June 1976 15CD Boxed Set

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February 13, 2020 - 8:15am

2,627 replies
clayv

Joined:
March 14, 2018
During the mid-1970s, the Grateful Dead saga was unfolding like a Greek classic. The Sisyphean Wall Of Sound had nearly broken the band. From it spawned a Medusa head of countless side projects, all deliciously fruitful but woefully not the same as the whole. The chorus lay in wait, pondering the reemergence of their heroes, and wondering if "THE LAST ONE" had really been it...

But in early 1976, Apollonian light and healing would shine upon our intrepid wanderers once again. No more epic battles for the people with cops and lines and tightness, the Dead would return triumphant in smallness, playing intimate theaters and renting equipment along the way. No more ticket scams and greedy promoters, they'd give back with first ever mail-order ticket program, one that had a few kinks to work out but eventually served the fans well.

Musically, June 1976 signaled a Golden Age of harmony and prosperity for the Dead. It marked an Odysseusian-like return for Mickey Hart. Donna Jean was in lock-step with the sirens' call. Jerry and Bob delivered orphic delight with solo musings like "Mission In The Rain" (the only tour they ever played it on), "The Wheel," and "Cassidy," emboldened by group effort. There was fresh repertoire from Blues For Allah, breathing new life to the Dead's continually morphing sound - as Weir once said of the '76 tour, they wanted to play "a little bit of all of it." Old favorites were re-envisioned with cascading tempos and unique sequencing, making the crowd question if they'd ever heard these songs before. And there was comfort and joy in the familiarity of watching the band make it up as they went along. By all means, it was clear that the bacchanalia of live Dead would reign on.

And now the revelry from this epoch, evidenced by the near-studio quality sound captured on two-track live recordings by Betty Cantor-Jackson, lives on, bolstered by Jeffrey Norman's HDCD mastering. It's housed for posterity in a handsome box featuring original art work by Justin Helton. It’s documented in liners by Jesse Jarnow and photos by Grant Gouldon. And it’s ready for a spot on your shelf.

As part of our pre-order for this Dead.net exclusive boxed set, we'll be delivering downloads of each listening party - one for each show included in JUNE 1976 - to purchasers from now until the March 20th release. Order at any time before release and you'll receive all the listening parties to date.

Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 12,000

What's Inside:

5 Previously Unreleased Complete Shows On 15 Discs

Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/10/76

Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/11/76

Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/14/76

Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/15/76

Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ 6/19/76

Sourced from Two-Track Master Tapes, Recorded By Betty Cantor-Jackson

Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman

Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes

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April 6, 2020 - 9:48pm

#681

Angry Jack Straw

Joined:
October 2, 2012

Random thoughts

With all of this free time on hand, I’m going to do something others have done. Europe 72 on the anniversary dates. Someone else mentioned that it took them 2 1/2 years to get through the first listen. It took me a year and a half. Now I have time.

Hard to believe that it’s coming up on 25 years since Garcia passed. I’m a bit surprised that not more has been made of it. A special release perhaps?

71 is the deal. Doc was on top of this long ago. Flat out rock and roll. A Capitol release would be very welcome.

As for the person who asked why many of us shun the later years.

Easy Answers
Eternity
Samba in the Rain

And many, many others. Not banging. Just providing clarity.

A little bit too much Vince Gilligan in tonight’s episode of BCS.
April 6, 2020 - 8:47pm

#682

hendrixfreak

Joined:
February 26, 2014

I'd like to go on wreck-erd...

as saying, with all due respects to everyone and all, I'd go for a 30-disc box of spring '71 in a heartbeat, even if it destroyed the business model and it was the last thing I every heard.

Love, HF
April 6, 2020 - 6:37pm

#683

billy the kid

Joined:
December 3, 2019

8/30/70 - Easy Wind

Great version of Easy Wind! It would be nice if this whole video of Calibration could be cleaned up and released. The Dead at their best.
April 6, 2020 - 6:07pm

#684

KeithFan2112

Joined:
August 6, 2014

Easy Wind

Charlie3, the ones that come to mind - my fav from the Closing of Winterland bonus disc. I don't even want to tell you what I traded to get this CD into my collection back in my completist days, when my credit card had no balance :D

Anyway that has one from I think New Year's Eve 1970 into '71. Or was it 71 in the 72... I get the years confused on that disc because they're all New Year's shows. Dave's Picks Thelma, DP 16, Fillmore East Road Trips 3.3 all have Easy Wind. Hmmm could that be it?

