Immediate yes.
It’s safe to say Zach Top has a huge week ahead of him. Beyond being set to perform tomorrow at the 59th annual CMA Awards, the Washington native is primed for a big night. Riding the waves of the success of both his debut album and this year’s sophomore effort, Ain’t In It For My Health, Top received five separate nominations for Male Vocalist, New Artist, Single and Song (“I Never Lie”) and Album of the Year (Cold Beer & Country Music).
Ahead of this potential huge week, Top continued his sold-out stretch of shows on the Cold Beer & Country Music over the weekend on the West Coast and provided another stellar cover ahead of his show in Eugene, Oregon.
In addition to being labeled as the savior of traditional country music, Top has proven himself as the quintessential human jukebox when it comes to delivering phenomenal covers of different songs across multiple eras. From Chris Stapleton’s “Nobody to Blame” and Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” to George Strait’s “Nobody In His Right Mind Would Have Left Her” and Conway Twitty’s “Slow Hand,” the Washington Native has yet to meet a classic song that he cannot perform flawlessly.
Of course, we’ve also seen him cover the likes of Keith Whitley on multiple different occasions, Toby Keith’s “Who’s Your Daddy?,” Vince Gill’s “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping Away,” Willie Nelson’s “Yesterday’s Wine” and “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning,” Travis Tritt’s “Where the Corn Don’t Grow” with The Red Clay Strays and countless more.
One legendary artist Top has yet to cover in any capacity, shockingly, was none other than the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. That all changed this weekend, however.
Over the weekend in Eugene, Oregon, at the Matthew Knight Arena, Top treated a few lucky fans who purchased VIP passes to a pre-show soundcheck and delivered an intimate acoustic set that featured… you guessed it — a cover of Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
It should go without saying that “Folsom Prison Blues” is arguably the most iconic country song of all time, up there with the likes of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning.” Written independently by Cash himself in 1955, the song originally appeared on his 1957 debut album, Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!. Originally, the song was quite successful for Cash, peaking at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
As we all know, however, the song exploded in popularity 11 years later in 1968, thanks to Cash’s iconic live performance at Folsom State Prison on the album. Upon the release of At Folsom Prison, the live version of “Folsom Prison Blues” flew up the charts, grabbing a #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and peaking at #32 on the all-genre Hot 100.
It should come as no surprise that Top absolutely crushes this acoustic cover of the iconic track. As mentioned before, I’ve yet to see the “South of Sanity” singer deliver a bad performance while bringing life to these classic songs, and that remains true here once again. Much like Tyler Childers, Top has this uncanny ability to simply disappear into whatever era of a song he’s currently covering. In addition to the killer vocals, Top also showcased his world-class guitar skills, laying down a slightly modified version of “Folsom Prison Blues'” iconic guitar solo flawlessly.
Like all Top covers, you won’t want to miss this one.
Watch here:
@afk0717 VIP tickets 1000% worth it to hear this man cover Johnny Cash @Zach Top ♬ original sound – Allison Kirk
Zach Top Tour Dates
November 22—Kennewick, WA—Toyota Center‡
November 23—Kennewick, WA—Toyota Center‡
December 12—Las Vegas, NV—MGM Grand Garden Arena‡
+with special guest Andy Buckner
‡with special guest Jake Worthington
