Song of the Day | “Well Alright” by Johnny Cash

“Well Alright,” the latest posthumously released single by Johnny Cash, is about stumbling upon romance in an unlikely place (somewhere in which, it seems, Cash might have been washing a load of his all black duds).

The tune is exemplary of Cash’s tight, efficient songwriting oeuvre. And comes with a cool backstory: Cash recorded the tune in 1993 as a free agent – he was between record deals – just months before teaming with super producer and notably-lackadaisical guru Rick Rubin to work on American Recordings, the album that would kickstart Cash’s late-career revival. “Well Alright” is one of 11 previously unreleased tracks on a forthcoming album, Songwriter, all of which have new overdubs courtesy of a handful of Cash’s longtime compatriots, including Marty Stuart, Dave Roe and Pete Abbott. 

All songs featured in our Song of the Day series can be found on our Fresh Squeeze Playlist and in rotation on our music discovery radio station, The Independent.