I wonder why they didn't play this one more. I would have traded it for a couple of the shorter tracks he did on the Europe 72 tour. Next time you see me & Hurts Me Too.

Hi Doc, good to hear you weigh in on 1971 - any discussion on that subject matter without your input seems kind of in vain. Vein. Veign. Vaughn. Stevie Ray Vaughn. WHO IS Stevie Ray Vaughn. That's my final answer.

I would be less interested in Port Chester and Fillmore East Spring 71 if they had not been recorded on multitrack. It's that tease for pristine sound that really elevates them on my list. If I think about it, the 30 Trips show from 3/18/71 is IMHO the best sounding two track from 1971 pre-Keith (of the official releases). Come to think of it, I wonder if any 1971 Pre-Keith shows came back with that acquisition of tapes from the lost storage locker. Hmmmm. Chin scratcher.
April 6, 2020 - 4:36pm

#685

Forensicdoceleven

Joined:
June 17, 2008

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders

Yo, rockers!!!!

I must admit that I'm both amused and amazed at all the 1971 chatter flying back and forth. Seems like old times....

First and foremost, my prediction----there will never be a single complete April 1971 box set. It's not because it isn't good, great, classic, and occasionally sublime. It is, and so much more. But for most, it's too big and unwieldy. People bought 30 Trips because there was variety. The E72 box had all that amazing jamming. Selling a box with 20 shows that on first glance (and I emphasize, "first glance") are very similar is a much tougher nut to crack.

Generally, the "detractions" about this period fall into two camps:
1) "The repertoire". Yes, there is a lot of repetition. Some new stuff, Bobby cowboy tunes, Pigpen's grease---but hey, if you don't care for that, then April 1971 is definitely NOT the month for you. And as some have pointed out, "big jams" are generally lacking. That can't be denied. The big jams vehicles that month were The Other One and Good Lovin'. Hey, works for me, but not for everybody.
2) "The style". Since I'm a rocker, I'm drawn to the style of this era and revel in it. Pared down, lean, mean, Bakersfield blasts of hard edged rock and roll. Not all of it is sledgehammer material, but some is, which means it's very powerful. But others like their Dead smoother, creamier, jammier. I get that.

Then there's the issue of the Fillmore shows. Since portions were released already, that makes their inclusion in a big box a little redundant. And there's all those guests, and the legalities, and the hassles, and the lawyers. But I'd love to see 4/25 as a solo release----that Hard To Handle is as crunchy as a Jake Lamotta right hook.

Make no mistake----while every April 71 show has something to recommend it, not every show that month was a gem. I won't name names, folks know who I mean. Personally, I think an April 71 mega box would sell poorly, which is something that TPTB dwell on over fine cigars and cognac. But I think a pared down box, excluding the Fillmores, would sell very well. Maybe 5 or 6 shows, my preferences would be 4/6, 8, 12, 14, 18, 21.

Actually, I'd much prefer a Port Chester or Fall "FM shows" box (IF it include 11/7, 10/29, and 12/5!)

Guess that's all for now, time to go read some cosmology and strum the guitar....

Rock on,

Doc
P.S. Anybody who needs/wants any 71s, Aprils or otherwise, you know where to find me...……….
April 6, 2020 - 4:33pm

#686

Charlie3

Joined:
September 21, 2015

'71

All of this talk of '71 made me think of the awesome 2/19/71 Port Chester show released as 3FTV. That show has one of the best versions of GSET ever, a version that like some others from '71 has that great loping feel to it. I also realized that 3FTV has a great Easy Wind, another song I dig and a premium Pig vehicle. Which made me wonder, which other, if any, official releases have an Easy Wind? Haven't had a chance to look thoroughly, but can't think of any others off the top of my head. Nice summary on some of the appeal of '71 Keithfan2112, not really much else to add beyond what you already pointed out.

