I wrote a lot of posts about the Grateful Dead last year. I started doing it for my own enjoyment and interest, and was pleasantly surprised by how many enthusiastic responses I got. I have also been surprised by how interested my students have been in hearing about these songs. I started thinking that I had enough to say for a book, and that there might be an audience for such a thing.
There are a lot of books (and documentaries, and other long-form studies) of the Grateful Dead already. There are two entire books just about 5/8/77. But these are mostly stories about the people in and around the band, and about their larger cultural context. There is not much out there in print about the actual music, aside from a few academic articles. There are a lot of YouTube guitar tutorials, and some of them are great, but as useful as they can be, they don’t get into larger and deeper ideas than just “here’s how Jerry played this riff”. It’s a vacuum that I am well positioned to fill.
So what would go in the book? I plan to pick ten songs or so to do deep dives on. That means music theoretic and musicological analysis, connections to related songs both in the Dead canon and elsewhere, stories from my own musical life, and assorted lore. Likely candidates include:
- Morning Dew
- St Stephen
- Uncle John’s Band
- Playing in the Band
- China>Rider
- Tennessee Jed
- The Mind Left Body jam
- Help>Slip>Frank
- Scarlet>Fire
- Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie
- Touch of Grey
I’ll talk about the lyrics, but not as much as I’ll talk about the music: the rhythms, the harmonies, the structures. I’m a Deadhead, but a skeptical one, so while I write from a place of love, it is not unconditional love. My intended reader is an amateur guitarist who is interested in this music and has questions that can’t be answered by online guitar tabs. This reader wants to know why Dead songs are so compelling, and why they have so massively transcended their original time and place. Or maybe they’re already a fan and want their fandom better articulated, or to have a deeper understanding of it.
There are also going to be some larger interrelated themes woven across the song analysis:
- Grooves, jams and songs
- Dead fandom as a participatory culture
- Americana, folk music, Bob Dylan, and the challenge of authenticity
- The complexities of white people playing black music
So, sounds good, right? I’m in the process of writing a book proposal (this post is part of that process.) Then I need to find a publisher. I have a lot of connections in the academic publishing world but I sense that this has potential mass-market appeal, so a commercial press might be a better fit. I would especially like to talk to nonfiction agents. I had one many years ago, but at the time, I didn’t have the platform or the chops to get something sold. Now I do. So be in touch, publishing people! I’ll have a proposal together soon.
Dark Star, surely!
Consider Wharf Rat and Stella Blue, two of my very favorites. I totally agree that Playing in the Band is essential. And Jack Straw, maybe my favorite of all!
Backbeat Books sounds like a perfect candidate to publish this. I suggest contacting John Cerullo who’s proven a highly receptive and cooperative editor to work with.
Will do!
Who knows if you’ll see this. You wrote an article about “Don’t Think Twice,” and I have to say it was thrilling. I’m an old gay musician who’s read a million articles about Bob, Joni, Leonard, et al, and so many of them retread old shit. Your article was packed with interesting, revelatory info. From your article I see the song, Bob, even music itself differently. I’m sure you get a lot of praise — you’re a writer and a teacher — you change kids’ lives! Who cares what I think? But o was moved by the quality of your writing, its content and style, to send you some praise and thanks. You can always check out my music at DavidDentinger.com, but even if you don’t, I still loved your article!
Hi David, I did see it! I’m glad you liked the article and definitely care what you think.
Writing a book about the Dead sounds like a good idea. Some are going to quibble with your song picks, of course (I find “New Potato Caboose” one of their best songs, as well as “The Eleven” and feel that they should be given mention. As a further aside, the Dead did a fascinating show at the Fillmore East in February of 1969 in which they opened for Janis Joplin. They had to do a shorter performance. They do a truncated version of “The Eleven” which I feel is unique in it’s sheer energy and omission of the mid piece vocal section.) As an older person who saw the Dead at Woodstock, among other venues, and attended what is considered one of their best shows (Fillmore East 2/14/70, Dick’s Picks #4. We bought tickets at the box office the night of the show. ) I would note that a number of Dead fans of my acquaintance lost interest in them somewhat after their pivot following the death of Pig Pen and Jerry’s slide into heavy heroin use. They did have moments of glory, such as Barton Hall, but overall it was felt that they had become a different band. I would also note that these fans did not consider themselves “Deadheads,” but rather saw the Dead as a great band, among other great bands of the era, such as the Doors, the Airplane, and many others. I myself am an amateur guitarist who leans towards jazz, and I find the Dead’s music fascinating, and I feel that the occasional posts you write on their music are really great. One last point, I feel that their performances in which Donna does sort of free-form vocalizing accompanied by jerry are some of their best things. Ironic that a lot of Deadheads by that time had fallen into an orthodoxy that was antithetical to everything the original Dead stood for, and lambasted poor Donna.
My list of songs isn’t necessarily their best ones, whatever that means, and nor is it a list of my favorites. It’s a list of the ones that have the broadest and deepest themes, the ones that connect the most extensively to the great rhizome of 20th century American music. The list will probably evolve as the project does. Like, “Dark Star” is a clear contender, maybe paired with “St Stephen” and “The Eleven.” (I agree with you that it works better as an instrumental; the band themselves said that the sung part was an afterthought, and it shows.) Donna is tricky. I have heard many people say that live in the room, her wailing was exciting, and the crowd reaction on the tapes confirms that. That stuff doesn’t necessarily come across too well in the cold light of day, though. Same goes for Bobby’s crowd-hyping efforts later on; I remember enjoying his yelling in the moment at shows, but I skip through it on the recordings.