Tag Archives: Jerry Garcia

Birthdays, Grateful Dead, Music et al, Music of the 60s, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

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Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Happy birthday
August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia

Jerome John Garcia was born in San Francisco, CA. His father was Jose “Joe” Garcia, his mother, “Bobbie” Garcia. Brother “Tiff.”

Joe Garcia loved music, especially jazz, and played woodwinds and clarinet.

In the spring of 1947 when Jerry was four, his brother Tiff accidentally chopped off a large part of Jerry’s middle right finger. Later that year, Joe Garcia drowned  while on a fishing trip.

Jerry and brother Tiff moved in with Bobbie’s parents, Tillie and William Clifford. While living with them the boys enjoyed great autonomy. It was also during this time that Jerry’s third grade teacher encouraged the artistic side of Jerry. Jerry started to play the banjo.

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Bobbie remarries…

In the early 50s, like so many other young Americans, Jerry discoverd early rock ‘n’ roll: Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, BB King,  and others.

In 1957 for his fifteenth birthday, his mother and step-father gave Jerry an accordion. He complained that that was not what he wanted until they exchanged the accordion for an electric guitar.

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Brief military career and 1961

He joined the Army  in April, 1960, but the Army and he realized they were incompatible. He left that December.

In 1961, Jerry met a couple of people who would have a big impact on his future: Robert Hunter and David Nelson.

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

More people & Mother McCree’s

In early 1962 Jerry met Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and, in December, Bob Weir.

Jerry continued to play and by 1964 Jerry, Pigpen, and Weir formed Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions (with Dave Parker, Tom Stone, and Dave Garbett).

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Warlocks > Dead

In 1965, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann joined Jerry, Pigpen, and Bob to form The Warlocks. Their first show is at Magoo’s Pizza in Menlo Park, CA.

In December, The Warlocks changed their name to Grateful Dead and performed their first of many shows as the house band at a Ken Kesey Acid Test in San Jose, CA. . Garcia was 23; Lesh, 25; Pigpen, 20; Weir, 18; and Kreutzmann, 19.

Remembering Loving Jerry Garcia

Long strange trip

The Grateful Dead would play over 2300 shows, their last on July 9, 1995, at Chicago’s Soldier Field. A month later, on August 9, 1995 Jerry Garcia died.

Over his life, Jerry Garcia was addicted to several things. Luckily for us, one of those addictions was music. In addition to the 2300 Dead shows, Jerry seemingly played continuously with his own band (Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Jerry Garcia and Friends, Jerry Garcia Band, and many more) or sat in with other bands (Mickey and the Heartbeats, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and many more).

Happy birthday Jerry. We thank you for your eternal music.

And of course there are places to listen:

Grateful Dead, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes

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Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes

The oft’ told tale of the Dead’s Woodstock performance was that it was plagued with various difficulties and was generally lackluster.  That it wasn’t a typical ’69 performance.  

Their Woodstock was only about 70 minutes of music with a more than 15 minute technical break after only two songs (St Stephen and Mama Tried) which had only totaled about five minutes.

Plus, there was the mic/walkie-talkie/PA  interference  during some parts. 

Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes
Dead at Woodstock…Jerry and Bob
Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes

Dead at Woodstock

Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes
Dead at Woodstock

 Well, let’s take a look at the set list: 

  • 1. Saint Stephen (2:04)
  • 2. Mama Tried (2:42)
  • 3. a High Time tease (30 seconds)
  • the 15 minute technical issues break
  • 4. Dark Star (19:10)
  • 5. High Time (6:20),
  • 6. Turn On Your Lovelight (which included some Ken Babbs ravings) (38:42)

Typical?

So how atypical were the Dead at Woodstock? The concert immediately before at the Family Dog at the Great Highway in San Francisco on  August 3  was about 90 minutes. Their first concert afterward was on August 20 at the Aqua Theater in Seattle (no recording available).  How long was it? About 90 minutes.

If not for the technical issues, faced by most of the Woodstock performers, the Dead set at Woodstock was not too different.

Perhaps it’d be best to give the Dead at Woodstock an actual listen and decide for yourself. As for me, I enjoy it. Of course the spice of it being at Woodstock is an enticing enhancement, but even without that, it’s still good. After all, there’s only one Barton Hall and that was eight years in the future.

Double-dare

I dare you to click and open ↓ .

It’s really a nice listen for any day and a slice of history. You’ll hear the actual radio feedback that Phil Lesh talks about during a quieter part of their set.

For another much more thorough and thoughtful article on the Dead’s Woodstock set, see this article that Scott Parker, author of Woodstock Documented. wrote.

The whole article is well worth the read, but in his closing comments he concluded: Some have described this show as the worst Grateful Dead show ever, but this is a serious exaggeration. It is an uneven set, without a doubt. There are some real low points. But there are also some great moments, and it is worth remembering that on their worst night in 1969, the Grateful Dead were still better than most bands at their peak.

Finally!

On August 23, 2021, Dead and Company played at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.  At the beginning of their second set, Bob Weir said this: “…50 something years ago [applause] we…right here…we tried this next sequence [Weir laughs] …it didn’t go so well for us. So, we’re gonna’ try it again.”

And so Woodstock finally heard the set so many had hoped for 52 years earlier.  And it was very nice!

Follow link to listen

Post Script

I occasionally give site tours to band members, guests of the bands, and, of course, the all-important roadies.

In 2023, Dead & Company was playing at Bethel Woods and Bob Weir needed a ride to a booth promoting voter registration that he was helping to support. He sat next to me (thrill!) and I had the following very brief “conversation” with him:

Me: “Thank you for your music.”

Bob: “You’re welcome.”

Me: “By the way, I didn’t think your Woodstock set was that bad.”

Rob: “It was.”

Grateful Dead Woodstock Woes