Legacy Recordings to Work With California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to Establish Music and Video Library at San Quentin State Prison |
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By: Legacy Recordings Posted: 2006-11-14 21:34:27 |
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Legacy Recordings is working with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a music and video library at San Quentin State Prison, the site of the historic 1969 Johnny Cash concert that formed the core for the most successful album in the music legend's career.
With a newly-expanded Johnny Cash - Live At San Quentin: Legacy Edition becoming available on Tuesday, November 14, Legacy Recordings has entered into an unprecedented outreach arrangement with the California prison that hosted Cash's epochal performance more than 35 years ago. "Johnny Cash's legacy of reaching out to those behind bars and instilling hope that they can transform their lives should inspire all of us who are committed to public safety, the reduction of recidivism, and prison reform," CDCR Secretary James Tilton said. "His unforgettable performance at San Quentin had a profound effect on my father, his career, and his music," said John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash. "He felt a strong identification with the prisoners who'd been abandoned and incarcerated, many far beyond what was due for their crime. He wanted to bring some joy to their lives, to show them they were not forgotten, to give them hope. My father would be proud to know that his musical legacy, and connection to San Quentin, would live on and continue helping prisoners he'd never get the chance to sing to in person." In the initial phase of its arrangement with San Quentin, the oldest prison in California, Legacy will donate selected CDs and DVDs, covering a multitude of musical genres, to the newly established music and video library in the prison, making CDs available for checkout by inmates and DVDs to be shown through the prison's closed circuit television system. A second phase of the arrangement, with specifics to be determined, is expected to include donations of audio/video equipment in support of San Quentin's Education Department which provides instruction in audio and visual vocational education, and the Arts in Corrections Program, another educational program that provides creative discipline and fine arts instruction to inmates in areas including music, writing, drama, sculpture and painting. Studies have shown that the Arts in Corrections program gives inmates opportunities to learn self-discipline, problem solving and personal introspection. The third phase of the Legacy/San Quentin outreach alliance revolves around a proposed concert, with performers to be determined, at San Quentin in 2007 as well as master classes and speakers providing musical insight and technical discussions about all phases of the music industry, from songwriting and performing to studio and on-stage production. "A key component of our efforts to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism is our collaboration with our partners in the community," San Quentin State Prison Warden Robert Ayers said. "Providing classes to inmates about the music industry builds upon the legacy of San Quentin's work with community volunteers who provide rehabilitative and education programs to inmates and supports our goals of preparing inmates for their return to society," Ayers added. When Johnny Cash first began performing at prisons in the 1950s, he was acting in the belief that the power of music belonged to everyone, even hardened criminals in a maximum-security prison. The alliance between Legacy Recordings and San Quentin State Prison carries on the spirit of Johnny Cash - Live At San Quentin, offering music as a way to celebrate life, overcome hardship, rehabilitate souls, and help build a better tomorrow. |
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