Johnny Cash, the Man in Black himself, was one of the most famous faces to ever appear on the San Quentin stage (above), though the lyrics of one of his songs proclaimed, “San Quentin, I hate everything about you.”Epic singer Eartha Kitt also graced the prison grounds in the 1960s, wrapped regally in furs and representing musical royalty.Merle Haggard, himself a San Quentin alumnus, returned to perform with his low-key outlaw stylings.Phyliss Diller kept her entire audience in stitches with her antics. Every face behind her is plastered with a smile, some laughing right out loud.
Bay Area rockers Metallica blew the roof off North Block, packing the tiers in 2003 while filming for their St. Anger album. So inspired was SQ resident Paul “Irish” Kerwn that he penciled a phenomenal likeness of James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead singer/ guitarist, with his signature Gibson Explorer electric guitar.
The legendary Bonnie Raitt (above, center) posed with the men back when SQ residents still called themselves “cons” and “inmates.”Carlos Santana rocks the Lower Yard with his unmistakable Latin flavor, courtesy of a double-cutaway Paul Reed Smith six-string. Historians take note of the old San Quentin hospital and ancient brickwork in the background, all now long gone.
