Johnny 99 (song)
Encyclopedia
"Johnny 99" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen
, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska
.
and shoots and kills a night clerk while drunk and distraught. As a result, he is apprehended and is sentenced to 99 years in prison, but requests to be executed instead. On the song, Springsteen is accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. Despite the bleakness of the song's themes - including unemployment, poverty, robbery, murder and possibly execution - the tune is ironically jaunty, with a shuffling rockabilly
beat.
Like several other songs on the Nebraska album, "Johnny 99" is a song about complete despair. It has direct links with certain songs on Nebraska: the protagonist in "Johnny 99" notes that he has "debts no honest man could pay," repeating a line used by the protagonist in "Atlantic City
", and, like the title song
, "Johnny 99" is about a murderer — though rather than being a psychopath like the protagonist in the title song, "Johnny 99" is motivated by his economic circumstances.
The background of the song is based on a real life incident, the closing in 1980 of a Ford Motor Company
plant in Mahwah, which had been open since 1955. The song also has antecedents in two folk songs that appeared on the box set Anthology of American Folk Music
: Julius Daniels
' "99 Year Blues" and Carter Family
's "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man".
Despite its bleak themes, it has been a reasonably popular song in concert, with 203 live performances through 2005. A live version was released on the album Live/1975–85. During a September 22, 1984 Born in the U.S.A. Tour
concert in Pittsburgh, Springsteen used the introduction to "Johnny 99", to respond to President Reagan
referencing the message of hope in Bruce Springsteen's songs, stating "The President was mentioning my name the other day, and I kinda got to wondering what his favorite album musta been. I don't think it was the Nebraska album. I don't think he's been listening to this one."
Other artists have recorded "Johnny 99". Most famously, Johnny Cash
recorded this song along with another Nebraska song, "Highway Patrolman
" for an album that Cash entitled Johnny 99
. The song has also been recorded for Bruce Springsteen covers albums by John Hiatt
and Los Lobos
. Punk rock
band The Loved Ones
covered the song on their EP
, Distractions
. Mark Erelli
and Jeffrey Foucault
also covered the song for Seven Curses, an album of murder ballads.
of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. In discussing Springsteen's growth as a writer, he stated that "When Springsteen tells Charlie Starkweather
and Johnny 99's tales, he neither seeks their redemption nor asks for our judgment. He tells the stories about as simply and as well as they deserve to be told - or about as unsparingly as we deserve to hear them - and he lets us feel for them what we can, or find in them what we can of ourselves."
Though never released as a single anywhere, "Johnny 99" garnered enough album oriented rock airplay to reach# 50 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
chart.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska
Nebraska (album)
-Themes:The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative based on the true story of 19-year-old spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narrative that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm...
.
Performance and themes
In "Johnny 99" Springsteen sings about an auto worker who gets laid off in Mahwah, New JerseyMahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 25,890. The name Mahwah is derived from the Lenni Lenape word "mawewi" which means "Meeting Place" or "Place Where Paths Meet".The area that is now Mahwah was...
and shoots and kills a night clerk while drunk and distraught. As a result, he is apprehended and is sentenced to 99 years in prison, but requests to be executed instead. On the song, Springsteen is accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. Despite the bleakness of the song's themes - including unemployment, poverty, robbery, murder and possibly execution - the tune is ironically jaunty, with a shuffling rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
beat.
Like several other songs on the Nebraska album, "Johnny 99" is a song about complete despair. It has direct links with certain songs on Nebraska: the protagonist in "Johnny 99" notes that he has "debts no honest man could pay," repeating a line used by the protagonist in "Atlantic City
Atlantic City (song)
"Atlantic City" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska, considered to be one of Springsteen's most dour albums in tone...
", and, like the title song
Nebraska (song)
"Nebraska" is a song by Bruce Springsteen and the title song of his 1982 album Nebraska. The song sets the tone for the album, whose content consists mostly of songs about criminals and desperate people, accompanied by just guitar and harmonica...
