He recorded the album inspired by a visit to Israel (the Holy Land of the title) with his wife, June Carter Cash and in fact most of the album consists of on-site recordings made by Cash using a portable tape recorder during a visit describing what he sees as he visits holy sites in and around Jerusalem.

All but three of the songs were written by Cash, though the sole single, "Daddy Sang Bass", which reached No.

1 on the Country charts and remained that spot for six weeks, was penned by Carl Perkins.

The cover has a picture of Cash standing in front of the chapel on top of the Mount of Beatitudes, immediately north of the Sea of Galilee.

The concept of Cash visiting Biblical locations and combining storytelling with music would be revisited twice more in his career for the 1973 soundtrack album The Gospel Road and the 2000 release Return to the Promised Land.