The Case for Jerry Garcia...

[Bennyboy]

I am watching the Bonnaroo webcast and it seems like Jer bear is right there on the stage. Almost 15 years after his passing. All day long people have been playing his songs. His friends played. Warren Haynes plays his part in the dead (and the Dickey Betts role in the ABB). Del McCoury played with longtime garcia collaborator, David Grisman. they played "Cold rain and Snow" a song best known as a Grateful Dead song.

In his career, he had this band...the Grateful Dead that played stadiums for 25 years. Not every once in while, like most acts, the Dead toured relentlessly.

Then he had another little band, the Jerry garcia Band that kicked serious ass and covered the Great American Songbook from cover to cover. the Dylan covers alone are worth the price of admission.


He played the single most recognizable steel guitar riff in history for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on "Teach Your Children".

He played in the seminla bluegrass band, Old and I the way with David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements that was the top selling bluegrass albums of all time. In fact both OITW albums weere huge sellers in bluegrass.

He had a relationship with David Grisman that besides Old and in the Way, had a number of incredible recordings. For Kids Only is so good. The Pizza tapes.

He also played Steel guitar with the NRPS in the beginning and his work in Dirty Business is one of my personal all time faves.

[Bennyboy]

1. Bob Dylan on Jerry's passing...

"There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player. I don't think eulogizing will do him justice. He was that great - much more than a superb musician with an uncanny ear and dexterity. He is the very spirit personified of whatever is muddy river country at its core and screams up into the spheres. He really had no equal. To me he wasn't only a musician and friend, he was more like a big brother who taught and showed me more than he'll ever know. There are a lot of spaces and advances between the Carter Family, Buddy Holly and, say, Ornette Coleman, a lot of universes, but he filled them all without being a member of any school. His playing was moody, awesome, sophisticated, hypnotic and subtle. There's no way to convey the loss. It just digs down really deep." - Bob Dylan

[Bennyboy]

2. Jer...

An Elegy for Jerry By Robert Hunter
(Delivered August 13, 1995, The Jerry Garcia Memorial, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California.)

Jerry, my friend,
you've done it again,
even in your silence
the familiar pressure
comes to bear, demanding
I pull words from the air
with only this morning
and part of the afternoon
to compose an ode worthy
of one so particular
about every turn of phrase,
demanding it hit home
in a thousand ways
before making it his own,
and this I can't do alone.
Now that the singer is gone,
where shall I go for the song?

Without your melody and taste
to lend an attitude of grace
a lyric is an orphan thing,
a hive with neither honey's taste
nor power to truly sting.

What choice have I but to dare and
call your muse who thought to rest
out of the thin blue air,
that out of the field of shared time,
a line or two might chance to shine --

As ever when we called,
in hope if not in words,
the muse descends.

How should she desert us now?
Scars of battle n her brow,
bedraggled feathers on her wings
and yet she sings, she sings!

May she bear thee to thy rest,
the ancient bower of flowers
beyond the solitude of days,
the tyranny of hours --
the wreath of shining laurel lie
upon your shaggy head,
bestowing power to play the lyre
to legions of the dead.

If some part of that music
is heard in deepest dream,
or on some breeze of Summer
a snatch of golden theme,
we'll know you live inside us
with love that never parts
our good old Jack O' Diamonds
become the King of Hearts.

I feel your silent laughter
at sentiments so bold
that dare to step across the line
to tell what must be told,
so I'll just say I love you
which I never said before
and let it go at that old friend,
the rest you may ignore.

August 11, 1995

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. And he lost it all to smack........

If that doesn't suck, nothing does.

I just remembered that I have a copy of this book -



on a shelf here, so I think it's a good time to take it down and read it.

What a loss. He did everything, dammit, including die.....................

[Bennyboy]

6. Did the drugs make him or did he make the drugs?

Imagine if Jerry garcia never got high? "The senior class would like to thank Mr Garcia with his help with our production of Carousel".....

He was in bad shape not just from the drugs. the non stop touring. Diabetes that almost killed him once. Being over weight. The usual shit that kills men early.

He tried many times to get clean, he escaped the Betty Ford before he entered into Serenity Knolls. He had tried so many times. But would we have a Jerry garcia without the heroin? Or a Keith Richards? Or an Eric Clapton? Weird little cul-de-sac drugs are.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

7. Listen,

I know how good the drugs are for some people, and the idea that they're illegal is just horseshit.

Listen to Clapton on drugs. Yes, he was God.

Listen to the cleaned-up Clapton. "Mr. Clapton will be here at the Holiday Inn Lounge all weekend for your listening pleasure."

Garcia was indulgent in every way - food, drugs, women, music, art - and bless him for all of it. Some people are just too big, live too large, to be able to last long.

But, we were lucky to have had him.

Still, I miss him, and I have my copy of "Dark Star" right here now. That will be good.

Thanks for the reminder......................

On edit: I found the bookstore receipt inside "Dark Star" - I bought it on December 17, 1996.

I think I have far too many books here, don't you?

[Bennyboy]

8. I'm glad you said that about Clapton...

When I use that line of reasoning, people look at me like...well, I'm on drugs. but it is true. keith Richards wrote some of the greatest songs in history while carrying a monkey on his back.

Anyway when you are (FINALLY!) reading that book, go here and get a show or two....http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/grateful-dead-concert/20050333-7413.html

The biggest collection of live music anywhere. all the shows are stellar...

[Tobin S.]

4. Jerry Garcia's greatness is self-evident

You don't need to make a case. :)

[bridgit]

5. Some will say too much this not enough that but it was all very fluid, very musical ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZst9tOWhE0&feature=PlayList&p=F4BD0D6D5DE75271&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=18


hubby even has some of his ties :)

[PJPhreak]

9. Thank You Jerry,

For giving me the chance to share some time listening to you and the GD,OINT.NRPS ect.
For letting me meet folks that showed me that all is not as it seems.
For showing me that questioning authority is OK.
and for teaching me that being different is OK also.

Thank You Jerry for letting Me be Me!

[tigereye]

10. love his CD(s?) with Grisman

I never saw the Dead, but Garcia was a very talented and charismatic guy.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow: "Jerry Garcia: Musical and Spiritual Adviser"

On page 116 (paperback edition) of Jeff Tamarkin's excellent Got A Revolution, the author writes "Garcia offered valuable arranging advice, helping to shape songs. He also contributed guitar to three tracks on the album and two that didn't make the final cut. Or did he?"

He then goes on to quote "Surrealistic" producer Rick Jarrard, who says "Jerry Garcia was never present on any of those sessions. Jerry Garcia played no guitar on that album."

A little further down the page, Tamarkin writes:

"But one thing no one disputes is that Garcia came up with the album's title: "That's as surrealistic as a pillow," he exclaimed after hearing one track played back. It stuck."

[lazyriver]

12. The best case I can make for him is something people often say

about great athletes: He made all those around him better when he played with them.

To add to your list of his various musical forays, I offer his contributions to Sanjay Mishra's "Blue Incantation" and Howard Wales's "Side Trips". Check 'em out if you haven't.