In 1965, the Grateful Dead – a name from folk tales that relates to good spirits (that band member Jerry Garcia is said to have pulled randomly from the dictionary) – embarked on a musical journey which would span thirty years, ending with Garcia’s passing in 1995. During those three decades of never ending touring and prolific songwriting, the band rose to legendary status aided in large part by the unfailing loyalty of their fans, the Deadheads. Since the mid 90s surviving band members have all followed their own musical paths non-stop, occasionally performing together, though never as the Grateful Dead, and rarely together on the same stage.
Until now.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of their long, strange trip. To celebrate, the four core members of The Grateful Dead – Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart – reunited to perform five shows. These “Fare Thee Well” performances in California and in Chicago were an opportunity for the fans to celebrate the band, and for the band to celebrate the fans in turn. Let’s continue the celebration a little bit longer. We'll start by looking at "Fifty Facts for Fifty Years" – an exploration of things that make the Dead a unique cultural institution worthy of remembrance. Then we'll look at what drew most fans to the Grateful Dead in the first place, "The Music."
Until now.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of their long, strange trip. To celebrate, the four core members of The Grateful Dead – Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart – reunited to perform five shows. These “Fare Thee Well” performances in California and in Chicago were an opportunity for the fans to celebrate the band, and for the band to celebrate the fans in turn. Let’s continue the celebration a little bit longer. We'll start by looking at "Fifty Facts for Fifty Years" – an exploration of things that make the Dead a unique cultural institution worthy of remembrance. Then we'll look at what drew most fans to the Grateful Dead in the first place, "The Music."
FIFTY FACTS FOR FIFTY YEARS
ONE: The Grateful Dead were comfortable on the road. Their career sported thirty years of near constant touring to the tune of almost 2,500 concerts.
TWO: In the seventies the band’s famous Wall of Sound, consisting of more than 600 speakers pushing out 24,000 watts, was an engineering marvel. The technology for the Dead’s sound systems (designed in large part by Owsley Stanley, otherwise known as "Bear") became the benchmark for future live music for decades to come.
TWO: In the seventies the band’s famous Wall of Sound, consisting of more than 600 speakers pushing out 24,000 watts, was an engineering marvel. The technology for the Dead’s sound systems (designed in large part by Owsley Stanley, otherwise known as "Bear") became the benchmark for future live music for decades to come.
THREE: Life on the road for the Dead was a family friendly endeavor, and a large entourage of friends, family and hangers on were often found on the buses, at the hotels and backstage throughout the duration of every tour.
FOUR: While all other rock and roll acts discouraged (and prosecuted) fans for recording their live performances (otherwise known as "bootlegging"), the Dead actually encouraged fans to record and trade their shows. The band’s philosophy was once they put the music out, it was out for everyone to enjoy over and over again.
FIVE: The Grateful Dead began to reserve an area in all venues they played from the early 1980s on where “tapers”, as those fans who chronically taped shows and often with highly sophisticated equipment were known, could set up their gear complete with microphone stands rising above the heads of the audience.
FOUR: While all other rock and roll acts discouraged (and prosecuted) fans for recording their live performances (otherwise known as "bootlegging"), the Dead actually encouraged fans to record and trade their shows. The band’s philosophy was once they put the music out, it was out for everyone to enjoy over and over again.
FIVE: The Grateful Dead began to reserve an area in all venues they played from the early 1980s on where “tapers”, as those fans who chronically taped shows and often with highly sophisticated equipment were known, could set up their gear complete with microphone stands rising above the heads of the audience.
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SIX: From the earliest days, the Grateful Dead’s benefactor, Owsley Stanley, a brilliant sound engineer, world famous LSD chemist, and wealthy trust funder, had the good sense to record most of the band's shows directly through the soundboard. The Dead continued this tradition throughout their 30 year career. The Owsley Stanley Foundation is working to preserve and make available over 1,000 live recordings made directly off the soundboard throughout the 60s and 70s. The Foundation's work covers not only the Dead, but also performances from other musical legends, including Miles Davis, Santana, Steve Miller, and the Allman Brothers Band among many others.