, "Johnny 99" is about a murderer — though rather than being a psychopath like the protagonist in the title song, "Johnny 99" is motivated by his economic circumstances.
History
Like the rest of the Nebraska album, "Johnny 99" was recorded in January 1982 in a no-frills studio set up in Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Most likely it was recorded on January 3, 1982, when most of the album tracks were recorded.The background of the song is based on a real life incident, the closing in 1980 of a Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
plant in Mahwah, which had been open since 1955. The song also has antecedents in two folk songs that appeared on the box set Anthology of American Folk Music
Anthology of American Folk Music
The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records , comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1927 to 1932.Experimental filmmaker and notable eccentric Harry Smith compiled the music...
: Julius Daniels
Julius Daniels
Julius Daniels was an American Piedmont blues musician. His song "99 Year Blues" appeared on the box set Anthology of American Folk Music and has been covered by Jim Kweskin, Chris Smither, Johnny Winter, Charlie Parr and Hot Tuna on their album Burgers...
' "99 Year Blues" and Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
's "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man".
Despite its bleak themes, it has been a reasonably popular song in concert, with 203 live performances through 2005. A live version was released on the album Live/1975–85. During a September 22, 1984 Born in the U.S.A. Tour
Born in the U.S.A. Tour
The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen. After two years of bodybuilding, Springsteen had bulked up...
concert in Pittsburgh, Springsteen used the introduction to "Johnny 99", to respond to President Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
referencing the message of hope in Bruce Springsteen's songs, stating "The President was mentioning my name the other day, and I kinda got to wondering what his favorite album musta been. I don't think it was the Nebraska album. I don't think he's been listening to this one."
Other artists have recorded "Johnny 99". Most famously, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
recorded this song along with another Nebraska song, "Highway Patrolman
Highway Patrolman
"Highway Patrolman" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, and was first released as the fifth track on his 1982 album Nebraska....
" for an album that Cash entitled Johnny 99
Johnny 99
Johnny 99 is an album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1983. It is notable for including two covers of Bruce Springsteen songs, "Highway Patrolman" and "Johnny 99". "I'm Ragged But I'm Right," a George Jones song, was a minor hit, reaching No. 75...
. The song has also been recorded for Bruce Springsteen covers albums by John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
and Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
. Punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Loved Ones
The Loved Ones (American band)
The Loved Ones is a punk band based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in late 2003, the band currently consists of Dave Hause , David Walsh , Chris Gonzalez , and Mike Sneeringer...
covered the song on their EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Distractions
Distractions (album)
Distractions is the third release on Fat Wreck Chords by punk band The Loved Ones. It is an EP that consists of three original songs and three covers...
. Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli is an American folk singer/songwriter from Reading, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Massachusetts. Erelli is a 1996 graduate of Bates College, where he majored in Biology, and holds a Master's Degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts...
and Jeffrey Foucault
Jeffrey Foucault
Jeffrey Foucault is a singer-songwriter from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Along the way, he has played with such artists as Greg Brown,...
also covered the song for Seven Curses, an album of murder ballads.
Critical reception
In praising the album Nebraska, "Johnny 99" is one of the songs that was singled out by Mikal GilmoreMikal Gilmore
Mikal Gilmore is an American writer. He was born "Michael Gilmore," but later changed the spelling of his name.-Life & career:Gilmore was born on February 9, 1951 in Portland, Oregon to Frank and Bessie Gilmore....
of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. In discussing Springsteen's growth as a writer, he stated that "When Springsteen tells Charlie Starkweather
Nebraska (song)
"Nebraska" is a song by Bruce Springsteen and the title song of his 1982 album Nebraska. The song sets the tone for the album, whose content consists mostly of songs about criminals and desperate people, accompanied by just guitar and harmonica...
and Johnny 99's tales, he neither seeks their redemption nor asks for our judgment. He tells the stories about as simply and as well as they deserve to be told - or about as unsparingly as we deserve to hear them - and he lets us feel for them what we can, or find in them what we can of ourselves."
Though never released as a single anywhere, "Johnny 99" garnered enough album oriented rock airplay to reach
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
chart.