', Cumberland House Publishing. p. 54.〕 which Cash grew to like as the uptempo recording met with success. Once while performing the song on his TV show, Cash told the audience, with a smile, "People ask me why I always hum whenever I sing this song. It's to get my pitch." The humming was necessary since the song required Cash to change keys several times while singing it. The song was originally recorded at Sun Studio on April 2, 1956, and was released on May 1. It spent six weeks at the top spot on the U.S. country Juke Box charts that summer, one week on the C&W Jockey charts and number two on the C&W Best Seller charts. "I Walk the Line" crossed over and reached number 19 on the pop music charts. It was performed with the help of Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, two mechanics that his brother introduced him to following his discharge from the Air Force. Cash and his wife, Vivian, were living in Memphis, Tennessee, at the time. Cash became the front man for the group and precipitated the introduction of the group to Sam Phillips of Sun Records. In 1955 they began recording under the Sun label. The song was re-recorded four times during Cash's career. In 1964 for the ''I Walk the Line'' album, again in 1969 for the ''At San Quentin'' album, (a live performance)in 1970 for the ''I Walk the Line'' soundtrack, and finally in 1988 for the ''Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series'' album. Additional live performances have been released since Cash's death, along with a demo version recorded prior to the formal 1956 recording session that was released on ''Bootleg Vol. II: From Memphis to Hollywood'' (Columbia/Legacy) in 2011. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song at #30 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「I Walk the Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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