Grateful Dead
Perform Dylan
The Grateful Dead
are obviously big fans of Bob Dylan's writing, with the large number
of his songs they have performed, and the fact that Jerry Garcia,
Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh all led some of his material show it was
a band appreciation, not just one member. In fact, Bob Dylan
covers appeared all the way back to 1966 where they performed "It's All
Over Now Baby Blue," and "She Belongs To Me" at their
January 6, 1966, Matrix Theater concert. The former stayed in
the song rotation while the latter was retired for 20 years before
appearing again.
Since that
debut, the Grateful Dead performed many Dylan covers. In the mid
1980's Dylan songs began to become common in Dead sets. This
trend began in 1985 when Garcia added to his song rotation "She Belongs to Me, "
and "Quinn the Eskimo," while Lesh broke out "Just Like Tom
Thumb Blues."
The following year saw the introduction of
"Visions Of Johanna," "Desolation Row" into
Grateful Dead sets. During that summer Bob Dylan and the
Grateful Dead co-headlined five few summer
shows.
The grand
event was 1987, when the six Dylan and the
Grateful Dead
performances. In
addition, the Grateful Dead added four more Dylan songs into their
sets. Then in
1998 Weir added two more Dylan songs. Two of Grateful Dead's
performances from this run are available on DVD, View
From the Vault IV.
A great
Bob Dylan song, "It Takes A Lot To Laugh A Train To Cry," that was first
performed June 10, 1973, with members of the Allman Brothers
Band as guests, was returned
to the line-up May 12, 1991, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain
View, CA. This time paired with (>) "C.C. Rider," sort
of sequenced as one song.
Postcards
of the Hanging
The
Grateful Dead released a superb album of called Postcard of the
Hanging that is the Grateful Dead performing Dylan songs. One track " Man of Peace" is from their
rehearsals, and ten are live tracks.
This album is a great way to enjoy this material.
Jerry Garcia:
Garcia Plays Dylan
Both Jerry Garcia Band and the Grateful Dead performing Bob Dylan
songs. More JGB, than GD. Review
Order: Jerry Garcia Plays Dylan
We have
additional information about Bob Dylan's relationship with the
Grateful Dead such as:
Their 1987 tour and ,
Dylan sitting in
with the Dead,
Garcia sitting in with Dylan, etc. This page is not for those one time
events. It is for the Bob Dylan songs that the Grateful Dead
performed without him; songs that were part of their regular
rotation.
Below
is list of the Bob Dylan songs that were performed by the Grateful
Dead. It includes who sang the song, the debut
date (excludes Dylan and the Dead 1987 shows).
With
the abundance of releases, we haven't been able to keep this page
up-to-date with the latest archival releases.