Last 5 - more 1967
Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed
Grateful Dead - 11/10/67 from 30 Trips. Yeah, I have underestimated this show, it smokes. Can I amend my top shows from the 30 Trips box answer?
Cream - Disraeli Gears
The Doors - The Doors
Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come

Edit: DP 16, DaP 10, and DaP 30 all have Easy Wind.
April 6, 2020 - 3:02pm

#687

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Keith

Oh yes, so would I !
April 6, 2020 - 2:51pm

#688

KeithFan2112

Joined:
August 6, 2014

Daverock

You're probably right. It's probably one of those deals like Winterland October 74. Once you actually list out what didn't make the movie soundtrack, you're not missing that much. But I would take any of these over a nineties box set for example.
April 6, 2020 - 2:25pm

#689

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Ladies and Gentlemen

Its a great release, no question, but I am not sure I would prioritise a release of the whole run as a box set. Those 2 second set jams mentioned from 4/28 and 4/29 are incredible, though. Its years since I listened to tapes of the whole shows from those two dates, but I seem to remember the first two sets were quite similar, in feel if not actual song selection.
I feel the same way about Portchester February 71-very popular on here, and frequently suggested as the source for a future box - but it wouldn't be my choice.
April 6, 2020 - 2:14pm

#690

KeithFan2112

Joined:
August 6, 2014

Spring '71

What I like about it:

* From Feb - April '71 they introduced one metric fuckton of new songs. And if they didn't introduce them, they began peaking on stuff from Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. If I look at the track list for Ladies and Gentlemen and Three From the Vault, I would guess 65 to 75% of the songs are not on official release prior to these. And prior to that, Skull & Roses came out as an official release in that actual era, so people were getting some of these tracks for the first time. I can't find a better released Morning Dew prior to the one on Ladies & Gentlemen for example, or Midnight Hour to name a couple. I guess add King Bee. New Minglewood Blues. Only Ripple. Second That Emotion. Dark Hollow.

Truckin' and Bertha tightened up by Autumn '71, and Bird Song went into hyperspace after they gave it a rest between the summer of 71 and the summer of 72. Those are really the only songs I can think of that may have gotten a little bit better on a more consistent basis. I'm not saying there aren't any great Truckin's in Spring of 71, just saying it got even better later. China Cat IMHO gained an immediate infusion of energy; the two drummer versions that came prior always seemed a bit crowded to me.

* One drummer. I think they really began to swing a bit more wiith just Billy back there. Take a listen to St. Stephen from Ladies and Gentlemen - the last-minute is pure rock and roll. Hard to Handle peaked big time and continued into the summer with those great August versions, where one drummer allowed for some intense improvisational instrumental solo sections - I'm talking about the little 2 to 3 minute jams within some of the shorter songs, when they chose to rock out. Greatest Story Ever Told is another. It rocked out extra hard and Spring 71, prior to Jerry picking up the Wah wah on it.

* Agree, they definitely took a step back in the duration of a lot of the Dark Stars and they played it frighteningly few times compared to 72 and 73 and 69 and 70 before it. But that being said, the times they did play it were some of the best 12 to 15 minutes of Dark Star you'll hear with acouple of 20s. No cacophony, no meltdowns, no atonal space drift. Just pure Dark Star melodies and Garcia noodling. February 18th was awesome, all 3 in April were awesome. You will find beautiful Jam on Feb 18th, which is one of a kind, as well as the Jam on Ladies and Gentlemen which may as well be in the middle of a Dark Star.

* Pigpen peaked on the organ. It's funny you mention it actually. House listing in the Cold Rain and Snow from Ladies and Gentlemen this morning, thinking how accomplished Pigpen had become by then. By then he was still playing sparsely, which is good because it didn't overwhelm the soundscape, but he also wasn't limiting himself to chords and basic melodies; he was actually improvising a bit in between. You can really hear him on the 30 Trips show from March.

