Original Listing Description

Rare Hard to Find and Scarce video collectible on original FIRST EDITION MEDA (Media) HOME ENTERTAINMENT, CUT art sleeve into a clear hard mid-size storage case. Early 1978 Video Edition on "MEDA". Hard to Find video collectible from the EARLIEST DAYS of the Home Video Industry. By the way, "Meda" was first name of wife of original owner of MEDIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT. The name changed after he sold out to corporate fat cats about the same time this video was first released. FAST and SAFE DELIVERY.1974. A FLOWER OUT OF PLACE, featuring Glen Sherley as host, is the ORIGINAL TELEVISED SPECIAL in 1974 of Johnny Cash's "A Concert Behind Prison Walls". Only released on video by Media Home Entertainment (MEDA) in 1978, the same year Glen Sherley killed himself. Sherley's material was later cut from future released editions of the show. This television special is not so much a follow-up to Johnny Cash's Folsom State Prison performance as it is the culmination of one man’s dream. That Man, Glen Sherley, an inmate when Johnny performed at Folsom. "A Concert Behind Prison Walls" is a live album recorded by Johnny Cash in the Tennessee Prison in 1976. The album features Cash with his backing band The Tennessee Three, and also features performances by Linda Ronstadt, Roy Clark, Foster Brooks. The album was not released until 2003. Other notables making an appearance are RICHARD PRYOR, CARL PERKINS, Andrew Gold, Bob Wootton and Buck Trent. This production was directed by DICK CLARK of "American Bandstand" fame.GLEN SHERLEY Mini Bio : Glen Milborn Sherley (March 9, 1936 ? May 11, 1978) was an American who became a country singer songwriter after his song "Greystone Chapel" was made famous by Johnny Cash in 1968. Sherley wrote the song while in prison and it was later performed by Cash at his Folsom Prison performance, which was eventually released as the album At Folsom Prison. Sherley was in the front row, unaware that his song was going to be performed. Glen Sherley subsequently wrote and performed a number of other songs. Sherley committed suicide on May 11, 1978, at age 42. Sherley was born in 1936 as the son of farm workers in Oklahoma. They migrated to California in the 1940s to work in cotton fields, potato farms and more. Sherley was a youth offender, and through the 1950s and 1960s was frequently in and out of prison for various crimes including one jailbreak. By the time he was discovered by Johnny Cash in 1968 while serving time for armed robbery, Sherley had been an inmate of several state penitentiaries, including Chino, Soledad, San Quentin, and Folsom. During the late 1960s, Sherley wrote and recorded "Greystone Chapel," in reference to the chapel within Folsom Prison, where he was an inmate at the time. On January 12, 1968 a copy of this recording made its way into the hands of Johnny Cash by way of Floyd Gressett, a Folsom minister who was a friend of Cash's, the night before he was due to appear in concert at Folsom. In an interview with Life Magazine in 1994 titled "Country Rocks The Country", Johnny Cash said: "The night before I was going to record at Folsom prison, I got to the motel and a preacher friend of mine brought me a tape of a song called "Greystone Chapel." He said a convict had written it about the chapel at Folsom. I listened to it one time and I said, "I've got to do this in the show tomorrow." So I stayed up and learned it, and the next day the preacher had him in the front row. I announced, "This song was written by Glen Sherley." It was a terrible, terrible thing to point him out among all those cons, but I didn't think about that then. Everybody just had a fit, screaming and carrying on." "Greystone Chapel" was recorded, along with the rest of Cash's Folsom performance, on January 13, 1968. After being transferred from Folsom Prison to Vacaville, he worked in the prison hospital unit where he met Spade Cooley, who was serving a life sentence for murder, until his death in 1969 while on a 72-hour leave from prison. Cooley was known to be a positive influence on Sherley. Sherley was able to refine his music abilities as well as his abilities to deal with audiences. After the release of Greystone Chapel, Sherley's next major success came in 1971, when country singer Eddy Arnold recorded another song written by Sherley, "Portrait Of My Woman." The song became the title track of Arnold's next release. Following the fame gained through the Arnold release, Sherley was offered the chance to record a live album, Glen Sherley, while still in prison. The album was a success when it was recorded, with the permission of prison officials, and released by Mega Records. Production supervision was provided by Cash's publishing organization, House of Cash, with musicians from the Nashville area, leading to an offer from Johnny Cash for Sherley to join House of Cash. When Sherley was released from Prison in 1971, he was met at the gates by Cash. His album was re-released by Bear Family Records as Glen Sherley - Live at Vacaville, California. A remastered version of his album was produced and released by his estate in 2017. The Album "Glen Sherley: Released Again" includes 3 bonus tracks, one of which is an original demo he recorded in his cell. When the documentary "A Flower Out of Place" was filmed, showcasing Cash, Linda Ronstadt and Roy Clark performing at Tennessee State Prison, Sherley hosted the performance. According to Marshall Grant, bass player and road manager for Cash, Sherley exhibited behavior that indicated he was a pathological criminal. He casually made comments about killing members of the cast of Cash's show, and made threats. Cash himself became concerned about Sherley's potential for violence, and eventually dismissed him. After his departure from Cash's show, Sherley struggled to cope with stardom. Sherley went on to lose his footing in Nashville and became estranged from his wife and kids. He quickly faded out of the limelight, into obscurity. Sherley ended up working for a large cattle company, feeding 10,000 cattle a day. He lived in the cab of a semi truck, and tried to stay out of the public eye. His drinking got heavier and his drug use went out of control. In May 1978, while high on drugs, Sherley shot a man. Sometime after that he called his daughter to say he was not going back to jail. Two days later, on May 11, while hiding out at his brother’s house in Gonzales, California, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Cash agreed to pay for the funeral, and the 42-year-old Glen Sherley was laid to rest in Shafter, California. A library of 20,000 to 30,000 video items from 1978 forward, including multiples, is being offered for the first time to the eBay community. ALL inventory is OFFSITE from eBay listing center, so singular items may not be described individually, but in general to the collection. Some images may be representative. The quality of playback and visual presentation is GOOD to VERY GOOD to FINE. Some items may be Brand New Factory Sealed, while a few may slip through in a lesser quality. These items are inspected but individual items slip through occasionally, and we apologize for this inconsistency. Please, ask questions before purchase, we will do our best to oblige you. (Condition: Pre-Owned)

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