If the Springsteen tunes hadn't been included, this would still have been a good album. But Cash sinks his teeth into "Highway Patrolman" and the title tune and gives them the guts that Springsteen only dreamed of. ~ Jim Worbois, All Music Guide
Johnny 99 is an album by Americancountry singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1983 (see 1983 in music). It is notable for including two covers of Bruce Springsteen songs, "Highway Patrolman" and "Johnny 99". "I'm Ragged But I'm Right," a George Jones song, was a minor hit, reaching No. 75. Johnny 99 is generally regarded as a strong release at a point in Cash's career which is considered to be the least successful; it was also the second-to-last solo album released by Cash on Columbia, prior to his move to Mercury Records. Hoyt Axton sings background on "Highway Patrolman" and "Joshua Gone Barbados". "New Cut Road" had been a relatively successful single for Bobby Bare in 1981; Paul Kennerley's "Brand New Dance" would go on to be covered, among others, by Emmylou Harris on her 1990 album of the same name.
Several of the songs on Johnny 99 contain political or social themes and commentary: the title track tells the story of a disgruntled former automobile plant employee who turns to crime after encountering serious financial difficulties; "God Bless Robert E. Lee" praises the Confederacy's most famous general for managing to prevent unnecessary loss of human life in the war-torn South by surrendering to the Union at Appomattox Court House; "Joshua Gone Barbados" deals with a sugarcane-cutters' strike on Saint Vincent turned violent; "Highway Patrolman", in turn, discusses a troubled relationship between the title character and his alcoholic, violent brother.