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The Bear - Via Rolling Stone.
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SEVEN: In the last twenty years a tremendous amount of the Grateful Dead’s archival music has been released as the Dick’s Picks series, the Road Trips series, and Dave’s Picks series. There is more live Grateful Dead music available today than at anytime during the band’s 30 year career.
EIGHT: The Dead always consisted of core members but, seamlessly, over the years, other members came and left the band.
NINE: In the early days, the Grateful Dead was the house band for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ Acid Tests, multi media rave style parties fueled by then-legal LSD. Kesey and the Pranksters, along with the Grateful Dead, were in many ways bridging the gap between the Beat Generation poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg from the post war 1950s with the Vietnam Era hippies of the 1960s and early 70s.
TEN: Merry Prankster Neal Cassady, who was the real life inspiration for Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty in On The Road, shared a room with Dead rhythm guitar player Bob Weir at a house in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco where the Grateful Dead lived together in the late 1960’s. Said Weir of Cassady: “He looked like God to me,” and Garcia once noted Cassady was a “tool of the cosmos.”
EIGHT: The Dead always consisted of core members but, seamlessly, over the years, other members came and left the band.
NINE: In the early days, the Grateful Dead was the house band for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ Acid Tests, multi media rave style parties fueled by then-legal LSD. Kesey and the Pranksters, along with the Grateful Dead, were in many ways bridging the gap between the Beat Generation poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg from the post war 1950s with the Vietnam Era hippies of the 1960s and early 70s.
TEN: Merry Prankster Neal Cassady, who was the real life inspiration for Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty in On The Road, shared a room with Dead rhythm guitar player Bob Weir at a house in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco where the Grateful Dead lived together in the late 1960’s. Said Weir of Cassady: “He looked like God to me,” and Garcia once noted Cassady was a “tool of the cosmos.”
February 3, 1972 issue.
ELEVEN: Over the course of a career, the Dead were on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine 12 times.
TWELVE: Above all else the Dead were a spontaneous band and they drew from a live repertoire of many hundreds of songs.
THIRTEEN: No two concerts were ever the same.
FOURTEEN: A fan could attend a multi-night run at any venue in any city and be absolutely guaranteed the three shows would not be at all alike – different set lists, different feel, different show.
FIFTEEN: There were nearly 2,500 Grateful Dead concerts from 1965 to 1995.
SIXTEEN: Legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite saw the Grateful Dead perform live in concert on at least two occasions.
SEVENTEEN: Long time Deadhead NBA star Bill Walton, who has seen the band too many times to count, took Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to the Boston Garden to see the Grateful Dead in the early 1990s.
EIGHTEEN: Jerry Garcia played lead guitar and served as the group’s spiritual and creative leader. His first love was bluegrass, but over the course of the band’s history Garcia and the Dead fused blues, country, rock, psychedelic, reggae, and jazz into a sound all their own. As a band, and when performing and recording as solo artists, the music from the Grateful Dead family could not be pigeonholed. It is truly genre-less music, and a healthy slice of Americana.
NINETEEN: His brother accidentally chopped off half of Jerry’s right hand middle finger with an axe when they were children.
TWENTY: At a young age, Garcia watched his father drown in a river while on a fishing trip.
TWELVE: Above all else the Dead were a spontaneous band and they drew from a live repertoire of many hundreds of songs.
THIRTEEN: No two concerts were ever the same.
FOURTEEN: A fan could attend a multi-night run at any venue in any city and be absolutely guaranteed the three shows would not be at all alike – different set lists, different feel, different show.
FIFTEEN: There were nearly 2,500 Grateful Dead concerts from 1965 to 1995.
SIXTEEN: Legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite saw the Grateful Dead perform live in concert on at least two occasions.
