The Chicken in Black

"The Chicken in Black"
Single by Johnny Cash
B-side"Battle of Nashville"
Released1984 (1984)
GenreCountry
LabelColumbia Bros. 38-04513
Songwriter(s)Gary Gentry
Producer(s)Billy Sherrill
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"That's the Truth"
(1984)
"The Chicken in Black"
(1984)
"They Killed Him"
(1984)
Music video
"The Chicken in Black" on YouTube

"The Chicken in Black" is a song written by Gary Gentry and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

Released as a single in 1984 (Columbia 38-04513, with "Battle of Nashville" on the opposite side), the song reached number 45 on U.S. Billboard's country chart.

Cash was initially optimistic and pleased with the recording. However Cash later renounced the song and in his second autobiography called it "intentionally atrocious" after close friends and family reacted poorly to the video and song. June Cash called the song the "nadir" of his 1980s career.