“Long Black Veil” is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell. The song has become a standard and has been covered by a variety of artists in country, folk and rock styles. In 1968, it appeared on The Band’s debut album, Music from Big Pink.
Johnny Cash performed the song on the first episode of The Johnny Cash Show (TV series) in 1969, duetting with Joni Mitchell. The song has also appeared on landmark albums by Johnny Cash and The Band in 1968, and charted again in 1999 with the Dave Matthews Band, who performed the song live with Emmylou Harris at a Johnny Cash tribute concert. Early in her career, Joan Baez incorporated the song into her live repertoire, and recorded it twice. The song appeared on Marianne Faithfull’s Rich Kid Blues, recorded in 1971, but shelved until 1985. The song was performed by Bruce Springsteen on his 2006 Seeger Sessions Band Tour. The chorus is frequently sung by Bruce Hornsby during live performances of his song “White Wheeled Limousine”. In October 2009, by Rosanne Cash on her album The List. Mick Jagger also recorded a version of “Long Black Veil” with The Chieftains for that group’s album of the same name.
