The Chicken in Black

"The Chicken in Black" is a novelty 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, his enthusiasm quickly faded. In his second autobiography, he described the song as "intentionally atrocious" after friends and family reacted poorly to the single and its accompanying video. Waylon Jennings told him he looked like a buffoon in the chicken costume, while his daughter, Rosanne Cash called the song the "nadir of his 1980s decline."

Cash later admitted that "The Chicken in Black" was the only thing he ever recorded that he "flat-out hated". Reflecting on the video, he called it "godawful." According to Wide Open Country, the song came to represent what critics and fans widely view as the lowest point of his 1980s output.