SEVENTEEN: Long time Deadhead NBA star Bill Walton, who has seen the band too many times to count, took Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to the Boston Garden to see the Grateful Dead in the early 1990s.
EIGHTEEN: Jerry Garcia played lead guitar and served as the group’s spiritual and creative leader. His first love was bluegrass, but over the course of the band’s history Garcia and the Dead fused blues, country, rock, psychedelic, reggae, and jazz into a sound all their own. As a band, and when performing and recording as solo artists, the music from the Grateful Dead family could not be pigeonholed. It is truly genre-less music, and a healthy slice of Americana.
NINETEEN: His brother accidentally chopped off half of Jerry’s right hand middle finger with an axe when they were children.
TWENTY: At a young age, Garcia watched his father drown in a river while on a fishing trip.
TWENTY-ONE: Bob Weir was only a teenager when he became a founding member of the group, and had yet to graduate high school.
TWENTY-TWO: The Other One is a documentary of Weir’s life.
TWENTY-THREE: Bill Kreutzmann played drums for the band since the very beginning, and soon introduced his friend and fellow percussionist Mickey Hart to the band. Together, they were an eight appendage percussion machine.
TWENTY-FOUR: Micky Hart took a hiatus from the Dead for several years to study percussion and its cultural significances. For most of the Grateful Dead’s career Billy and Micky shared dual drumming responsibilities. Their percussion segments, often quite avant gard, incorporated traditional rock and roll drum kits with multiple percussion instruments spanning various cultures. The Beam is particularly unusual:
TWENTY-TWO: The Other One is a documentary of Weir’s life.
TWENTY-THREE: Bill Kreutzmann played drums for the band since the very beginning, and soon introduced his friend and fellow percussionist Mickey Hart to the band. Together, they were an eight appendage percussion machine.
TWENTY-FOUR: Micky Hart took a hiatus from the Dead for several years to study percussion and its cultural significances. For most of the Grateful Dead’s career Billy and Micky shared dual drumming responsibilities. Their percussion segments, often quite avant gard, incorporated traditional rock and roll drum kits with multiple percussion instruments spanning various cultures. The Beam is particularly unusual:
The Beam - photo by David Oppenheimer.
TWENTY-FIVE: Hart served as the curator for the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of ethnomusicological percussion and related study. He has written several books about the cultural significance of percussion.
TWENTY-SIX: Phil Lesh, the bass guitar player, came from a tradition of classical music. As the story goes, Garcia taught Lesh how to play bass and the rest is rock and roll history.
TWENTY-SEVEN: Ron "Pigpen" McKaren, from a blues background, brought a raspy and soulful voice to the band. A founding member, Pig died in 1973 from liver disease. During his tenure, however, it seemed in a way as if the Grateful Dead were two different bands: one fronted by Garcia that was jam based and eclectic; and one fronted by Pigpen that was more blues and R & B based, with Pig working the audience and rapping on and on.
TWENTY-EIGHT: When Pigpen was too ill to perform, pianist Keith Godchaux joined the band, as did his vocalist wife Donna Jean. The Godchauxs' tenure ran from the 1971 to 1979. Keith died in an automobile accident in 1980.
TWENTY-NINE: Brent Midland joined the band in late 1979 and commanded the keyboards, as well as provided a deep, bluesy voice to the group. Midland also died, in 1990, once again leaving the Dead without a keyboardist.
THIRTY: Brent was replaced by two masters of the keys: long-time friend of the band and multi-Grammy winner Bruce Hornsby filled in on piano while managing his own career and touring schedule, and former Tubes keyboardist Vince Welnick, who would become a full time member from 1990 until the Grateful Dead’s last concert in 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Years later he would take his own life, proving once again that some sort of cosmic, dark cloud seemed to hang over the head full time GD keyboardists.
TWENTY-SIX: Phil Lesh, the bass guitar player, came from a tradition of classical music. As the story goes, Garcia taught Lesh how to play bass and the rest is rock and roll history.
