Grateful Dead

Week of September 30, 1991

Grateful Dead 12/19/69 New Old Fillmore, San Francisco
MONKEY AND THE ENGINEER
LITTLE SADIE
LONG BLACK LIMOUSINE
I'VE BEEN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD

Country Joe McDonald, Superstitious Blues
STARSHIP RIDE
Good Old Boys, Pistol Packin' Mama
DEEP ELEM BLUES

Grateful Dead 12/19/69 New Old Fillmore, San Francisco
THAT'S IT FOR THE OTHER ONE->
UNCLE JOHN'S BAND

Some acoustic and electric excerpts from 12/19/69 in San Francisco.

 "Long Black Limousine" is pretty rare in GD history - written by Bobby George and Vern Stovall, recorded by Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Bobby Bare, and others. When it turned up in early 2008 on a double-CD set titled Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Bros Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969 - from a pair of shows in which the Burritos opened for the Dead at the Avalon - I emailed Bob Weir to ask if that's where he learned the song.

"Both sets include 'Long Black Limousine,' which you sang in acoustic sets with the GD a few times after that," I wrote. "And 'You Win Again' was in there, too, which Jerry adopted. Was this encounter an influence on your foray into honky tonk music?"

Bobby's reply:

Not really; we'd been into that stuff since the beginning (Buck Owens, George Jones...) and it was just gonna come out sooner or later. Jerry and I had a bunch of country and gospel tunes we had worked up on days off on the road for fun, and when the Burritos came out, I think we were already doing these tunes in an an acoustic set here or there. That was why it seemed to us that they would be a good pairing with us.

Jerry Garcia plays acoustic guitar on "Starship Ride" and several other songs on Country Joe McDonald's 1990 CD Superstitious Blues.

Pistol Packin' Mama was a bluegrass labor of love for longtime Hunter & Garcia pal and New Riders of the Purple Sage founder David Nelson. Nelson and bassist Pat Campbell supported three genuine legends: Frank Wakefield (mandolin, vocals), Don Reno (banjo, vocals), and Chubby Wise (fiddle). Garcia produced; Dan Healy engineered; they recorded at Mickey's and mixed at Weir's. The album came out on the Dead's Round Records in 1976, and was later released on CD. Great stuff. Here's what Nelson wrote in the Round Records newsletter (preserved on deaddisc.com):

In two days we had 25 songs down on tape, and upon listening back, some of the tastiest, most fun, and liveliest bluegrass ever recorded! I felt like a kid with dreams of the big leagues who was approached by Mantle, DiMaggio, and Ruth and told "well sure we'll play with you, and all your friends too!"

These three guys wrote the book on banjo, mandolin and fiddle. Chubby Wise is the dearly loved daddy of the country fiddle. He played on the sessions which are today regarded as the definitive bluegrass music. Don Reno is a phenomenal all round musician as well as one singer, guitar picker, and innovator in the highest degree.

What can I say about Frank Wakefield? He's Brer Rabbit jumping through the briar patch, in the flesh. I'd have to quote Oxford's Dictionary and say, "luxuriously prolific, virtuosity abounding, technical ability overflowing with spirit."

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.

Thanks for listening!
David Gans

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