On This Day – You Want to Call it What!?
Sep 2, 2009 On This Day
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On this day in 1971 The Grateful dead released their live masterpiece ‘Grateful Dead’. Originally the band wanted to call it ‘Skull Fuck’ (or ‘Starfuck’ if you read Rolling Stone) but the record company had a couple of objections to the idea. No idea why. The record went on to be their first to make the top 25 in the States.
2nd September 1971 was quite a day for the Dead. Their former drummer and manager Lenny Hart was arrested in San Diego on charges that he embezzled $70,000 from the band, although other estimates make that amount $155,000. He was arrested while baptizing people. He was calling himself Rev Lenny B Hart at the time. Whether or not he was ordained I do not know but have not come across anything to suggest that he was.
On a personal note I used to really like the Dead when I was younger. Then when CDs came out I went out, and as with lots of other bands I liked, I began to buy CDs to replace the Vinyl. Having bought some 15 or so CDs when I listened to them I was really disappointed they were not the band I remembered and so the CDs went onto the shelf, not to be played again. A few years later I began selling them on eBay. They went like hot cakes, particularly The Dick’s Picks series. Just as I was listing the last one I put it on the player. Inevitably I fell in love with the Dead again…… and began to re-buy the same CDs that I had sold. Story of my life.
Classic Dead from ‘77
Tags: classic rock music, Grateful Dead, lenny hart, love rock music, On This Day, rock and blues
The Dead’s Last Gig
Jul 9, 2009 On This Day
On this day in 1995 The Grateful Dead gave their last concert before the death of Jerry Garcia at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Jerry was dead a month later of a heart attack. He was staying ata drug rehab clinic at the time.
Jerry Garcia was, for many, the heart of the band. He was a prodigious talent who started playing guitar when he was 15. He started hi own band (called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions) and the basis of the Dead began to form. Along the way the band changed their name to The Warlocks and eventually to The Grateful Dead.
Although hugely popular as a live act on the West coast the Dead found themselves hugely in debt to Warners after 3 albums. Their saviour seems so obvious now but at the time was a revelation, a live album. ‘Live/Dead’ featured a 23 minute version of Dark Star and showed the whole world what the band was about.
To many, the epitome of the band was the release of American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead. To those who regard themselves as ‘true’ Dead fans there is nothing to compare to the gigs, and albums, whether live or studio were just pale imitations. The Dead tribe was formed.
While the very epitome of hippydom, the Dead were also consistantly one of the highest grossing live acts in the world. Even after JG’s death the music went on, this time in the exelent Dick’s Picks series of albums.
Tags: classic rock, Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock music