TWENTY-SEVEN: Ron "Pigpen" McKaren, from a blues background, brought a raspy and soulful voice to the band. A founding member, Pig died in 1973 from liver disease. During his tenure, however, it seemed in a way as if the Grateful Dead were two different bands: one fronted by Garcia that was jam based and eclectic; and one fronted by Pigpen that was more blues and R & B based, with Pig working the audience and rapping on and on.
TWENTY-EIGHT: When Pigpen was too ill to perform, pianist Keith Godchaux joined the band, as did his vocalist wife Donna Jean. The Godchauxs' tenure ran from the 1971 to 1979. Keith died in an automobile accident in 1980.
TWENTY-NINE: Brent Midland joined the band in late 1979 and commanded the keyboards, as well as provided a deep, bluesy voice to the group. Midland also died, in 1990, once again leaving the Dead without a keyboardist.
THIRTY: Brent was replaced by two masters of the keys: long-time friend of the band and multi-Grammy winner Bruce Hornsby filled in on piano while managing his own career and touring schedule, and former Tubes keyboardist Vince Welnick, who would become a full time member from 1990 until the Grateful Dead’s last concert in 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Years later he would take his own life, proving once again that some sort of cosmic, dark cloud seemed to hang over the head full time GD keyboardists.
Via dead.net
THIRTY-ONE: Well before the advent of social media, the Dead reached out to their fans as early as the late 60s with a mail-in campaign to connect fans to the band.
THIRTY-TWO: Grateful Dead Ticket Sales (GDTS) was established to handle the ticketing needs of the the fans by mail order during the latter part of the band’s career, thus allowing fans direct access to the best seats while avoiding the major ticket outlets and their high "processing" fees. Tickets to Deadheads by Deadheads, I suppose.
THIRTY-TWO: Grateful Dead Ticket Sales (GDTS) was established to handle the ticketing needs of the the fans by mail order during the latter part of the band’s career, thus allowing fans direct access to the best seats while avoiding the major ticket outlets and their high "processing" fees. Tickets to Deadheads by Deadheads, I suppose.
THIRTY-THREE: Fans using the GDTS mail order for their tickets frequently decorated their envelopes in elaborate artwork. Much of that artwork is published today.
THIRTY-FOUR: Along with the Allman Brothers and The Band, the Grateful Dead headlined the Watkins Glen Music Festival in 1973 to a then Guinness Book of World Records 600,000 people.
THIRTY-FIVE: The Grateful Dead played at Woodstock. No, they are not in the movie or on the soundtrack. They played their set in the middle of the night during an electrical storm... Not conducive to filmmaking or recording!
THIRTY-SIX: The Grateful Dead have likely played more benefit shows than any other band. In addition, their generosity has extended to multiple foundations and charities. The band is well know for giving back. The REX Foundation is the primary philanthropic outlet of the band.
THIRTY-SEVEN: The Grateful Dead have always played Dylan cover songs, and played them quite well. According to Rolling Stone, the Dead had 38 Dylan songs in their live catalog.
THIRTY-EIGHT: In the late 1980s the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan toured a series of stadiums together. On the tour the Dead served as Dylan’s band in addition to playing their own sets.
THIRTY-NINE: When the band was not touring incessantly, they seldom caught some rest. Typically various members pursued their own musical paths, toured with their own bands, and released numerous solo projects.
FORTY: Despite not ever having a single number one hit to their credit, the Dead regularly sold out large venues throughout the country and across the globe. For fifty years strong the Grateful Dead have enjoyed enthusiastic audiences on every continent the band has played.
FORTY-ONE: “There Is Nothing Like a Grateful Dead Concert,” and “The Grateful Dead Aren’t the Best At What They Do, They Are the Only Ones Who Do What They Do,” were popular bumper stickers which could be seen on cars in the parking lots of shows during 80s and 90s.
THIRTY-FOUR: Along with the Allman Brothers and The Band, the Grateful Dead headlined the Watkins Glen Music Festival in 1973 to a then Guinness Book of World Records 600,000 people.
