Cover of CRESCENT CITY BLUES in 1956 - influenced his Folsom Prison Blues, B-side of So Doggone Lonesome, later n°1 C&W as a central song on live albums At Folsom Prison ('68) and At San Quentin ('69); Johnny was lyrically inspired by a film he saw in Germany while in the Air Force: Inside The Walls Of Folsom Prison
Cover of BLUE YODEL in 1956 - in top 5 C&W hit Folsom Prison Blues, n°1 C&W in '68; Christophe Vekeman in his Johnny Paycheck biography remarks the almost unmistakable link between the famous line "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" and this lyric line from T For Texas: I'm gonna buy me a pistol just as long as I am tall, Lord, Lord, I'm gonna shoot poor Thelma just to see her jump and fall
Cover of COCAINE BLUES in 1960 - as Transfusion Blues; the word cocaine was apparantly out of the question at Columbia (at least before they signed Dylan)
Cover of ONE MORE ROUNDER GONE in 1962 - idem and in '94 A1 on American Recordings and with Kate Moss in the clip; lines like: "First time I shot her, I shot her in the side, Hard to watch her suffer but with the second shot she died" are well in league with "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die"
Cover of BUSTED in 1963 - with The Carter Family; top 20 C&W; asked the author if he objected against re-locating the song subject from coal mining to cotton picking
Cover of WHO'S GONNA BUY YOU RIBBONS (WHEN I'M GONE) in 1964 - as Understand Your Man; n°1 C&W and also based upon Scarlet Ribbons For Her Hair/Don't Think Twice It's All Right; he covered the latter later in '64
Cover of TWENTY FIVE MINUTES TO GO in 1965 - on Ballads Of The True West Vol 1, later also live At Folsom Prison; also cut Silverstein's A Boy Named Sue
Cover of WALL, The in 1965 - again Live At Folsom Prison
Cover of WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN (BY AND BY) in 1968 - sings Will The Circle Be Unbroken in Daddy Sang Bass, n°1 C&W with the Carter Family on backing vocals
Cover of JOHN HENRY BLUES in 1968 - as The Legend Of John Henry's Hammer; outtake At Folsom Prison
Cover of DARLIN' COMPANION in 1969 - live at San Quentin with June Carter
Cover of SIX WHITE HORSES in 1969 - demo; would never even have tought to release it knowing his brother had his own version out then; saved up for his From Memphis To Hollywood Bootleg Series Vol. II
Cover of WANTED MAN in 1969 - n°1 US, at San Quinten
Cover of BLUE YODEL #9 (STANDING ON THE CORNER) in 1970 - also with Louis Armstrong in The Johnny Cash Show, recorded live at the Ryman in Nashville, TN
Cover of SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN in 1970 - n°1 C&W; true story: Kris Kristofferson landing his helicopter (he was a pilot by trade then) in Johnny's backyard just to make him listen to this; Cash wasn't home but his attention was sharpened; Columbia objected against the "wishing Lord that I was stoned" line but that's how Johnny even sang it on his own TV show
Cover of HELP ME in 1973 - in film The Gospel Road; Kristofferson's title track Jesus Was A Capricorn was also used in that film; also one of Johnny's final recordings for Rick Rubin on American Recordings
Cover of MUDDY WATER in 1979 - on his lp Silver; lived along Mississippi levees as a child and knew a thing or two about muddy water (see also: Five Feet High And Rising)
Cover of I'M JUST AN OLD CHUNK OF COAL in 1979 - on double gospel album A Believer Sings The Truth, originally released on his own label (Cachet), when Columbia showed little interest; Johnny also cut Shaver's If I Give My Soul on box set Unearthed with outtakes produced by Rick Rubin; Tom Jones covered that one in 2010
Cover of MAN WHO COULDN'T CRY, THE in 1994 - the year after Loudon made fun of the Man In Black on his live album Career Moves: "Let me do another song for you and then start this parade of incredible people; Johnny Cash is here tonight; Johnny Paycheck is here tonight!"
Cover of TENNESSEE STUD in 1994 - also in Tarantino film Jackie Brown
Cover of WHY ME in 1994 - as Why Me Lord; also selected for his reli comp God
Cover of IF I GIVE MY SOUL in 1994 - released on the Unearthed box set
Cover of MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS in 1996 - played it live in the early days, inspiring Jack Clement for Guess Things Happen That Way (n°1 C&W in '58)