Week of November 25, 1996
Featured: An interview with Robert Greenfield, author of Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia. Greenfield also wrote a terrific but hard-to-find book titled S.T.P. - A Journey Through America With the Rolling Stones, a document of the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour, and he is the co-author of Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out.
Here's what Greenfield had to say about Bill Graham and Jerry Garcia:
Bill and Jerry are very analogous figures. It's not an accident that they connected with one another. I mean, apparently, they're two of the most dissimilar people who ever lived, right? Here's Jerry, who's the embodiment of the feel-good Haight-Ashbury culture - you know, the ultimate hippie icon, even while he's alive, the guru. And here's Bill, who's screaming, and breaking things, and you know, hasn't shaved in six weeks, and is running around the stage at Live Aid with shorts and lumberman's boots on. But in fact, they were both committed to their work. And they only took responsibility for their work. I mean, Jerry cared about playing music, and Bill cared about putting on shows, and their personal lives were very chaotic. But they loved one another, and they connected strongly. They saw that thing in one another, you know. And as somebody says in Dark Star, when Bill died it wasn't good for Jerry. There was one less person around who could cut through the nonsense.
This "Dark Star" (well, 24 minutes of it) was originally released in 1972 on a three-disc vinyl set titled Glastonbury Fayre, and later appeared on Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72. And it is, of course, part of Europe 72: The Complete Recordings. It's a great "Dark Star" - enjoy!
Grateful Dead 4/8/72 Empire Pool, Wembley, England
DARK STAR
Interview: ROBERT GREENFIELD, author of Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Shady Grove
STEALIN'
Every Wednesday, we post a program from the Grateful Dead Hour archives for your enjoyment and enlightenment. You can browse or search the playlists at gdhour.com or on the GD Hour Search page, and let me know what program(s) you'd like to hear by emailing me at gdhour@dead.net.
Thank you for listening!
- David Gans
Producer/host