THIRTY-FIVE: The Grateful Dead played at Woodstock. No, they are not in the movie or on the soundtrack. They played their set in the middle of the night during an electrical storm... Not conducive to filmmaking or recording!
THIRTY-SIX: The Grateful Dead have likely played more benefit shows than any other band. In addition, their generosity has extended to multiple foundations and charities. The band is well know for giving back. The REX Foundation is the primary philanthropic outlet of the band.
THIRTY-SEVEN: The Grateful Dead have always played Dylan cover songs, and played them quite well. According to Rolling Stone, the Dead had 38 Dylan songs in their live catalog.
THIRTY-EIGHT: In the late 1980s the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan toured a series of stadiums together. On the tour the Dead served as Dylan’s band in addition to playing their own sets.
THIRTY-NINE: When the band was not touring incessantly, they seldom caught some rest. Typically various members pursued their own musical paths, toured with their own bands, and released numerous solo projects.
FORTY: Despite not ever having a single number one hit to their credit, the Dead regularly sold out large venues throughout the country and across the globe. For fifty years strong the Grateful Dead have enjoyed enthusiastic audiences on every continent the band has played.
FORTY-ONE: “There Is Nothing Like a Grateful Dead Concert,” and “The Grateful Dead Aren’t the Best At What They Do, They Are the Only Ones Who Do What They Do,” were popular bumper stickers which could be seen on cars in the parking lots of shows during 80s and 90s.
Via dead.net
FORTY-TWO: The Dead were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994, and were the subject of a year-long exhibition there in 2012. Spanning two floors, "Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip" documented the band's history, and featured many iconic artifacts.
FORTY-THREE: The University of California at Santa Cruz houses the Grateful Dead Archive, a scholarly look at the band.
FORTY-FOUR: David Lemeiux is the band’s musical archivist and keeper of the Vault, the vast collection of live recordings the band has kept of itself since the beginning.
FORTY-FIVE: Sirius XM Radio’s Grateful Dead Channel is one of the most popular channels on the satellite radio carrier's lineup of over two hundred stations.
FORTY-SIX: On the internet, archive.org has been a forum for fans to upload and download full Grateful Dead concerts. Unless a show has been commercially released there is a great chance you can find it and enjoy it for free.
FORTY-SEVEN: The three 50th Anniversary Shows held over the July 4th weekend at Soldier Field in Chicago sold out immediately. In keeping with the spirt of Grateful Dead Ticket Sales mail order, GDTS TOO emerged to handle ticketing the event. GDTS TOO received over 60,000 thousand envelopes, many beautifully and lovingly adorned with artwork, requesting multiple copies of tickets for multiple shows. Sadly, many fans were shut out. Demand for tickets far exceeded supply. It seemed as nobody, least of all the band members themselves, were prepared for the massive outpouring of fans looking to be a part of the celebration.
FORTY-THREE: The University of California at Santa Cruz houses the Grateful Dead Archive, a scholarly look at the band.
FORTY-FOUR: David Lemeiux is the band’s musical archivist and keeper of the Vault, the vast collection of live recordings the band has kept of itself since the beginning.
FORTY-FIVE: Sirius XM Radio’s Grateful Dead Channel is one of the most popular channels on the satellite radio carrier's lineup of over two hundred stations.
FORTY-SIX: On the internet, archive.org has been a forum for fans to upload and download full Grateful Dead concerts. Unless a show has been commercially released there is a great chance you can find it and enjoy it for free.
FORTY-SEVEN: The three 50th Anniversary Shows held over the July 4th weekend at Soldier Field in Chicago sold out immediately. In keeping with the spirt of Grateful Dead Ticket Sales mail order, GDTS TOO emerged to handle ticketing the event. GDTS TOO received over 60,000 thousand envelopes, many beautifully and lovingly adorned with artwork, requesting multiple copies of tickets for multiple shows. Sadly, many fans were shut out. Demand for tickets far exceeded supply. It seemed as nobody, least of all the band members themselves, were prepared for the massive outpouring of fans looking to be a part of the celebration.
