Johnny Cash's Black Stage Coat — 1969 San Quentin

There is no more iconic image in American music history than Johnny Cash in black standing before a crowd of prisoners, singing their truth back to them. This is the coat. This long black stage coat was worn by Johnny Cash during the February 24th, 1969, performance at San Quentin State Prison — the concert that produced the live album 'At San Quentin' and the recording of 'A Boy Named Sue.' The concert was filmed by Granada Television and broadcast internationally, and this coat appears in virtually every frame of that footage. Cash wore black as a statement — for the poor, the beaten-down, the prisoner, and the forgotten. This coat IS that statement made physical. The label inside reads 'Nudie Cohn — Hollywood' and the hand-stitching is in Nudie's unmistakable style. I acquired this from a member of the Cash family and I consider it one of the most historically significant garments in American cultural history.