* Sound quality - the Port Chester and Fillmore East runs are all multi-track sourced.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

During the mid-1970s, the Grateful Dead saga was unfolding like a Greek classic. The Sisyphean Wall Of Sound had nearly broken the band. From it spawned a Medusa head of countless side projects, all deliciously fruitful but woefully not the same as the whole. The chorus lay in wait, pondering the reemergence of their heroes, and wondering if "THE LAST ONE" had really been it...

But in early 1976, Apollonian light and healing would shine upon our intrepid wanderers once again. No more epic battles for the people with cops and lines and tightness, the Dead would return triumphant in smallness, playing intimate theaters and renting equipment along the way. No more ticket scams and greedy promoters, they'd give back with first ever mail-order ticket program, one that had a few kinks to work out but eventually served the fans well.

Musically, June 1976 signaled a Golden Age of harmony and prosperity for the Dead. It marked an Odysseusian-like return for Mickey Hart. Donna Jean was in lock-step with the sirens' call. Jerry and Bob delivered orphic delight with solo musings like "Mission In The Rain" (the only tour they ever played it on), "The Wheel," and "Cassidy," emboldened by group effort. There was fresh repertoire from Blues For Allah, breathing new life to the Dead's continually morphing sound - as Weir once said of the '76 tour, they wanted to play "a little bit of all of it." Old favorites were re-envisioned with cascading tempos and unique sequencing, making the crowd question if they'd ever heard these songs before. And there was comfort and joy in the familiarity of watching the band make it up as they went along. By all means, it was clear that the bacchanalia of live Dead would reign on.

And now the revelry from this epoch, evidenced by the near-studio quality sound captured on two-track live recordings by Betty Cantor-Jackson, lives on, bolstered by Jeffrey Norman's HDCD mastering. It's housed for posterity in a handsome box featuring original art work by Justin Helton. It’s documented in liners by Jesse Jarnow and photos by Grant Gouldon. And it’s ready for a spot on your shelf.

As part of our pre-order for this Dead.net exclusive boxed set, we'll be delivering downloads of each listening party - one for each show included in JUNE 1976 - to purchasers from now until the March 20th release. Order at any time before release and you'll receive all the listening parties to date.

Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 12,000

What's Inside:

5 Previously Unreleased Complete Shows On 15 Discs
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/10/76
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/11/76
Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/14/76
Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/15/76
Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ 6/19/76
Sourced from Two-Track Master Tapes, Recorded By Betty Cantor-Jackson
Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes

Curious Charlie & Warner

Did you buy the 45 single collection? I just my 45 the other day. Nice art on this one and I loved the purple vinyl!

Downloads

I received all three and downloaded them to my galaxy but t I can't get them to play. It's a phone problem I'm sure.

Looking for a Real Sinatra Fan

There is a Sinatra collection, the complete reprise collection I think. It's a 20 cd collection. Somehow I only have disc 1-12. Anyone have them all?

Thanks

Road Trips - Austin 1971

I'm sure the word is out by now, but in case you missed it Real Gone Music is re-releasing all the road trips shows in reverse order. The format is CD. I missed all the Road Trips when they were originally released so its nice to get the chance to pick these up. The 11-15-71 Austin show is on its way now.

https://www.realgonemusic.com/news/2020/3/2/grateful-dead-road-trips-vo…

@Dennis...shoo-be-doo-be-doo...

I have quite a few Sinatra boxes...I'll check which ones when I get home from the Salt Mine later...

Austin 11/15/71 Road Trips

This show is a winner from start to finish, what a killer of a show! If anybody missed out on this one the first time around they get a second chance to get it. The same with 2/14/68 Road Trips, what a rocker!

Carlo-downloads

I'm pretty sure it said something about downloading to a laptop or desktop because phones dont support the unzipping necessary for these files. I had the same problem as well

Listening Party Downloads

Another thing about them is they are in m4a format, not mp3, or wav, or flac, or anything I actually use. So, if you're like me, after you download them to a computer, you will possibly have to change the format. I had to download a program for that. Wish they'd just send a link or code to get the download in mp3 or just allow the advertisement of the box set through musical previews to be free, and give the pre-order folks some June 76 filler tracks. But that's my pipe dream.