Envelope art by Marigold. Sent to GDTS TOO for the recent 50th Anniversary shows.
FORTY-EIGHT: Always sensitive to the needs of the fans, the band added two shows at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA that preceded the Soldier Field dates. In an effort to get as many as tickets as possible directly into the hands of fans at face value, and to keep them out of overly-expensive, secondary ticket outlets, almost all of the ticket sales were generated from GDTS TOO. Yet despite the addition of these two shows, once again supply far exceeded demand.
FORTY-NINE: The 50th Anniversary Shows at Soldier Field broke attendance records with over 70,000 people present each night. On night one, the same day the Supreme Court announced its historic ruling with respect to same sex marriage, a rainbow flashed across the stadium. The audience – typically longtime left wingers, hippies and freedom loving souls – went absolutely wild.
FIFTY: Dubbed “Fare Thee Well”, these three shows featured the core members of the Grateful Dead joined by Bruce Hornsby on piano, Trey Anastasio on guitar, and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards. These shows marked the last time all four core members performed together as the Grateful Dead (maybe). Nevertheless, they will assuredly continue to perform solo, and as frontmen of their own bands.
FORTY-NINE: The 50th Anniversary Shows at Soldier Field broke attendance records with over 70,000 people present each night. On night one, the same day the Supreme Court announced its historic ruling with respect to same sex marriage, a rainbow flashed across the stadium. The audience – typically longtime left wingers, hippies and freedom loving souls – went absolutely wild.
FIFTY: Dubbed “Fare Thee Well”, these three shows featured the core members of the Grateful Dead joined by Bruce Hornsby on piano, Trey Anastasio on guitar, and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards. These shows marked the last time all four core members performed together as the Grateful Dead (maybe). Nevertheless, they will assuredly continue to perform solo, and as frontmen of their own bands.
THE MUSIC
THE 1960S:
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1965: "Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks)" from So Many Roads - The band in its infancy, finding their sound.
1966: "Cream Puff War (Live at the Fillmore West, 1966)" from So Many Roads - Rocking early jam from a classic venue, Bill Graham’s Fillmore West in San Francisco. 1967: "Dark Star/China Cat Sunflower/ The Eleven (San Francisco, 1967)" from So Many Roads - The band at a psychedelic peak wailing through some of their farthest out there numbers. 1968: "(Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew (Shrine Auditorium, August 1968)" from Two From The Vault - A powerhouse Jerry Garcia song which would stay in the repertoire for the band’s entire career. 1969: "Death Don’t Have No Mercy (Live at the Fillmore West, 1966)": from Fillmore West 1969 - Strong, bluesy and heartfelt rendition of this Reverend Gary Davis classic. |
EARLY 1970S:
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1970: "Dancing in the Streets (Fillmore East, 1970)" from Dick’s Picks Volume 4 - A Grateful Dead rendition of a Mowtown mega-hit. Pigpen sings this one, and in the years that would follow after Pig’s passing, Bob Weir would provide the vocals for this frequently played favorite.
1971: "Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub)" from Ladies and Gentleman The Grateful Dead: Fillmore East, New York City, April 1971 - Fun, upbeat, Pigpen at home working the audience and having a blast. 1972: "Me and My Uncle" from Veneta, OR 8/27/72 (The Complete Sunshine Daydream Concert) - Author and Merry Prankster Ken Kesey was a friend of the band from the beginning, so when the Kesey family farm needed some money to pay its bills, the Grateful Dead showed up to play a benefit concert. The band ripped it up with stellar performances of just about every song during their two set show... And the Kesey farm, Springfield Creamery, was saved. 1973: "Box of Rain (Live at the Salt Palace, SLC, 1973)" from Dick's Picks Volume 28 - Phil Lesh’s song from seminal Grateful Dead album American Beauty live from the City of Salt. |
1974: "Jack Straw (Live at the Philadelphia Civic Center, August 4/5 1974)" from Dick's Picks Volume 31- Bob Weir’s song about two friends, Jack Straw and Shannon, paints images of the days of riding the rails across the American West.
