July 13, 2006

Even in death, Johnny Cash is still mighty enough to top The Billboard 200. “American V: A Hundred Highways” earns the Man in Black his first No. 1 album since 1969’s “Johnny Cash at San Quentin” with 88,000 copies sold in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

The American Recordings/Lost Highway effort also crowns the Top Country Albums tally, knocking the Dixie Chicks’ “Taking the Long Way” (Columbia) to No. 2 after seven weeks on top.

Though the top debut is a great posthumous achievement, the Rick Rubin-produced “American V” sold the fewest copies of a No. 1 debut since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The previous low for a No. 1 debut belonged to Destiny’s Child’s “#1’s” in 2005, which started with 113,000.

Blind Faith’s debut gig was in front of a cool 100,000 people on a warm day in Hyde Park. Since June 7th, 1969, when this concert took place, footage shot that afternoon has never been seen in its entirety. On September 19th the entire concert will be released on DVD for the very first time. Hyde Park 1969 is the only Blind Faith DVD available on the market.

Fusing the psychedelic blues of Eric Clapton and the soulful vocals and keyboards of Steve Winwood, with Rick Grech on bass and the phenomenal Ginger Baker on drums, fans at that historic performance were treated to a selection of timeless tracks including