Hey Jim

Sorry. I was trying to be funny should have added a 'haha'

Shadeyguy

Thanks. It figures.

Road trips

Were these limited editions when they first came out or mabey subs.?

Carlo

Road Trips were not limited edition, but a certain number were made and eventually sold out.
I didn’t initially buy them because they were compilations and not full shows. I started buying them when full shows started being released. If you subscribed you got a bonus disc.
At a later time (around 2011-12) I got an email on 4/1 that they were having an ‘April Ship of Fools Sale’. I think that you got 20% off and free shipping that day. I ordered all of the compilation RT’s that I didn’t have, but didn’t get the bonus discs.
I only got the Fall 77 RT a year or so ago when it was on this site and still with the bonus disc.

Road trips

If you bought them early you received the bonus disc. The bonus disc don't come with the Real Gone Music ones. I did not buy them all. I did buy, 2/14/68, 12/28/79, 11/15/71, 5/15/70, Denver 1973, May 1969, 6/9/76, and they are all fantastic!

Road trips

Interesting guys. Thanks.

@Dennis...

Sorry but I don't have the Reprise Years set...what I do have is the Complete Capitol Years and various best of sets both in Lossless & MP3....oh and the Columbia years set too...

After five years....

....I finally upgraded my smartphone from a galaxy S6 to the S20+. No baby steps here. Almost overwhelming. Almost.
Re RT. I have so much GOGD, I tend to forget about those. Blessing? Curse? I have most of them. Most bonus discs as well. I was missing the vol 3.3 bonus until MDJim/JiminMD/John Deere Hot Tub time machine dude blessed me four years ago.
Lookit Shadyguy. Fitting in like a glove. Welcome!!
Working backwards here and editing on the fly. Sinatra Box you say? I have a friend who would give a kidney for more Frank. Gonna look him up and share the news. No kidney required.

Re: BillyTKid

Concur.
100% with 2/14/68 and 11/15/71. BOTH EPIC.

These aforementioned Road Trips are La Creme de La Creme... aka delicious cheese curds

Sixtus

PS - Denver '73....is 'Hot Damn!'. I especially love the bonus material on that one as well as the whole release it's ridiculous. And 6/9/76 is, in my opinion, one of the best of all of them. It makes an amazing bookend for This Impending Box.

OK. I relent....

....Denver '73 it is. I recall it having a sweet UJB encore.
Second set. Half Step -> Playin' -> El Paso -> Playin' -> Wharf Rat -> Playin' -> Dew. Truckin' -> Nobody's Fault -> GDTRFB -> Saturday Night. Enc UJB. Yup. Just about sums it up. Lordy.

re: BOC

Since you mentioned BOC, I have been meaning to get back into them. Are there any good torrent sites for their early 1980's shows?

Road Trips

Surprisingly, the bonus discs were available from an online British shop I used to buy Dead releases from-Spin Records. Accepting the fact that they were often compilations of runs, there was some great music released. All of those already mentioned, plus, at least, the 6/16/74 and 6/18/74. which is one of my favourite releases in any format.The one from October 1977 is pretty good, too.

The worse thing about them was the brown cardboard packets they used to come in. They were packed so tightly I had to use a knife to cut said packet to get the cd out.

The race is on

With the warehouse FUBAR'd, which will I get first the June 76 Box or the coronavirus?