1975: "Sugaree (Live at the Great American Music Hall, 8/13/75)" from One From The Vault - The band took this year off from the road, but still found time to play a few shows. On this version of the Garcia classic, listen for clean crisp guitar notes crackling with energy.
LATE 1970S:
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1976: "The Other One (Live at Oakland Coliseum Stadium)" from Dick's Picks Volume 33 - The band booms through an absolute classic from the early days: ”The bus came by, I got on, that's where it all began... There was cowboy Neal, at the wheel, on a bus to never ever land...”
1977: "Passenger," "Brown Eyed Women," and "Promised Land": from To Terrapin May 28, 1977 - The 1977 spring tour was legendary, and these three songs do the era justice with Phil Lesh’s raunchy "Passenger," Jerry Garcia’s fun loving "Brown Eyed Women," and Bob Weir burning it down with Chuck Berry’s up tempo "Promised Land." 1978: "I Need a Miracle (Live at Gizah Sound & Light Theater, Cairo, 1978)" from Rocking the Cradle - Revved up for adventure, the Dead family took off to Egypt for a trip culminating in a show under a total lunar eclipse. Everybody made the journey; Owsley, Kesey and his family, the Merry Pranksters, Mountain Girl, Bill Graham and all the other hangers on, rocking in the cradle of civilization. |
1979: "Shakedown Street (Live at New Haven Coliseum, 1979)" from Complete Road Trips - Ah, the disco era, and even the venerable Grateful Dead were not immune. "Shakedown Street," while not a song Studio 54 would have played, nevertheless is flavored by the era and its disco beats.
EARLY 1980S:
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1980: "Alabama Getaway (Live at Nassau Coliseum, May 15-16, 1980)" from Go To Nassau: May 15-16, 1980 - A rocking Garcia song featuring the lines, ”thirty two teeth in a jawbone, Alabama is trying for none... before I have to hit him I hope he has the sense to run.”
1981: "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Live December 3, 1981)" from Postcards of the Hanging: The Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan - This is a wonderful rendition of a Bob Dylan classic. The Dead often used this song to end a set, end a show, or as an encore. 1982: "Althea (Live at Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI, August 7 1982)" from Dick's Picks Volume 32 - A song featuring beautiful imagery alluding to Shakespeare: ”maybe the fate of Ophelia sleeping at perchance to dream... honest to the point of recklessness, self centered to the extreme.” |
1983: "Keep Your Day Job (Live at Hartford Civic Center, October 14, 1983)" from Dick's Picks Volume 6 - This is a fun and rocking little ditty, a short kick-ass fun tune. Deadheads requested the band stop playing it, however. They didn't like the work-a-day practicality of the keep your day job message, I guess. “Whether you collect or whether you pay, you still have to work that eight hour day... Whether you like that job or not, keep it on ice while you're lining up your long shot... Which is to say, hey hey hey, keep your day job, don't give it away, keep your day job whatever it pays, keep your day job until your night job pays...” A fair enough message.
1984: "West L.A. Fadeaway - Alternate Version" from Complete Live Rarities Collection - An interesting studio-live session recording.
1985: "Little Red Rooster," and "Stagger Lee" (both live at Richmond Coliseum, November 1, 1985) from Dick's Picks Volume 21 - Bobby Weir playing some great blues and slide guitar on "Little Red Rooster," and Jerry Garcia offering up the Dead’s take on the classic tune "Stagger Lee."
1984: "West L.A. Fadeaway - Alternate Version" from Complete Live Rarities Collection - An interesting studio-live session recording.
1985: "Little Red Rooster," and "Stagger Lee" (both live at Richmond Coliseum, November 1, 1985) from Dick's Picks Volume 21 - Bobby Weir playing some great blues and slide guitar on "Little Red Rooster," and Jerry Garcia offering up the Dead’s take on the classic tune "Stagger Lee."
