Today in 1969, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan taped the first installment of “The Johnny Cash Show” at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Future singer/songwriter John Hiatt was in the audience.

Regulars included members of his touring troupe, June Carter Cash (his wife) and the Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and The Tennessee Three, with Australian-born musical director-arranger-conductor Bill Walker. The Statler Brothers performed brief comic interludes. An instrumental version of “Folsom Prison Blues” was used for the opening credits.

It featured many folk-country musicians, such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Haggard, James Taylor and Tammy Wynette. It also featured other musicians such as jazz great Louis Armstrong, who died eight months after appearing on the show.

The 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC. It reached No. 17 in the Nielsen ratings in 1970.