Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
This Week in Grateful Dead History
Week 1
I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train.
Even the most cursory examination of the lyrics of Grateful Dead songs quickly uncovers one of the most fundamental aspects of the band’s identity: This is an American band, rooted in American culture, and built around easily recognizable locales and deeply American principles and history.
Other Posts
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 28 - July 8, 1978
Sometimes we live
When a band has played more than 2300 shows, it’s hard to imagine that any one of them would achieve legendary status. But there are certain Grateful Dead concerts that firmly fit into that category. For starters there’s little disagreement that 5/8/77 at Cornell University’s Barton Hall would be on such a list; the 12/31/78 Closing of Winterland comes to mind; 2/27/69 at the Fillmore West – from which the epic, Side 1-long Dark Star on the Live Dead album was derived – would have to be included; the Great American Music Hall show on 8/13/75 is an obvious choice; 5/26/72 at London’s Lyceum Theater, the final date of the Europe ’72 tour, has been immortalized on the album of the same name; and more recently, the 12/15/86 show at the Oakland Coliseum arena – the Dead’s first performance in more than 5 months after Jerry Garcia collapsed in a diabetic coma on July 10 of that year and almost died – easily deserves such distinction.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 5 - January 30, 1978
Lazy Lightning
A quick review of the Grateful Dead’s 30-year performance schedule reveals a glaring “asterisk” next to the year 1975. Sandwiched in between 40 shows in ’74 and 41 in ’76 – and with an average of almost 77 concerts per year over their entire history – the mere four appearances the band made during their hiatus in ’75 represented a significant challenge for the Deadicated.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 22 - May 26, 1972
What’s to be found
Many have pondered the phenomenon by which a rock ’n’ roll band became a multi-generational movement that has spanned six decades. Even now, almost 25 years after the death of the “leader of the band,” Jerry Garcia, the enigmatic Grateful Dead experience is alive and well in the form of thousands of recordings, countless cover bands – most notably Dead & Company – and iconic images such as the “Truckin’ Fool,” from the Europe ’72 album.
All Material Copyright 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Stewart Sallo