Sixtus' Picks Revived

Hey y'all. Sorry it's taken so long to gather together the12 volumes of Sixtus Picks along with a track listing – since that part of this conversation I've been in Dallas helping my mom transition into hospice care. Bittersweet of course, but she's an inspiration. Anyway, here a link to Six's great mashups. I re-numbered them so that they display in dropbox in correct order. I usually lean to listening to whole shows, but it is amazing how mesmerizing and surprising and tasty these jammed-out volumes are. THANKS AGAIN SIXTUS! Onward.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zjp65al8yuocmil/AAAe6zf_UG4OwKRJYLZkTc9Ba?dl…

jeff and the nappy

First, thanks for the lookup on the Sinatra front. I have an incredible shitload of Frankie, but where ever the COMPLETE reprise collection siphoned in from it lacked the last 8 disc. I see the collection out there for sale, but I'm struggling to remain married,,,,,,, so. I have the Reprise and Capitol collections. The Complete Reprise contains the songs Frank didn't think good enough to release, but the label or the family said they're good enough to sell :-)

Jeff - Thanks for posting a link to the Sixtus Collection. I have the first 6 in stock, nice to have them all. If I knew you were going to be in Dallas, I'd have invited you over.

Finally, thanks Sixtus for putting this out there.

An Observation

Listening to Little Sadie (to death like I do) and it strikes me the killer in Little Sadie gets off quite easy. In Viola Lee Blues, him and his brothers got a lifetime there. Dupree thought his life was just about right. But Little Sadie's killer only gets 41 years! And he seem to have had no reason to kill her! At Dupress wanted a gold diamond ring,,, and not even for himself!

Dave's 15

I was enjoying Wharf Rat and then Donna joined in. She doesn't sound bad but I like this song a lot better with just Jerry singing. Ramble On Rose too. I bet she started inserting herself into more songs the longer she was in the band. You know what I mean like tell everyone that she's the backup singer so she should be in more songs? If you go back to the early 70s maybe even as late as 1974 she doesn't sing on Wharf Rat. But she's in the band. She's playing in the band.

Warehouse question?

I have not been following this thread: What is going on with this warehouse? I guess there will be shipping delays??

Another question: Any ideas why we have not seen any photos of the finished product yet?

Also regarding coronavirus please look into oxidative therapies such as ozone therapy and hydrogen peroxide therapies; likewise, herbs, minerals, and vitamins which are both antiviral and antibacterial. Stay safe community!

Road Trips

The Road Trips series is excellent. When it first came out I was put off by the fact they were not all complete shows. I even got in a little trouble over the debate of complete shows vs. compilations (that is a story for another time). When series started I was just as passionate regarding this band as I am now. So for the first few years these were being issued i bought some of the releases that were complete shows and fortunately I got the bonus discs with all of them. Funds got to be scarce for me I stopped purchasing them about halfway through the run.

Yet even though my passion remains high I am also much wiser these days. I definitely see the merit more so the value of any official release whether be of a complete show or compilation of shows. With wisdom and funds both increased I went a mission to get those releases I did not have. Thankfully for Real Gone Music and Ebay I have been to get just about all of the ones I was missing. Surprisingly I was able to acquire the bonus discs off of Ebay for reasonable prices. The only bonus disc I dont have is the one from Cleveland 12/6/73 with the mega Dark Star. Getting that disc on the secondary market costs mega dollars again likely because of the mega Dark Star.

I am sure most, if not all of you know that along with great music in these releases that there are tracks that when you combine them into a playlist it actually completes a whole set of a show. For example in the first issue - October 77, between the 2 discs and the bonus disc it completes the entire 2nd set of 10/16/77, along with a few 1st set songs. Plus there are the tracks from 10/11/77 that can be combined with hidden DP 29 tracks, which is certainly a treat especially for a show Dick Latvala regarded very highly.
The Fall of 79 has a similar combo of 2 CDs and bonus disc that when combined just about completes the 2nd set of 11/9/79. Then there is the summer 71 release bonus disc that when combined with DP 35 comprises a healthy portion of 8/6/71. Though I will say that for that 8/6/71 show, i do prefer the audience source.

Re: An Observation - Justice Ill Served???

Well.. I see.. Good Point Dennis. If I had to rank the songs, it would go Viola Lee Blues, Little Sadie then Stagger Lee - understanding this is just my personal preference.

The sentences in descending order were:

Viola Lee Blues, the crime isn't mentioned but some got six months, so we can assume it's barely a felony. "Me and my buddies got lifetime here" (Viola Lee got life). A major injustice.

In Little Sadie, the crime was murder in the first degree. Lee Brown got 41 years (not quite life.. we will call it halfway there).

