Johnny Cash at "Big Mac"
The Man in Black at Big Mac
On August 19, 1974, Johnny Cash brought his voice—and his presence—to the inmates at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, known to most as “Big Mac.”
While his concerts at Folsom and San Quentin prisons are legendary, Cash performed in prisons across the country—including this show inside the Prison Rodeo Arena.
The Prison Rodeo Arena had already hosted a big name when the Beach Boys performed for the inmates in 1969. The arena was home to the annual Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo from 1940 to 2009.
This concert wasn’t random. It came one year after Big Mac was the site of one of the worst prison riots in American history.
On July 27, 1973, the prison—already holding twice its designed capacity of 1,100 inmates—erupted in chaos. Hostages, including the deputy warden, were taken. Fires were set. Buildings burned. Three inmates died. Twenty-one were injured. Twelve structures were destroyed. The estimated damage totaled $30 million—nearly $200 million today.
The standoff ended on August 4, but the scars remained. Cash noticed.
“I can talk their language,” he said during his visit to McAlester. From early in his career, he had felt connected to those on the margins—especially the incarcerated. After seeing a documentary on prison life, he wrote “Folsom Prison Blues,” his second single. As his fame grew, so did the number of letters he received from inmates asking him to visit.
He told the press that the McAlester prison had been on his mind since the riot. “I had observed the prison through news accounts for some time,” he said. “I felt an obligation, as a Christian, to give something back.”
His commitment to prison reform was already known. In 1972, he testified before a Senate subcommittee, calling for more humane conditions and access to rehabilitation. He spoke about addiction, mental health, and the cycles that led people to prison. His message was simple: if we treat people like they matter, they might start to believe it.
That long-held belief caught the attention of leaders. In California, then-Governor Ronald Reagan had supported Cash’s 1968 Folsom performance. In Oklahoma, it was Senator Dewey Bartlett—a former governor and longtime music lover—who invited him to Big Mac.
The show featured his regular backing band the Tennessee Three and 100 degree August-in-Oklahoma heat. About 850 inmates attended.
The Man in Black stood on the stage in McAlester and did what few were willing to do—he showed up. The songs mattered. So did the moment. His presence at Big Mac became part of Oklahoma’s story.
Every shirt tells a story. See the shirt here.
Cash Photo from the Tulsa World. Much of the information for this blog came from a great story in the Tulsa Word (subscribers only, unfortunately).