THE LATE 1980S:
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1986: “Up and Down the Avenue, Live 1986” by Charlie Musselwhite from Up and Down the Highway - Due to Garcia’s illness during this time, it’s hard to find great live music from the band. Charlie Musselwhite’s live from 1986 performance, however, is tight and strong. Charlie and Bob Weir would collaborate during the late 1990s.
1987: “Maggie’s Farm (Live October 3, 1987)" from Postcards of the Hanging: the Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan - Bobby providing a treatment of the Dylan tune “Maggie’s Farm” from 1987, a strong year for the Grateful Dead. 1988: “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Throwing Stones" (All Live in New Jersey, April 1, 1988) from Complete Road Trips - Brent Mydland covers Traffic, Bobby Weir covers Dylan’s “Watchtower,” and perform’s his own social / environmental / philosophical ditty “Throwing Stones.” “...A peaceful place or so it looks from space, a closer look reveals the human race...full of hope, full of grace is the human race, but afraid, we may lay it all to waste.” 1989: “One More Saturday Night (Live October, 1989)” from Without a Net - Bobby Weir playing rock star, sounding great. |
THE 1990S:
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1990: “Eyes of the World,” “Estimated Prophet,” and “Dark Star” (All Live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 1990) from Wake Up to Find Out - This show features Wynton Marsalis on saxophone. The jazz great had never played with the Dead and did not even know their music well before this show. But, the band and the saxophonist sound as if they were fused from the same musical madness, and as a fan I am sorry this was the only time the two musical entities teamed together.
1991: “Playing in the Band,” and “China Doll” (Live at Boston Garden, 1991) from Dick’s Picks Volume 17 - Typically a jumping off point classic extended jam vehicle for the Dead, this “Playin’” is rather short, though sweet, and it falls nicely into the delicate “China Doll.” 1992: “Wang Dang Doodle” performed by Bob Weir, Chuck Berry and The Rock Hall Jam Band from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Live Volume 2 - Bobby and Chuck and the Hall Jam Band, live in Cleveland. |
1993: “Days Between (Club Front rehearsal, 1993)” from So Many Roads – This is a studio rehearsal cut of a hauntingly beautiful song. “Days Between” conjures up images of living one’s life fully and completely in the finite measure of a lifetime. This song was a fitting late-career addition so near to the passing of Jerry Garcia, the song’s co-writer along with career-long Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.
1994: “Liberty (Live in Atlanta, March 30,1994)” from So Many Roads - Upbeat and fun, a great late career tune which both Bob Weir’s later bands and Phil Lesh’s bands would continue to play.
1995: “So Many Roads (Live in Chicago, July 9, 1995) from So Many Roads - Moving and solid performance by the spiritual leader of the band, Jerry Garcia shortly before his passing in August, 1995.
1994: “Liberty (Live in Atlanta, March 30,1994)” from So Many Roads - Upbeat and fun, a great late career tune which both Bob Weir’s later bands and Phil Lesh’s bands would continue to play.
1995: “So Many Roads (Live in Chicago, July 9, 1995) from So Many Roads - Moving and solid performance by the spiritual leader of the band, Jerry Garcia shortly before his passing in August, 1995.
Header art by T. Guzzio. Original photo via Wikimedia Commons.
CONNECT WITH CHRISTOPHER:
Aside from being an enthusiastic fan of the Grateful Dead, Christopher Mattera is an educator, and also an avid outdoorsman. He has been descending and photographing technical canyons on the Colorado Plateau for twenty-five years, and he has contributed two previous pieces to PC about canyoneering. His photography appears in Moab Canyoneering: Exploring Technical Canyons Around Moab, the newest guide book to technical canyoneering on the Colorado Plateau, recently published by Sharp End Publications. Contact Christopher Mattera, Ed.D. at [email protected].
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