In Stagger Lee, the crime was also first degree murder. Stagger Lee was not charged because he was basically a mob boss.. so he got nothing. Certainly an injustice, a judicial travesty of sorts.

..but there is some foreshadowing mentioned by the authors that alludes to a different ending although no proof is mentioned, the authors leave it up to us to figure it all out (as in many great songs).

_____________________________________

Stagger Lee ultimately got the Death Sentence but only after Mrs. DeLions shot him in the balls with her gun (we are lead to believe this was a 45). Getting shot in the balls with a 45 and then getting dragged off to city hall to face a what is most certainly a death sentence is ultimately the harshest penalty of the three.

In Little Sadie, his sentence was a little light, 42 years, probably out on parole in 20.. but it is probably within the state range in North Carolina. Typical sentences for a first degree murder range from 30 years to life. Although this isn't mentioned in the song, for the crime he committed he can expect to get beat up a lot in jail, so there's that.

In Viola Lee Blues, they get the harshest sentence of them all, the got "lifetime here" meaning life in prison. However, understanding that Noah Lewis was born in in the deep south in 1891and wrote Viola Lee Blues just before the Great Depression (it was recorded in 1928). As for the crime, since it is not mentioned.. it took some research but I do believe I was able to ferret out the facts. You see.. there is a similar event popularized by the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou where an overly harsh sentence was carried out in the Deep South and the three (me and my buddies) were not getting out.. and while the protagonist is serving his time and the great depression begins to ravage the country, his wife divorces him and gets engaged, he escapes from prison, finds his wife, gets pardoned by the Governor of Mississippi and we can only assume lives happily ever after.

So it all works out in the end, and we got the hit song Man of Constant Sorrow written by the Soggy Bottom Boys that was later covered by Jerry Garcia at several points in his career so the story becomes very much Grateful Dead Related.

Fear not, Dennis.. justice has a way of finding it's footing even when injustices occasionally rule the day. In fact.. that's how we got some of our favorite songs.

Last 5

Grand Funk Railroad-Grand Funk
Genesis-Bonus Disc from '70-'75 box
Genesis-Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Lenny Bruce-American
Dave Mason/Cass Elliott-S/T

And a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a wop-bam boom!!

Dennis/injustice in songs

Dennis what about Tom Dooley? He didn't kill poor Lori Foster and look what happened to him. "This time tomorrow morning where do you reckon I'll be, down in a lonesome valley , just swinging from a white oak tree.". Now that's injustice!

Viola Lee

Somehow, I always assumed it was the name of a penitentiary; However, there was a Viola Lee charged with running a
"disorderly" house(whorehouse) in June 1917, in Arizona. Two women and two men were also arrested...who knows? I'm still searching.

Lee Brown

Didn't he get 41 years and 41 days and nights?

An extra 6 weeks to think about what he'd done.

Dylan did a great version of this song on Bootleg Series Vol 10, which is probably my favorite of the whole series.

Picks & Crimes

JeffSmith - you're The Man for offering of The Volumes - I am glad the effort will not be lost to the ravages of time, but instead shared with All, as it should be. That's really cool.
Dennis - you are a music siphon the likes of which I have rarely seen!

Also enjoying this banter and thoughtfulness about 'the justice vs. injustice' present in some songs. I mean, think about it: those card players in Me and My Uncle got all shot up, over a game!
Poor fellers.

Sixtus

Billy the Kid & Tom Dooley

I believe Tom really did Laurie Foster

"I met her on the mountain, there I took her life
Met her on the mountain, stabbed her with my knife"

The Scottish version, kinda, he didn't kill her, but was betrayed by her. From a tune written by Jamie Macpherson while he waited to be hung. Updated by Robert Burns. I have The Corries doing it.

MacPherson's Rant
The Corries

Farewell ye dungeons dark and strong,
Farewell, farewell tae thee,
MacPhersons time will no be lang,
On yonder gallow's tree

It was by a woman's treachorous hands,
That I was condemned to dee,
She stood uben a windae ledge,
And a blanket threw o'er me