Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian is the eleventh studio album by Johnny Cash, released in October 1964 on Columbia Records and produced by Don Law, one of the most politically engaged albums in Cash's catalog and one of the most direct early examples of mainstream country music addressing Native American rights and historical injustice. Cash wrote or co-wrote several tracks, including 'Apache Tears,' while Peter La Farge, a Native American folksinger and activist, contributed 'The Ballad of Ira Hayes,' 'Custer,' 'Drums,' and 'White Girl.' 'The Ballad of Ira Hayes', the story of a Pima Native American who was one of the six men photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima and returned home to poverty and alcoholism, was released as a single and became a significant radio story when country stations initially refused to play it; Cash personally lobbied Billboard magazine and the country radio establishment in an open letter, and the song eventually reached the top three on the Billboard Country chart. Bitter Tears reached number two on the Billboard Country Albums chart and stands as the most politically committed of Cash's early concept albums, demonstrating that his engagement with American historical injustice was not limited to the labor movement or rural poverty. The album's advocacy is credited with advancing the broader conversation about Native American rights in mainstream country music.