Man Claims Johnny Cash Shot Him in Reno in 1955: Sues Estate For Royalties

Jasper Villanueva claims that Johnny Cash shot him in 1955. He also alleges that he is the subject of Cash’s 1955 hit song “Folsom Prison Blues” and is therefore owed $17.5 Million dollars in back royalties. Villanueva has filed a lawsuit against the Cash estate. 

Shot a Man in Reno

Folsom Prison Blues was released in 1955 and was very successful. The live version went to number one again in 1968. The song contains the famous lyrics, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”. Villanueva claims that Cash wrote those lyrics about him after actually shooting him and wants to be compensated.

Jasper told Madhouse News that he first met Johnny when they both served together in the Air Force in the early 1950s. “I met Johnny in 1953 in West Germany” said Villanueva. “We were both assigned to the 12th Radio Squadron of the US Air Force Security Service at Landsberg, West Germany. John and I formed a band together, ‘The Landsberg Barbarians. It was a country polka band and I played Flugelhorn.”

Johnny Cash

“Johnny started writing Folsom Prison in 1953. Actually he stole the whole damn song from Gordon Jenkins. Check out Crescent City Blues by Jenkins if you don’t know but that’s a whole other story. Anyway, Johnny’s version was almost finished but he needed one more line to really sell it. He was stuck”.

Villanueva continued, “After we were discharged Johnny and another Air Force buddy, Rudy Giordano came to visit me in my hometown of Chico, California. We decided to take a road trip through Tahoe, Reno and drive across Nevada and eventually to Vegas.”

“We made it to Reno and went out drinking at a local saloon called La Tetilla del Diablo. It was a lot of fun, we were doing shots of Tequila and eating barbecued Iguana. John was distracted all night though trying to finish the song. Rudy went off with a one legged hooker named Lupe. John and I decided to go into the desert and take some peyote.”

Desert Not Dessert

“At dawn, John started screaming I got it, I got it. He then shot me and when I asked him why he did it he replied just to watch you die. Of course the jackass did not actually watch me die as he drove off in my car. I have the ability to slow down my metabolism like a snake. A shaman found me in the desert in about one hour and healed me.”

“I never told anyone about this because John was my friend. Cash went on to have a great career in music in a big way because of me. If he didn’t shoot me, he might have ended up working in a car wash in Chico. California all his life like I did. I still have the bullet in my leg. I don’t want the money for myself, I am 88 years old now and I kept this secret for almost 70 years. The Cash estate owes me and I just want something to leave my grandchildren.”

Related Stories: Remembering Johnny Cash